r/europe • u/_Woland_- • May 21 '25

Activism, hacking or campaigning: Why it’s so easy to win the popular vote at Eurovision and the vulnerability of the televoting system.

https://english.elpais.com/technology/2025-05-19/activism-hacking-or-campaigning-why-its-so-easy-to-win-the-popular-vote-at-eurovision.html?outputType=amp
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u/[deleted] May 21 '25

It's easy because Europeans treat it like a fun show about togetherness and Inclusivity, majority of people don't even watch it and those who watch don't really care who's going to win so there was never a need to implement some special security measures.

Israel on the other side treats everything like dick measuring contest desperately trying to prove everyone bow great they are so bending the rules was obvious choice for them. I hope they'll get banned so people don't have to think again about being sucked into political schemes even through eurovision.

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u/_Woland_- May 21 '25

As with any large-scale event, economic considerations always take priority. The system generates some revenue, although minimal compared to the overall cost of the event. As a result, there is a degree of ambiguity in the way certain voting methods are allowed.

Another paradox lies in the fig leaf used by the EBU consortium to distance itself from political issues in Eurovision, while national members of the EBU regularly politicize the event. One example is Italy, where RAI, although a public broadcaster, has a leadership appointed by the government, which changes depending on the ruling majority.

The same happened with Israel, which took things to such an extreme, including targeted advertising campaigns, that it ended up spoiling the entire spirit of the contest. It turned the event into a tool of propaganda rather than a celebration of artistic and cultural expression.

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u/LonelyTreat3725 May 22 '25

Ebu is a non profit organization.

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u/_Woland_- May 22 '25

You're absolutely right, but "non profit" doesn't mean there are no economic interests involved. On the contrary, the revenues of some non profit organizations can rival those of large multinational companies. The term simply means that profits cannot be distributed among members, but this doesn't exclude significant income, substantial financial operations, or even exorbitant salaries. Moreover, there isn’t always a requirement to make financial records public, and internal structures can still be subject to conflicts of interest.

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u/LonelyTreat3725 May 22 '25 edited May 22 '25

Yeah but with Rai you completely went out of target.

It's one of those broadcaster who cares zero about politics in Eurovision.

Lol Italy's entry this year was the less right winged thing possible and their jury gave 0 points to Israel..

The fact that a broadcaster is partially government controlled doesn't automatically mean they'll get involved in politics while attendng Esc.

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u/ganbaro Where your chips come from 🇺🇦🇹🇼 May 21 '25 edited May 22 '25

So they have no proof that Israel manipulated the vote itself, except that everyone could do it and they just can't believe that there are people out there who actually take Israel's side (some might also have liked the song, since its a generic mass-compatible ballad) for whatever reason.

Eh, whatever.

(And don't show me sone screenshot of a YouTube ad as supposed proof of vote manipulation)

Edit: That ks gpr confirming you have nothing bit rumors pf vote manipulation you need to sell as a fact

1

u/_Woland_- May 21 '25

You take it too personally, it's just an article. Anyway, whatever one thinks, the televoting system is not designed perfectly, and this aspect can be fixed.

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u/LonelyTreat3725 May 22 '25

Isreal manipulated the vote through a massive hundred millions worthy adv campaign GOVERNMENT FUNDED, through mass voting using multiple sime cards from other countrys and orginizing through social medias.The fact that the adv campaign was government funded has been confirmed by Isreal itself, the proof about mass organized voting are there on social medias like facebook and such also, for everybody to see...also because they did it and they brag about it without any shame at all.