Brussels, 24 January 2024
The world’s political scene is changing quickly, and with it, the kinds of threats and challenges. One such challenge is the intentional spread of false information and manipulation by foreign actors, known as Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). FIMI represent the ever-evolving strategic and coordinated efforts by foreign actors to twist the truth, sow fear, confusion, and division, ultimately aiming to achieve their own political and economic goals by undermining the credibility of democratic institutions.
Among these foreign actors, two key perpetrators are mentioned most often: Russia and China. Both countries use FIMI as a modern warfare tool to engage in the intentional manipulation of public conversations to promote their agenda, encouraging division and polarisation within European societies and beyond.
With 2024 marking a pivotal year for democratic processes – where nearly two billion people worldwide will participate in various elections, including the European Parliament elections in June – FIMI poses a major threat to liberal democracies that rely on the free and open flow of information.
Against this backdrop, January 2024 marks the official kick-off of a groundbreaking research project called DE-CONSPIRATOR, with the purpose of examining the sophisticated information suppression tactics employed by foreign actors, notably Russia and China, within the European Union (EU) and its partner countries (PCs). The project’s kick-off meeting took place on 22nd and 23rd of January 2024, at VUB premises, in Brussels.
In more detail
DE-CONSPIRATOR is a Research and Innovation Action project funded by the new Horizon Europe Programme (HEurope) with a total duration of thirty-six (36) months and a total budget of approximately three million euros.
Specifically, DE-CONSPIRATOR’s key objectives include:
- Analysing the tactics of those who initiate FIMI.
- Mapping out how FIMI spreads within the EU and Partner Countries (PC) through local networks.
- Developing a comprehensive, multilingual database of FIMI incidents.
- Investigating the factors that contribute to the success of FIMI campaigns.
- Assessing the effectiveness of existing legal and regulatory frameworks in the EU and nationally against FIMI.
Through the research outcomes, DE-CONSPIRATOR is expected to improve the understanding of how to safeguard fundamental rights against the misuse of information, shed light on how authoritarian regimes use information suppression, and evaluate the societal impacts of such actions. Additionally, the project intends to develop policy guidelines, tools, and strategies to identify and counteract information suppression attempts in the EU and beyond.
Background
The policy and legal background on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) in the European Context has been significantly developed by the European External Action Services (EEAS) and the EU Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA). In collaboration, the EEAS and ENISA have published joint reports to better understand the interplay between cybersecurity and FIMI, emphasising the growing political and security challenge FIMI presents, especially with the advent of technological advancements and the widespread use of the internet, social media, and private messaging services.
More recently, EEAS published a second report on FIMI threats this January that studied more than 750 disinformation attacks, unveiling a digital weaponry of malicious manipulation to reduce trust in European institutions. This new “warfare”, said the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, “does not involve bombs that kill you” but words and ideas that “colonise you” highlighting that the battle against FIMI is a matter of European security.
On the same note, the World Economic Forum, held in Davos in January 2024, ranked disinformation and propaganda – called “foreign information manipulations and interference” (FIMI) in the report – as “the second biggest risk the world is going to face this year”.
Consortium Partners
The project brings together a diverse group of leading research institutions and organisations, each contributing unique expertise and resources towards developing a better understanding of information suppression by state authorities. Specifically, the project’s consortium comprises thirteen (13) partners from ten (10) different EU Member States and EU Neighbourhood countries, led by the Ozyegin University from Türkiye.
Stay updated by following DE-CONSPIRATOR’s social media channels on LinkedIn and X.