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Combatting Conspiracy Theories and Debunking Disinformation in the European Information Environment

Schilk, Felix ; Birchall, Clare ; Blanuša, Nebojša ; Drazkiewicz, Elzbieta LU orcid ; Hardos, Pavol ; Jerbic, Vedran ; Knight, Peter ; Madisson, Mari-Liis ; Menise, Tatjana and Milosovic,, Jasna , et al. (2026) p.325-370
Abstract
Conspiracy theories and disinformation are often perceived as significant threats to democracy. Preventing their dissemination has thus become a major issue of governmentality. In addition to the legislative bodies that are engaged with the regulation of platforms and online communication, a range of organisations are tasked with combatting conspiracy theories and disinformation in both online and offline environments. Since the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2014, the Brexit referendum, the US election of 2016 and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, a heterogeneous ecosystem dedicated to countering these phenomena has proliferated. It became more professional and institutionalised on the one hand, but has also been subject to highly politicised... (More)
Conspiracy theories and disinformation are often perceived as significant threats to democracy. Preventing their dissemination has thus become a major issue of governmentality. In addition to the legislative bodies that are engaged with the regulation of platforms and online communication, a range of organisations are tasked with combatting conspiracy theories and disinformation in both online and offline environments. Since the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2014, the Brexit referendum, the US election of 2016 and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, a heterogeneous ecosystem dedicated to countering these phenomena has proliferated. It became more professional and institutionalised on the one hand, but has also been subject to highly politicised attacks on the other. This chapter examines this field and its stakeholders. Drawing on 95 semi-structured expert interviews with individuals working in institutions, the media and NGOs in different European regions, it documents the similarities and differences in how they understand the intertwined phenomena of conspiracy theories and disinformation. It also examines how institutional settings, funding and national contexts shape the implementation and continuation of their work. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Conspiracy Theories in the European Digital Sphere
editor
Birchall, Clare ; Blanusa, Nebojsa ; Butter, Michael ; Drazkiewicz, Elzbieta ; Knight, Peter and Madisson, Mari-Liis
pages
46 pages
publisher
Routledge
ISBN
9781041129141
DOI
10.4324/9781003667223-13
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e264b384-ea03-4207-a467-b459e4beea20
date added to LUP
2026-08-03 20:02:30
date last changed
2026-08-27 16:49:21
@inbook{e264b384-ea03-4207-a467-b459e4beea20,
  abstract     = {{Conspiracy theories and disinformation are often perceived as significant threats to democracy. Preventing their dissemination has thus become a major issue of governmentality. In addition to the legislative bodies that are engaged with the regulation of platforms and online communication, a range of organisations are tasked with combatting conspiracy theories and disinformation in both online and offline environments. Since the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2014, the Brexit referendum, the US election of 2016 and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, a heterogeneous ecosystem dedicated to countering these phenomena has proliferated. It became more professional and institutionalised on the one hand, but has also been subject to highly politicised attacks on the other. This chapter examines this field and its stakeholders. Drawing on 95 semi-structured expert interviews with individuals working in institutions, the media and NGOs in different European regions, it documents the similarities and differences in how they understand the intertwined phenomena of conspiracy theories and disinformation. It also examines how institutional settings, funding and national contexts shape the implementation and continuation of their work.}},
  author       = {{Schilk, Felix and Birchall, Clare and Blanuša, Nebojša and Drazkiewicz, Elzbieta and Hardos, Pavol and Jerbic, Vedran and Knight, Peter and Madisson, Mari-Liis and Menise, Tatjana and Milosovic,, Jasna and Turjacanin, Vladimir}},
  booktitle    = {{Conspiracy Theories in the European Digital Sphere}},
  editor       = {{Birchall, Clare and Blanusa, Nebojsa and Butter, Michael and Drazkiewicz, Elzbieta and Knight, Peter and Madisson, Mari-Liis}},
  isbn         = {{9781041129141}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  pages        = {{325--370}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  title        = {{Combatting Conspiracy Theories and Debunking Disinformation in the European Information Environment}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/257324924/Combatting_Conspiracy_Theories_and_Debunking_Disinformation_in_the_European_Information_Environment_26_08_06_10_36_47.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.4324/9781003667223-13}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}