Opposition parties SYRIZA and New Left have attacked ruling New Democracy over a report alleging that key figures within its communications apparatus have been employed for years by a private company with close ties to the governing party.
Published by investigative outlet Inside Story, the report claims that among the people hired by the private company, Blue Skies, were two individuals involved in the Omada Alithias (“Truth Team”), a social media platform that has evolved into a key instrument for promoting government positions.
SYRIZA and New Left have called on the government and New Democracy to answer whether public money has been spent to finance this specific company.
“Those responsible for online character assassinations on behalf of New Democracy have now been unmasked,” SYRIZA spokesperson Giorgos Karameros said.
“We demand answers: What is the relationship between this company and the Maximos Mansion [the Prime Minister’s office]? How much taxpayer money has been funneled into this 24-hour digital manipulation operation? What contracts has the state signed with companies linked to those involved?”
The New Left said the revelations shed new light on “the financiers and machinery behind the slander, character assassination, and fake news operations orchestrated by the government.”