Slovakia: Snake Oil Spills Onto the Web

Abstract

Main findings: In the last couple of years, misinformation and disinformation websites started to sprout across many European countries, with Slovakia being no exception. The presented report looks at 49 major Slovak disinformation and misinformation websites and sketches out their ownership as well as financial background. The report succeeds in identifying the ownership or operational structure behind 35 websites. In terms of financial data, the report canvasses four sources of income: tax designation, e-commerce, crowdfunding, and advertising. In conclusion, the Slovak misinformation and disinformation website scene appears to be run by multiple independent entities using various business models to sustain operation. Transparency and accountability remain an issue in most of the cases. Most of the websites with an unclear or concealed background are health and lifestyle related; 57% of websites were established during 2013-2016; Out of 14 health and lifestyle websites only one does not display ads or sells goods and services; Out of 49 websites, 38 either display ads or sell goods and services.