The European Union plans to establish a center to combat disinformation threats from Russia and other countries. This step is a response to "intensified hybrid attacks" from the Russian Federation and other foreign states that spread fake materials on social media. This is reported by The Guardian, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the EU executive body plans to create a Center for Democratic Resilience to counter disinformation from Russia and other authoritarian regimes.
The European Commission intends to establish a center that will bring together experts from all EU countries and candidate states for accession to the bloc to jointly combat foreign interference and information manipulation. This initiative is part of the "Democracy Shield" concept, which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented during her re-election campaign for a second term before the 2024 European Parliament elections.
According to the publication, Von der Leyen first announced the idea of creating a European Center for Democratic Resilience in her speech to MEPs in September. A document to be published on November 12 provides additional details, including where the European Commission sees the greatest threats.
In addition to its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is also intensifying hybrid attacks, waging a struggle for influence against Europe. By spreading false information, often with manipulations and distortions of historical facts, they try to undermine trust in democratic systems.
The European External Action Service reported dozens of cases of Russian disinformation campaigns, including Operation Doppelganger, which preceded the European elections. Within its framework, copies of well-known media sites were created that spread anti-Western materials.
The campaign has likely been ongoing since 2022. Disinformation was spread through websites imitating Die Welt, Le Point, La Stampa, and Polskie Radio. These fake pages published fabricated articles, which were then actively disseminated on social networks to discredit politicians and weaken support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.
China has also been identified as a source of disinformation threat – according to the EU diplomatic service, it uses private PR companies and bloggers to create and disseminate content that promotes Beijing's political interests. In 2024, Citizen Lab researchers identified 123 websites that impersonated news agencies and spread pro-Chinese propaganda in 30 countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The new center will serve as a platform for information exchange, early warning between EU institutions and member states, and for raising citizens' awareness of attempts by foreign governments to influence the information space.
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Participation in the center will be voluntary for EU countries and candidate states, but, as the commission notes, "like-minded partners" - including the United Kingdom - can also join the initiative.
Other components of the "Democracy Shield" plan include the creation of an independent network of fact-checkers to combat disinformation - especially during elections, health crises, or natural disasters.
Brussels also intends to establish a network of opinion leaders to promote democratic principles and EU standards in the digital environment.
Recall
The Kremlin created a network of agents for hybrid warfare against Europe, involving marginalized individuals, often Russian-speaking men with criminal records. This was revealed by GLOBSEC and ICCT experts in a joint report presented to the European Parliament.