West failing to tackle Russian hacking and fake news, says Latvia

Latvian foreign minister says there is increasing evidence that Russia is automating disinformation on social media

The west is failing to get to grips with Russian hacking and fake news, the Latvian foreign minister, Edgars RinkAviAs, has said.

Speaking on a visit to London, RinkAviAs said there was increasing evidence that Russia was automating disinformation on social media. Pointing to new Nato-sponsored research showing more than five times the number of Russian language tweets sent in Latvia concerning Nato came from bots, instead of from individuals. The figure in Estonia was nine times as many. He described the tactic as "very systematic and a new way to spread propaganda amongst young people".