(Strasbourg) In the resolution adopted in Strasbourg today to mark the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War, MEPs voice their concern about “the efforts of the current Russian leadership” to “whitewash crimes committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime”, which are seen as a “dangerous component of the information war waged against democratic Europe”. The resolution adopted by the EP also condemns “extremist and xenophobic political forces in Europe” for they distort “historical facts, and employ symbolism and rhetoric that echoes aspects of totalitarian propaganda, including racism, anti-Semitism and hatred towards sexual and other minorities”. The Parliament calls on Member States to counter hate speech and violence in public spaces and online, and in particular, to condemn and counteract all forms of Holocaust denial.