Conflict & crisis Hub

The Conflict & Crisis Hub brings together the most relevant and insightful materials on disinformation in times of conflict and crisis. It’s a curated space that connects news, research, and tools chosen for their value and clarity. Here, you can find what’s most worth reading, watching, and exploring, all through a single, trusted platform.

Why this hub?

Since the beginning of the decade, the world has been stricken by a global pandemic, natural disasters, and a twofold increase in armed conflicts, with 2023 marking one of the most violent years since the end of the Cold War, recording 59 conflicts worldwide.

All this has worsened an already fragile information landscape. Disinformation expands significantly during moments of political, economic, and social unrest, from wars and humanitarian crises to public health emergencies. In such contexts, it acts as fuel for instability, amplifying fear, undermining trust, and distorting information vital for saving lives and protecting rights.

The Conflict & Crisis Hub is designed to help you map out these dynamics, how false or manipulated information spreads during emergencies and how societies, platforms, and institutions respond.

What you’ll find here

  • News & Frontlines highlights noteworthy developments and analyses on disinformation in conflict and crisis contexts, a curated selection refreshed monthly for what’s most relevant and revealing.
  • Disinfo in Depth gathers reports and analyses from academics, CSOs, and international organisations, divided into two main areas: Conflicts and Crises.
  • Multimedia Library features podcasts and webinars exploring the link between information and emergencies.
  • Community Resources offers practical tools to track and counter disinformation, alongside initiatives and organisations dedicated to protecting information integrity in conflict and crisis settings.

In short, this hub is your go-to space for exploring how disinformation shapes and amplifies conflicts and crises. It brings together the most relevant insights, tools, and analyses, fostering collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to navigate an increasingly complex information landscape.

Together, we’re building a community to tackle these challenges head-on, promoting awareness and digital literacy.

NEWS & frontlines

The most recent news on platforms and disinformation in conflict or crisis, updated monthly

key updates

Forbes: Israel has issued a rare public warning that Iran is intensifying cyber and disinformation operations against Israeli civilians and critical infrastructure, describing the trajectory as a potential “cyber-based war.” Officials say recent campaigns have combined disruptive cyberattacks with large-scale influence operations, using deceptive content to destabilise society without conventional military force.

The Guardian: The UK warns that foreign states, especially Russia, are flooding social media with AI-manipulated videos to weaken Western support for Ukraine and interfere in democratic debates. Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper cites escalating hybrid threats, including Russia’s Doppelgänger network, which has deployed forged documents and deepfakes to influence public opinion and disrupt elections such as those in Moldova. These tactics aim to fracture Western unity, exploit social divisions, and erode resolve at a critical stage in the Ukraine war.

Independent: A new report warns that a global surge in measles is being driven not only by overstretched health systems but also by widespread online anti-vaccine misinformation. Immunisation gaps have widened amid declining living standards and years of austerity, with the UK experiencing an especially sharp rise in cases. The WHO describes measles as a “fire alarm,” signaling deeper vulnerabilities to other vaccine-preventable diseases. With millions of children still under-protected, experts stress the urgent need to address both resource shortfalls and the escalating misinformation campaigns undermining vaccine confidence.

NewsGuard: Pro-China accounts have manipulated videos by Japanese influencers, adding false Mandarin subtitles to make it appear that residents of the Ryukyu Islands support Beijing’s territorial claims. NewsGuard identified more than 100 miscaptioned videos, illustrating how mistranslation is being used as a low-cost tactic to manufacture local consent in geopolitical disputes.

Observer Research Foundation: Bioweapon misinformation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where overlapping disease outbreaks such as Ebola and the unresolved Rwanda–Congo conflict have already strained public trust. False claims, amplified by Russian officials, accuse the US of relocating “bioweapon labs” to Africa, undermining confidence in Congolese research institutions and US-supported health programmes and pushing communities to reject vital medical care. In a conflict-prone, outbreak-vulnerable region, this erosion of trust threatens humanitarian operations, destabilises community cooperation, and weakens global biosecurity norms. 

Maldita.es: Recent publications show that African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in Croatia and Spain are being accompanied by a surge of misinformation that undermines public trust in veterinary authorities and biosecurity responses. The Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO) documents false claims circulating in Croatia that ASF cases are fabricated, that wild boar culling is unscientific, or that “buffer zones” have no basis in law, despite hundreds of confirmed infections and EU-mandated containment measures. In Spain, Maldita.es and Verificat track a parallel wave of rumours around the Barcelona outbreak, including lab-leak conspiracies targeting the IRTA-CReSA research centre, the “infected sandwich” meme, and narratives alleging a plot to manipulate pork prices or justify imports. Both outlets note that the virus genotype matches strains circulating in Europe since 2007 and that ASF does not infect humans, but can devastate pig populations and trade. Together, these fact-checks highlight how biosecurity crises are rapidly weaponised through misleading claims about origin, severity, and economic impact, creating confusion at a moment when containment relies on public cooperation and accurate information.

DW: Russia is ramping up a coordinated FIMI campaign in Armenia ahead of the 2026 elections, deploying bot networks, deepfakes, and impersonation sites to undermine Prime Minister Pashinyan and discredit Armenia’s Western pivot. Researchers identify Russian-linked narratives portraying the government as corrupt, morally deviant, or controlled by foreign intelligence, while framing Moscow as Armenia’s only reliable protector. The operation mirrors Kremlin playbooks used in Georgia and Moldova, with technical evidence tying key assets, including the Matryoshka bot network and Prigozhin-linked fronts, to the campaign. Armenian officials call it a “hybrid war” aimed at shaping the political landscape before the vote.

Maldita.es: A new investigation reveals a coordinated Russian FIMI campaign targeting Colombian and other Latin American volunteers fighting for Ukraine. Using AI-generated videos, fabricated media, and decontextualized images, the Kremlin spreads narratives about mass deaths, organ trafficking, and forced mobilisation to dissuade potential volunteers and erode trust in Ukraine’s military. The content circulates simultaneously across Europe and Latin America, exploiting existing social tensions and amplifying anti-Ukrainian sentiment. 

Asia News: Severe floods that hit central Vietnam from late October through November 2025 have been compounded by a surge of AI-generated misinformation circulating on social media. Authorities warn that fabricated videos, images, and unverified claims about the disaster are spreading faster than official updates, disrupting rescue operations and confusing affected communities. Some posts even exploit the crisis to market “disaster-prevention” products. Officials urge the public to verify information and note that spreading false content during emergencies is punishable under Vietnam’s cybersecurity laws.

NPR: Medical experts are sounding the alarm after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) abruptly revised its guidance to say a link between childhood vaccines and autism “cannot be ruled out,” contradicting decades of research showing no connection. Health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, condemned the move for spreading misinformation and risked increased vaccine hesitancy. The shift is widely attributed to US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and reports indicate CDC career scientists were not involved, raising concerns about the credibility of the agency’s vaccine communications. At the same time, actor Liam Neeson has lent his voice to Plague of Corruption: 80 Years of Pharmaceutical Corruption Exposed, an anti-vaccine documentary promoting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and amplifying long-debunked claims that vaccines cause autism and toxicity. 

Fact Link: A new report highlights two recent disinformation incidents in Taiwan that used “butterfly attacks,” a tactic in which malicious actors impersonate in-group members to post inflammatory content and provoke internal conflict, alongside impersonation, and AI-generated content to inflame social divisions. After natural disaster Typhoon Ragasa, impostors posing as ruling-party supporters spread false claims about volunteer misconduct, triggering real-world backlash. In a second case, an AI-generated image was reframed into a “false flag” conspiracy targeting groups resisting Chinese influence, later amplified by Chinese state media. 

In depth

A repository of research papers and articles from academia, international organisations, and civil society organisations addressing key questions and trends related to conflict and crisis

Israel–Hamas

A compilation of articles and reports on disinformation linked to the Israel–Hamas war, from propaganda campaigns to online influence efforts.

WAR IN UKRAINE

Curated materials on disinformation surrounding Russia’s war against Ukraine, covering narratives, tactics, and international responses.

Cross-cutting conflict issues

Articles and analyses that trace disinformation themes and tactics appearing across multiple conflicts worldwide.

Health crises

A compilation of articles and reports on disinformation during health crises, from Covid-19 to emerging outbreaks.

Natural disaster crises

Materials on how disinformation exploits earthquakes, floods, fires and other natural disasters to spread fear or mistrust.

Cross-cutting crisis issues

Articles highlighting disinformation tactics and narratives that recur across different crises worldwide.

Multimedia LIBRARY

A collection of webinars and podcasts from us and the wider community, dedicated to conflict and crisis.

Webinars

A collection of our own and community webinars examining how disinformation shapes and fuels conflicts and crises

podcasts

A collection of podcasts examining how disinformation shapes and fuels conflicts and crises

Community resources

Efforts and tools to guarantee a safe information environment during conflicts and crisis

Tools, guides & tips

Practical instruments and digital solutions developed to detect, track, and counter disinformation during conflicts and crises

The Center for Countering Digital Hate offers practical guidance on how to avoid spreading disinformation, to increase your own information resilience, and to practise self-care during conflicts, emergencies, and disasters, and how to report social media posts that spread lies, conspiracies or misleading claims to the different platforms.

Bellingcat provides tools and resources to think critically about sources found online. In this short guide, the organisation gives a few tips on what to consider when confronted with an abundance of footage and claims. 

In January 2022, the Centre for Information Resilience launched the Eyes on Russia Map to collect and verify videos, photos, satellite imagery and other media information related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The map represents the community’s effort to verify, analyze, and map what has happened in Ukraine since the escalation of Russia’s aggression in the country at the start of 2022. The map is a collaborative effort driven by CIR, involving GeoConfirmed, Bellingcat, and a wide range of volunteers and organisations that have supported it. thread for more information about the geolocation of Russian firing positions causing destruction in Ukraine.  

NATO’s official framework for tackling disinformation and information manipulation as national security threats.

This guidance piece offers concrete recommendations for UN missions on navigating information threats in conflict settings.

This RAND practical guide offers a 17-point social media checklist to help responders and citizens counter disaster-related misinformation. Designed as a quick, hands-on tool, it translates research into actionable steps for real-time crisis communication.

BBC Specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring shares tips on how to spot fake news and false posts about the war in Ukraine. 

Defend Democracy provides guidance on how to share information responsibly. 

 Human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and others speaking out on these issues are facing repressive tactics both in person and online. This digital resilience tip sheet by Access Now and SMEX supports you in defending against reported threats.

Initiatives & organisations

Community-driven projects and networks working to protect information integrity and support resilience in conflict and crisis contexts

Announced by the European Commission in 2025, the Global Health Resilience Initiative (GHRI) aims to tackle health disinformation globally and strengthen resilience against future health crises. Still in early stages with no defined budget or implementation details.

Note: Political initiative on emerging phase: track for updates.

Supports partnerships local / international, builds societal resilience, counters foreign influence narratives

The organization has built a timeline of how cyberattacks and operations have been targeting critical infrastructure and civilian objects. On June 16, Cyberpeace Institute launched its ‘Cyber Attacks in Times of Conflict Platform #Ukraine’, which includes attacks against not only Ukraine but also the Russian Federation, and other countries impacted by attacks linked to this armed conflict. This Platform also provides a breakdown of attacks by the different sectors affected such as telecommunications, energy, transport, etc., and the harms and impact for people and society.  

A “master framework” for coordinating responses to influence operations, information manipulation, foreign malign influence, etc.

Independent NGO focusing on countering disinformation and state-sponsored propaganda; publishes daily monitoring & analysis.

Provides guides, tools, and lessons to help NGOs defend themselves against mis/disinformation campaigns.

Supports CSOs, media, and governments to counter disinformation in volatile environments and crisis settings.

ZIF provides “one-stop” services and expertise on peace operations integrating training, the secondment of German civilian personnel, international capacity development, research and analysis under one roof. Works on strengthening mission capacities to monitor and push back disinformation that targets missions.

Thematic hubs (ARCHIVE)

This hub is a central space for collecting resource hubs developed in response to major global conflicts and crises that generate high volumes of mis- and disinformation. By documenting and organising responses to these events, it aims to foster a culture of crisis preparedness – equipping institutions, researchers, and civil society with lessons learned and tools for future response.

Currently, it includes archives on the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas armed conflict. Each was created in real time to support clarity, counter disinformation, and provide accessible tools and verified information at critical early stages.

While none of the individual hubs are actively updated, they remain available as living archives – a record of the efforts made to navigate chaotic information environments, support public understanding, and resist the spread of harmful falsehoods. We invite researchers, practitioners, and the broader community to explore these repositories and continue building on this work. Reliable, transparent information remains one of the strongest tools in times of crisis.

Resources

Israel-Hamas armed conflict resource hub

Essential information and links to reliable research, analysis and fact-checks to help you navigate during this crisis.

Read more

Resources

Ukraine War Resource Hub

Essential information and links to reliable research, analysis and fact-checks to help you navigate during this crisis.

Read more

Resources

COVID-19 Resource Hub

Check out our resource hub for the coronavirus pandemic, comprising of national, international, and platform responses to the infodemic, as well as research and initiatives.

Read more

Last updated: 16/12/2025

The articles and resources listed in this hub do not necessarily represent EU DisinfoLab’s position. This resource is designed to support open dialogue and highlight a broad range of voices working to counter disinformation in conflict and crisis settings.