Disinformation

When the European Commission unveiled its European Democracy Shield in the autumn of 2025, the initiative was framed as a long-overdue response to one of the most destabilising forces facing European democracies: disinformation and foreign information manipulation. The package promises…

The dead internet conspiracy theory is spreading online, as many feel it explains the current structure of social media. In 2021, a user named IllumiPirate posted a theory on the Agora Road’s Macintosh Café discussion forum claiming that since 2016,…

A theoretical discussion about NATO contingency planning has erupted into a nationwide political storm in Romania, after comments by Defense Minister Radu Miruță on possible troop deployment scenarios to Greenland were distorted, amplified online, and weaponized by political actors and…

Tune in to our podcast! Every month, senior editors from EastFlank newsrooms meet to discuss topics that matter for the region and the EU. In this episode we talk about the fight against disinformation. How countries on the Eastern Flank…

Public concern about disinformation is remarkably consistent across the Eastern Flank region. Eurobarometer data from May 2025 show overwhelming majorities in nearly all countries fearing that elections are being distorted by false or misleading information.

Last summer, a piece of fake news circulated claiming that water from the Vidraru Dam had been sold to the French. The fake news was revived in December, during President Nicușor Dan’s visit to France. On social media, a photo…

Businessman Valtis Dalbinis published a claim in November that young people had bragged to a teacher he knew that they had received €300 for taking part in a picket in support of the Istanbul Convention. It received widespread attention among…

Discussions on social media do not always reflect the real opinion of society. They are increasingly becoming a field of coordinated activity for ‘bots’ and ‘trolls’, where artificial tension is created, fear is spread, trust in institutions is undermined, discord…

Transparency International Ukraine and Ukrainian MP Vitalii Bezgin reject the narrative of rampant corruption in Ukraine promoted by pro-Russian propaganda. They urge Europeans to disregard this framing, noting that international evidence and Kyiv’s measurable progress in fighting corruption over the…

Russian propaganda claims that the European Union is deliberately blocking peace negotiations on Ukraine and prolonging the war. Czech expert, however, warns that this is a purposeful disinformation narrative – according to him, the real actor blocking peace is Russia.…