The European Democracy Action Plan is designed to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies across the EU by:

1) Promoting free and fair elections.

2) Strengthening media freedom.

3) Countering disinformation.

Disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference are a serious threat to societies. They can undermine democratic institutions and processes (such as elections) by preventing people from making informed decisions or discouraging them from voting. And they can polarise societies by pitting communities against each other. New technologies have made it possible for hostile actors to spread disinformation and to manipulate information at a scale and with a speed never seen before. Therefore, tackling disinformation and information manipulation is one of the most pressing issues for the European Union and its Member States.

The European Union and its Member States are reinforcing their actions to counter efforts by actors who spread disinformation to destabilise our societies and democracies, try to exploit a crisis, and put citizens’ lives at risk.

The Commission is tackling the spread of online disinformation and misinformation to ensure the protection of European values and democratic systems.

Representatives of online platforms, leading social networks, advertisers and advertising industry agreed on a self-regulatory Code of Practice to address the spread of online disinformation and fake news.

Overview of initiatives and papers regarding disinformation, mainly on foreign affairs and international security.

EUvsDisinfo is the flagship project of the European External Action Service’s East StratCom Task Force. It was established in 2015 to better forecast, address, and respond to the Russian Federation’s ongoing disinformation campaigns affecting the European Union, its Member States, and countries in the shared neighbourhood. EUvsDisinfo’s core objective is to increase public awareness and understanding of the Kremlin’s disinformation operations, and to help citizens in Europe and beyond develop resistance to digital information and media manipulation.

Learn what the European Parliament is doing against disinformation to protect democracy and ensure European have access to quality information.

Foreign powers use disinformation and cyber attacks to try to shape EU public opinion in their own interest. Find out how the EU is fighting back.