Why was central Europe open to China's Covid disinformation?

Disillusionment with democracy, a lack of public debate on China and other states' disinformation campaigns, and local politicians playing into fake-news narratives are all combining to make central and eastern Europe more susceptible to foreign influence.

"With Covid-19, China really accelerated its influence and information campaign in the eastern and central European region. Our data showed that it really resonated among the people," Katarína Klingová, a senior research fellow of th...