Slovakia plans to fund two NGOs behind pro-Russian media outlets that had been blacklisted for spreading Kremlin-friendly propaganda, local media reported.
According to documents published by a political activist on X, the Slovak government under the pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico plans to subsidize Verbina and Heuréka Evolution with €20,000.
Verbina is the publisher of Hlavný denník and Heuréka Evolution is linked to Hlavné správy, two news websites identified as threats to national security according to Slovakian watchdog Hoaxes and Scams.
“State institutions have long ceased to combat disinformation and Russian propaganda,” Hoaxes and Scams wrote in response to the funding proposal, the Slovak Media Monitor (SMM) reported.
It added: “What we are now witnessing is direct financial support for content that contradicts the security interests of the Slovak Republic.”
The official reasons for the two €10,000 grants are the reconstruction of premises and the increased accessibility for people with disabilities.
But critics say the direct financial support for the pro-Russian webpages sets a precedent for the rehabilitation of Moscow-aligned media and pushes Slovakia further into Russia’s sphere of influence.
Hlavný denník and Hlavné správy were shut down in 2022 after they began promoting Russian propaganda following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Content published on the websites included statements referring to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as a ‘grandmaster’ who would end the war in Ukraine, Slovak Monitor reported.
One of Hlavné správy’s contributing writers was caught accepting money from a Russian embassy officer in a park in Bratislava, for which he received a suspended sentence and a fine of €15,000, SMM reported.
The proposal for the subsidies was submitted by Juraj Gedra, a high-ranking government official and a member of the nationalist Smer party led by Fico.
The funding proposal can be accepted without parliamentary debate.
Gedra did not respond to media requests for comment.
