Conspiracy theorists are trying to influence European election campaigns with disinformation and lies. Much of the fabrication comes from Moscow, but plenty is homegrown.

If media campaigns in more than a dozen European countries were to be believed, the European Union (EU) intends to force citizens to eat insects instead of meat.

The claim has touched nerves, especially in Italy, where variations of it have been revived and splashed across billboards during European elections to pit Brussels against mama’s special sauce.

But consumers of this claim are being fed pure nonsense, an example of countless fabrications launched or adopted by candidates seeking political gain at the cost of the truth.

The fake insect-food narrative, which first surfaced last year in a number of EU countries, has proven so popular with malign actors both within and outside the bloc that they’ve brought it back for the European election cycle to try to discredit pro-EU candidates.

But no one should be surprised that malignant actors want to impact Europe’s election cycle, with 720 seats up for grabs for the next five-year term in the European Parliament and many national elections taking place simultaneously as part of a record year for elections worldwide.

The EDMO reports a record-high amount of disinformation ahead of the vote about universally controversial issues like migration, agricultural policy and climate change, including even the resurrection of fake stories from years past, such as COVID-19 conspiracies.

  • WraithGear@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    You know, when i played cyberpunk i noticed they had pizza with authentic pepperoni beetles. I stopped my cyber terrorism to think about that. I was first taken aback about how it truly is a dystopian story. But now that i think about it… would i really care? I unironically like impossible burgers, not because it tastes just like beef, but it’s got that characteristics of a good burger, just a more exotic animal like kangaroo burgers. After the novelty of knowing its bug meat, i could see not thinking differently about it at all. More sustainable, cheaper, healthier, less animal cruelty, and good taste?

    Now i know the current bug meat claims are a lie, but honestly… bring on the bugs!

    • Evotech@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      South park had a similar point.

      Cartman was all anti vegan food, untill he realized it was just the same hyperprocessed goop he was used to. Then he was all for it.

    • Patapon Enjoyer@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Part of it is our ingrained belief that insects are filthy (and a lot of them are, but so are a lot of animals we eat, specially how we treat them). Personally, I’d rather have cultivated meat if that’s viable in the future.

        • Patapon Enjoyer@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Like the thing where they grow meat from cells in a petri dish and they multiply in a tank. I think meat ‘3d printing’ is a way to do it, but there are others

    • fluxion@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Honestly im surprised bugs aren’t a more popular food. Lots of places where they are boutique street food but haven’t seen anyone try to do it at high-volume. I bet you can make a spam-like product that isn’t too bad to eat and not really think about what exactly is in it.

      • catloaf@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        It’s the ick factor. If you could puree grasshoppers and put something on the ingredients that didn’t make it sound like insects, and sell it cheaper than beef, then people would buy it.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Honestly, not knowing what’s in spam is why I don’t eat spam.

        I’d rather crunch out on a grasshopper (or cricket, grub… those aren’t crunchy, though,) than eat spam

        (I spent some time in Thailand and have had ma laeng tod. The, street food you mentioned)

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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        5 months ago

        They definitely sell insects at volume in some countries. In L.A. I was able to get prepackaged insects of several species at a Thai grocery.