[Amanpour:] Welcome back to the program. NATO, the EU and former U.S. commanders including the former CIA Director David Petraeus among others are warning about Russia's assault on western democracy itself, accusing President Putin of waging an unconventional war with fake news, trolls and bots as frontline forces. European countries facing elections this year are worried enough not just to call out this phenomenon, but to take action against it. The Netherlands says it will hand count every vote in next month's general election to prevent hackers from influencing the outcome. And in the Czech Republic, where hackers suspected of working for a foreign power have recently breached dozens of government e-mail accounts. Our Isa Soares in Prague gets a look into a new special unit that's been set up to tackle the tsunami of disinformation.
[Isa Soares, Cnn International Correspondent:] Prague's heart may lie in Europe, but the ghost of a Soviet past still haunts the Czechs. 27 years on since the fall of communism, the Czech government says their fight is now online accusing Russia of waging an information war.
[Tomas Prouza, Czech State Secretary For European Affairs:] The ultimate Russian goal is to again bring us back into the Russia sphere of influence. They want to weaken Europe. They want to make sure that Western Europe is not able to stand up to them.
[Soares:] In the last few years Czechs have seen a rise in anti-U.S., anti- NATO and anti-EU rhetoric. [on-camera]: Direct links to Russia may be hard to prove but one government source tells me there are as many as 40 pro-Russian Web sites operating within the country. So to counter this, the Czech government has set up a specialist unit to tackle what it calls hybrid threats and disinformation. And it's happening in the building behind me. [voice-over]: Managed by the Ministry of Interior, they've been countering these apparent falsehoods since the beginning of this year, flagging on Twitter story they say are hoaxes. The manager of the unit tells me it's a team of 14 young computer analysts and seasoned intelligence experts.
[David Chovanec, Czech Interior Ministry Official:] The objective of the disinformation is to somehow disrupt the social balance in the country. We don't want to be just pessimistic, sitting down and waiting. We want to take a pro-active approach.
[Soares:] He has reason to be wary. According to this report by Czech's domestic security agency, there is little doubt of Russia's involvement. It accuses Russia of infiltrating Czech media to sway perceptions of creating tensions within the Czech Republic and spreading alarming rumors about the U.S. and
[Nato. Prouza:] We follow the money and how some of these alternative Websites are financed. This links to people that are connected to Russia.
[Soares:] How real is the threat to Europe?
[Prouza:] It is the biggest threat Europe has been facing since 1930s.
[Soares:] The fear is very palpable here. At this school in Prague, they now teach 17 and 18-year-olds how to spot Russian propaganda.
[Unidentified Female:] Media, traditional media and social networks are influencing the results of elections.
[Soares:] Crucial given that most of its class will be voting for the first time in Czech elections in October. Elections some here fear could be manipulated by their former foes. Isa Soares, CNN, Prague, Czech Republic.
[Amanpour:] And when we asked about the Czech Republic's allegations, the Kremlin declined to answer CNN's questions. And President Putin and other Russian officials have consistently denied accusations about spreading fake news and attempting to influence elections in the U.S., Germany and other countries. My next guest, Pankaj Mishra, is the author of "Age of Anger", a history of the present and he joins me now. Welcome to the program.
[Pankaj Mishra, Author, Age Of Anger:] Thank you.
[Amanpour:] What do you make of that? Age of anger, I get it. But others malevolently trying to influence western democracy. Do people understand what's going on despite their anger?
[Mishra:] Well, I think, I mean, something like fake news, for instance, I think is very much seen and has been noticed by people in Russia. If the Putin regime is indeed behind it, their very lies, this reflects the big crisis in legitimacy within Europe, within America. Not just politicians and businessmen but also of media. And they are very shrewdly moved to capitalize on this and to flood public spaces with fake news because the all media the conventional media, traditionally get like you and I have been working for, faces a crisis of legitimacy. As we know public trust in the old media is at an all-time low and this vacuum of the fake news comes flooding in.
[Amanpour:] So now let's talk about people who've got to figure out when they cast their vote, you know, what is fact and what is fake. We have some sound bites from supporters of Donald Trump about the latest Muslim ban. We'll play those and then we'll talk about it.
[Michael Fitzgerald, Trump Voter:] I'm glad to see our president taking the actions he needs to take to provide the highest degree of security for the American citizenry that he possibly can.
[Kristina Twitty, Trump Voter:] Because I walk that same street in Nice, where the truck ran over all those people. So I'm aware that we're just a few steps from terrible things that could happen. And I'm OK with a temporary stop so that we can re-evaluate where we are.
[Amanpour:] When you hear that, what do you think? I mean, America is the land of immigration, of tolerance, of all the values that we could endlessly quote under the constitution. What do you think and what has driven ordinary men and women to have those views?
[Mishra:] I think anger. And that's where I think we are wrong when we think that, you know, just providing people with the facts will allow them to make rational decisions. I think so much of politics today is being driven by anger. And that anger is a result of feeling powerless over a long period and feeling that a minority has monopolized not just, you know, opportunities, highest levels of income but also social and country capital. And now I think, you know, there's a big backlash under way and demagogues, bigots, scoundrels of various sorts are beneficiaries of that.
[Amanpour:] So where does this end? Because you've just mentioned demagogues, bigots, scoundrels and there are certainly many of them on the horizon in Europe and further a field in the Far East and et cetera. What do you think is the next step? Will it be a counter backlash when they see the policies that are implemented or where does this anger end?
[Mishra:] Well, the history that I describe in this book doesn't offer too many reassuring lessons about, you know, de-escalation, for instance. It doesn't offer too many consoling stories about effective resistance. But I think, at the same time, you know, what we've seen in the last ten days since the Trump administration was sworn in is really an admirable degree of resistance, political participation by ordinary citizens especially in the United States, which I think is hugely, hugely heartening.
[Amanpour:] So it is almost like a jump start to civic sort of activity?
[Mishra:] I think people are awakening to the ethical responsibilities as citizens, which is the most important thing to have happen. I mean, I think we should be grateful to Trump for inciting that.
[Amanpour:] Do you think, do you think on the other hand, people like Angela Merkel, I'm just taking she's one of those under assault, but the more mainstream defenders of the liberal world order that America has led for the last 70 years, do you think she and her cohorts have perhaps failed to tell the story of 70 years of mostly peace in Europe, of a massive, you know, raising out of poverty of millions, hundreds and millions of people around the world and of all of the good news that's happened over the last 70 years?
[Mishra:] Well, if you're a white working class man in America, I think the narrative of general progress, general improvement is no longer persuasive. You know, you're looking at your own life and thinking I'm actually suffering a huge loss in my opportunities and my income. My social mobility is being blocked so, you know, for some people in other parts of the world. And even there, you know, a lot of people in India feel that their social mobility is blocked. They've been lifted out of poverty, but for them there is, you know, for a lot of them, there's nowhere to go after that, you know. So I think what we are sort of witnessing is a kind of universal rage at this point at people finding the horizons blocked and that is taking very toxic forms. And it doesn't matter what narrative you present, you know. You can present any kind of narrative and you can save about 70 years of peace, but you know, people have come back and say that 70 years of peace is exceptional, was exceptional because we just emerged out of a destructive war, but everywhere had been level apart from America, Europe and Asia were in ruins.
[Amanpour:] Well, we really are at the dawn of a new era. We'll see where it leads. Pankaj Mishra, author of "Age of Anger", thank you very much indeed.
[Mishra:] Thank you.