Polarisation is being exploited repeatedly in political rhetoric and forms the bedrock of much of the disinformation circulating in Malta and other places, not least in the United States. This report, written between January and February 2026, looks at narratives used in Malta to dismiss those protesting against the idea of the country joining Trump’s Board of Peace and against ICE’s violence in the US. The narratives, propelled by social media, have fed and fed off deeper narratives entrenched in Maltese society relating to political polarisation.
On 26th January, two things happened: a protest was called by a local Maltese NGO against ICE’s brutality, and Malta’s prime minister confirmed in parliament that the country had received and was considering an “informal” invitation to join Trump’s Board. The prime minister also criticised the plans for the vigil, accusing the NGO of being a “branch” of the opposition and of acting in a populist manner. This narrative was propagated by the media house owned by the party in government, as well as by Facebook users aligned with the said party. It might have been seen as diverting attention away from the prime minister’s announcement about the Board of Peace and his opposition to an anti-violence vigil, both issues in the process turned into a partisan battle.
The case is interesting for analysis because it concerns two places that, despite contrasting geographically and historically, have come to share similarities in terms of political fanaticism and the effects this has on information.
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