EU Commission Under Fire After Tweeting (Then Deleting) Massive Ukrainian Military Losses
The deletion and re-uploading of a speech by the European Commission president spawned a serious Streisand Effect this week. And it looks like it’s only getting started. | As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comes under fire for announcing “100,000 Ukrainian military officers” have been killed so far amid NATO’s proxy war on Russia, Deputy Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant told reporters Thursday that there’s “no need to apologize.” Under questioning during a press conference Thursday, Spinant refused to provide any explanation as to how the number of casualties was generated but insisted “there are many figures regarding casualties out there in open sources,” claiming “such figures are given by many military experts.” ● On Wednesday, von der Leyen was widely criticized after publishing – then quickly removing – a video from social media in which she revealed the alarming level of Ukrainian casualties, before publishing a hastily-edited version of the same video from which Kiev’s losses had been cropped.
■ EU refuses to apologize for deleted post about Ukrainian casualties
■ EC confirms removal of information about Ukrainian army death toll
■ Von der Leyen’s statement on Kiev’s losses is neither an oversight nor a slip of the tongue – but a signal