Iceland’s foreign minister fears ‘Brexit moment’ in country’s EU accession referendum

Iceland’s foreign minister has said she fears her country faces a “Brexit moment” in its looming EU referendum amid warnings over misinformation, foreign interference and AI. With just over three months to go until Iceland votes on whether or not to continue accession talks with the EU, developments are being closely watched by Washington, Moscow and Brussels. Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir accused individuals and groups from inside and outside the country of “fearmongering”, saying Iceland was being hit with misinformation and rhetoric taken “from the playbook of Nigel Farage and Reform”. She said the referendum was at risk of being a target for Russia and “actors who seek to influence our public debate in a negative way”. Foreign interference and the spread of misinformation could end up affecting the result, the minister warned. “I am fearing that we will face a Brexit moment,” she told the Guardian. “That would be, from my point of view, a rather dangerous path because … there were all kinds of lies put forward by the Brexiteers.” She cited disputed figures used by the leave campaign over how much money the UK sent to the EU. Þorgerður said Brexit “should be an example of how not to run a campaign” rather than something to be emulated. “Nothing of what they promised has actually been activated or realised,” she said. …