Disinformation and Democracy: the EU’s misplaced priorities

In this paper, published on the International Day of Democracy, Carl Dolan traces how the EU’s preoccupation with disinformation, and especially foreign interference campaigns, has skewed its policies to protect democracy. The von der Leyen Commission has presented a series of initiatives to promote democratic resilience that are increasingly focused on the threats posed by hostile geopolitical rivals to the integrity of the information environment, effectively anchoring democracy promotion policies in a more encompassing security agenda.

The reality of disinformation campaigns sponsored by Russia and others is beyond question. However, Dolan argues that the prominence of counter-disinformation policies as part of the democracy agenda is not justified by the impact of such campaigns on our democracies and rests on a contestable view of the conditions necessary for democratic legitimacy. Furthermore, the securitisation of democracy policy may have unintended and counterproductive consequences such as restricting civic space and further eroding trust in democratic deliberation.

To read the rest of the discussion paper, click here.

Carl Dolan is Senior Adviser on Ethics and Transparency at the European Policy Centre.

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