Date: 19 November 2024, Author: Michaela Dubóczi, Peter Dubóczi
Distraction and delegitimization: Disinformation as the ultimate means to frame a false bogeyman out of the democratic oppositions
The recent attacks on Michal Šimečka, leader of Progressive Slovakia party, highlight a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting opposition, media, and civil society in Slovakia. By turning Šimečka into a scapegoat, the government distracts from its own missteps, using fabricated narratives to demonize dissent and suppress public scrutiny.
This manipulation replaces real issues with manufactured threats, further polarizing the political landscape.
The recent attacks on Michal Šimečka and his family appear to be the culmination of a long-standing manipulative and disinformation narrative aimed at undermining the opposition, media, and non-governmental sectors in Slovakia. This narrative, which has been intensifying since the assassination attempt on Robert Fico in May, has increasingly targeted progressive and liberal ideologies.
Within these disinformation campaigns, terms like “progressivism” and “liberalism” have become convenient labels, used to create mental shortcuts and simplify complex ideas into enemies of the state. As a consequence, among other things, Michal Šimečka was dismissed from his position as Deputy Speaker of the Slovak Parliament.
One of the most prominent instances of this narrative came during Robert Fico’s speech at the Devín national celebrations (anniversary of the arrival of Cyril and Methodius), where he compared these ideologies to a spreading cancer, calling for the building of a metaphorical dam to stop them. Simultaneously, disinformation was being spread, alleging that the opposition and the media were working together to radicalize society and provoke further violence. This rhetoric extended even to the portrayal of protests, which disinformation actors frequently depicted as an illegitimate challenge to the parliamentary election results or as an attempt to cover up the so-called “Šimečka’s case.”
The attacks on Šimečka and his family are part of a broader manipulation. By demonizing Šimečka, government officials have sought to delegitimize public discontent, dismissing the protests as undemocratic and ignoring legitimate grievances. This disinformation, which frames opposition leaders, the media, and non-governmental organizations as enemies of society, serves two primary purposes. First, it distracts from the government’s shortcomings, such as the failed (or at least controversial) criminal law and the release of the special prosecutor Dušan Kováčik from custody. Kováčik was previously charged and found guilty of accepting bribes and corruption in his office. Second, disinformation creates an emotional rallying point for part of the population by fabricating a public enemy.
In this context, Michal Šimečka has been positioned as a scapegoat, personifying all that is supposedly wrong and dangerous for Slovakia. According to some, Michal Šimečka was even supposed to “become a symbol of corruption and cronyism”. The accusations against him, however, are unfounded, and much of the public vilification appears to be based on fabricated threats rather than any tangible reality. Nevertheless, for a segment of Slovak society, these distortions of reality are enough to justify dismissing Šimečka and believing the crisis has been averted.
Disinformation as a Political Tool
The disinformation campaign against Šimečka is part of a broader strategy used by the Slovak government to manipulate public perception. This manipulation works on three levels: it distracts from real issues, fabricates proxy threats, and demonizes any opposition. Whether it is liberalism, opposition figures, or the media, these narratives create enemies for the government to “defeat,” thereby shifting attention away from its own failings.
In the case of Michal Šimečka, the government has worked to discredit not only him but also his family and the organizations associated with them. The attacks began after the protests, with the Minister of Culture, Martina Šimkovičová, accusing the Milan Šimečka Foundation of misusing public funds. Despite the fact that Michal Šimečka’s connection to the foundation is largely limited to its name (because of his grandfather, who was a dissident), the disinformation machine portrayed him as being financially invested in the foundation’s operations.
These narratives became even more convoluted when government officials, including prime minister Robert Fico, blurred the lines between Michal Šimečka, the political leader, and other members of his family, such as his father, a journalist for Denník N. Fico’s deliberate conflation of the two individuals led some to believe that Šimečka had undue influence over the media, despite his father’s minimal financial stake in the company. In fact, Šimečka’s father has shares which do not exceed 0.5%
The Coalition’s Narrative: A Leaky Fabrication
The ruling coalition has consistently attempted to discredit Šimečka, particularly during his dismissal as Deputy Speaker of the Slovak Parliament. They relied on half-truths, taking information out of context and constructing a narrative in which Šimečka is portrayed as a financial opportunist, benefiting from public funds through civic organizations tied to his family.
One of the central points of attack was the claim that from 2020 to 2024, the civic organizations of Šimečka’s relatives received about €1.2 million in state subsidies. However, the fact that these subsidies were also granted during the tenure of previous Fico’s governments was conveniently ignored by the current ruling coalition. Moreover, government officials with their own ties to civic organizations that received similar (or even higher) financial support have been silent about their own so-called conflicts of interest. The reason for this is simple – it would not fit into the narrative, the government-created fiction in which support for civic or artistic activities is somehow bad and unacceptable.
The coalition has also accused Šimečka of having direct influence over state subsidies as the leader of Progressive Slovakia, despite the fact that he was serving in the European Parliament at the time the funds were allocated. Additionally, claims that former Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor and MP Zora Jaurová manipulated the allocation of funds have not been supported by any tangible evidence.
Audits conducted by the Ministry of Justice have so far failed to demonstrate any favoritism in the distribution of subsidies, further contradicting the coalition’s narrative. The audit findings, published in part by the SME newspaper, indicate only minor formal shortcomings, yet the ruling coalition continues to use this as ammunition in its campaign against Šimečka.
Conclusion: A Strategy to Silence Critics
The attacks on Michal Šimečka are part of a larger effort by the Slovak government to delegitimize its critics. By discrediting opposition leaders, the media, and NGOs, the government is attempting to eliminate any meaningful scrutiny of its actions. This disinformation campaign serves as both a distraction from the government’s failures and a way to frame progressive ideologies as existential threats to Slovakia.
The broader strategy appears clear: create an enemy, delegitimize dissent, and use emotional manipulation to maintain control. In this sense, the dismissal of Michal Šimečka from his parliamentary position is not just a political maneuver but also a warning to anyone who dares to challenge the government’s narrative.
This broadly includes a warning to the media, civil society and citizens in general. Regardless of whether the government succeeds in eliminating the enemies artificially created by disinformation, any criticism is falsely reduced as so-called hate-mongering or an effort to radicalise society. This is the narrative sediment after the attempted assassination of Robert Fico, which the government cleverly and effectively uses to deflect failures.
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