This essay examines the growing problem of fake news in Europe and the influence of Russian and Chinese media narratives.
It explores how disinformation exploits freedom of speech and deepens social divisions over terrorism and migration.

When I asked where he had heard that, he replied, “Russian and Chinese television say so.”
January 10, 2018.
The following continues from the previous chapter.
In Europe today, fake news has become a major problem.
At a recent international conference in Berlin, the topic came up, but I did not fully grasp it at the time.
That evening, however, when I got into a taxi, a driver of Turkish descent seriously told me, “You may not know this, but the 2016 Berlin truck attack was just an accident.The German government calling it terrorism is a conspiracy to suppress Muslims.”
When I asked where he had learned that, he replied, “Russian and Chinese television say so.”
I was astonished, but if such news is indeed being broadcast by Russian and Chinese media, it is likely intended to inflame divisions within Germany over issues such as refugees and terrorism.
The troubling aspect is that in liberal states like Germany there is freedom of speech, so fake news cannot easily be regulated.
This vulnerability is being exploited.
This article will continue.