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The Metamorphosis of the EU’s Battle Against Disinformation : Beyond the Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy?

Hedling, Elsa LU and Pamment, James LU (2026) p.405-414
Abstract
This chapter discusses the development of the European Union’s (EU) disinformation policy, from its initiation as an awareness raising campaign to its implementation and trajectory in the Strategic Communication Division of the European External Action Service (EEAS). It traces key initiatives, frameworks and tools developing from the launch of EUvsDisinfo in 2015, an unprecedented attempt to address and to counter pro-Kremlin propaganda. Over the following decade, the EU introduced an expanding set of policies and instruments, including the Action Plan on Disinformation, the Code of Practice, the European Democracy Action Plan, the Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) policy, the European Digital Media Observatory, the... (More)
This chapter discusses the development of the European Union’s (EU) disinformation policy, from its initiation as an awareness raising campaign to its implementation and trajectory in the Strategic Communication Division of the European External Action Service (EEAS). It traces key initiatives, frameworks and tools developing from the launch of EUvsDisinfo in 2015, an unprecedented attempt to address and to counter pro-Kremlin propaganda. Over the following decade, the EU introduced an expanding set of policies and instruments, including the Action Plan on Disinformation, the Code of Practice, the European Democracy Action Plan, the Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) policy, the European Digital Media Observatory, the Enhanced Code of Practice, the Strategic Compass and the landmark Digital Services Act (DSA). We analyze how these policies reflect a transformation from informal ‘naming and shaming’ strategies targeting narratives and disseminators of disinformation to more robust policy measures, including sanctions against Russian state media in 2022 and confrontations with the United States over the future of digital regulation. We argue that this change reflects how the information environment became a geopolitical frontline with consequences for the status and role of digital political communication in the EU. This analysis contributes to the problematization of contemporary challenges and existential urgency of democratic resilience against hybrid threats. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Political Communication
editor
Wheeler, Mark and Iosifidis, Petros
pages
10 pages
publisher
De Gruyter
DOI
10.1515/9783111386034-035
project
Psychological Defence Research Institute
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b301fac8-ad2c-43c1-9897-6fbbd53f0591
date added to LUP
2026-07-21 17:06:06
date last changed
2026-08-28 16:46:38
@inbook{b301fac8-ad2c-43c1-9897-6fbbd53f0591,
  abstract     = {{This chapter discusses the development of the European Union’s (EU) disinformation policy, from its initiation as an awareness raising campaign to its implementation and trajectory in the Strategic Communication Division of the European External Action Service (EEAS). It traces key initiatives, frameworks and tools developing from the launch of EUvsDisinfo in 2015, an unprecedented attempt to address and to counter pro-Kremlin propaganda. Over the following decade, the EU introduced an expanding set of policies and instruments, including the Action Plan on Disinformation, the Code of Practice, the European Democracy Action Plan, the Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) policy, the European Digital Media Observatory, the Enhanced Code of Practice, the Strategic Compass and the landmark Digital Services Act (DSA). We analyze how these policies reflect a transformation from informal ‘naming and shaming’ strategies targeting narratives and disseminators of disinformation to more robust policy measures, including sanctions against Russian state media in 2022 and confrontations with the United States over the future of digital regulation. We argue that this change reflects how the information environment became a geopolitical frontline with consequences for the status and role of digital political communication in the EU. This analysis contributes to the problematization of contemporary challenges and existential urgency of democratic resilience against hybrid threats.}},
  author       = {{Hedling, Elsa and Pamment, James}},
  booktitle    = {{De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Political Communication}},
  editor       = {{Wheeler, Mark and Iosifidis, Petros}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  pages        = {{405--414}},
  publisher    = {{De Gruyter}},
  title        = {{The Metamorphosis of the EU’s Battle Against Disinformation : Beyond the Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783111386034-035}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/9783111386034-035}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}