Dear Disinfo Update readers,

What is the state of disinformation in EU member states following the last EU elections? To address challenges identified during the elections, we’re launching a round of updates to our existing factsheets on the disinformation landscapes across Europe and expanding coverage to the remaining EU countries, thanks to the support from the US Mission to the EU. This resource is designed for the community to gain a clearer view of the ongoing efforts in addressing disinformation across the EU. You can already read the updated factsheets for Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as the newly published documents for Malta and Cyprus. Interested in contributing to these documents? If so, please get in touch with us!

In November 2024, following months of reflection, we have decided that remaining on X/Twitter is incompatible with our mission and values. Our X account is now archived and inactive. For the latest updates from the counter-disinformation community, this newsletter remains your go-to source. You can also find a full list of our official social media channels on our website.

Continue reading to learn about climate disinformation, the flooding in Spain, and RFK Jr’s appointment to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Our webinars

UPCOMING – REGISTER NOW

  • 28 November: Building FIMI resilience through models of practice: Taiwan’s 2024 elections – Foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) is a shared challenge for democracies across the globe. Faced with China’s well-resourced FIMI campaigns against Taiwan’s 13 January 2024 election, the island’s resilience has been closely studied. To equip others to readily learn from Taiwan’s experience, Taiwanese civil society organisation Doublethink Lab worked with Ben Graham Jones to document the key characteristics of Taiwan’s FIMI resilience. The ultimate aim is to reach beyond the information integrity community and provide strategic fuel for decision-makers to envision goals for whole-society resilience. This webinar will discuss the findings and consider the long-term direction of global FIMI resilience.

PAST – WATCH THE RECORDINGS!

Disinfo news & updates

  • Flooding and the king: Following dramatic floods in Valencia, Spain, a narrative spread on social media claiming that a long line of police cars was present to escort the Spanish king instead of assisting the population affected by the flooding. This narrative was further spread on Zvezdanews (a Telegram channel affiliated with the Russian military) and Spanish News Pravda (a Russian-linked website).
  • Algorithm suggestions: This article from Princeton (and funded by Microsoft) explores the nature of algorithms and the content they suggest, using Bing, the researchers track the reliability of sites that the search engine recommends. The researchers found that Bing does not disproportionately recommend unreliable sites and that engagement with unreliable sites was mainly the result of users explicitly looking for such engagement.
  • Greenwashing: This report from CAAD discusses climate disinformation and the role of big oil/big tech. The reports discuss narratives surrounding opposition to renewable energy, disconnecting extreme weather events from climate change, and the advertising of fossil fuels on meta.
  • Meta and coordinated inauthentic behaviour: Reset Tech published a report discussing networks of automated fake accounts on Facebook. The report has found that Meta removes ads and advertisers linked to these campaigns but leave the wider network intact.
  • Conspiracy theorist in leadership: Robert F Kennedy Jr. has been selected to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the upcoming Trump administration. RFK Jr. has actively shared conspiracy theories about vaccines, questioning their safety and effectiveness. For more on RFK Jr. and his false claims, check out the reading & resources section.

Climate disinformation on the rise

As COP29 is hosted by a petrostate again, Valencia begins rebuilding after historic floods, the U.S. recovers from Hurricanes and France faces severe storms. These events are fueling disinformation, highlighting the persistence of climate scepticism.

COP 29

  • Oil and gas, “gift of God”: The president of COP29’s host country has told the UN climate conference that oil and gas are a “gift of God”. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev criticised “Western fake news” about the country’s emissions and said nations “should not be blamed” for having fossil fuel reserves. The country plans to expand gas production by up to a third over the next decade.
  • ‘Greenwashing’ Azerbaijan: Global Witness analysed COP29 posts on X, finding the top September content came from Azerbaijan’s official COP account, suggesting a coordinated influence operation to project grassroots support. The Washington Post uncovered bot activity promoting Azerbaijan’s “green transition,” adding to concerns about disinformation around COP29.
  • The domination of fossil fuels: Fossil fuel lobbyists dominate COP29, with 1,773 granted access, highlighting a persistent polluter presence at climate talks. This contrasts sharply with previous UN climate change conferences where ending fossil fuels, false solutions, and climate finance are all hot topics, according to a report from the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition. Also, according to DeSmog, fossil fuel corporations are reportedly spending large sums to sponsor events at COP29 in Baku, sparking concerns about corporate influence over climate talks.
  • COP29 ignores climate disinformation: Climate change experts and researchers from the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) have raised concerns over omitting climate misinformation and disinformation from the official COP29 agenda. Read their statement here.
  • Curb climate disinformation: As COP29 unfolds in Baku and the G20 Summit in Brazil approaches, 51 organisations and 42 experts on climate and information integrity are urging leaders to act against climate disinformation. Read the letter here.

Dramatic floods of disinformation

  • Disinformation posing deadly risks: The disinformation inundating social media during Spain’s catastrophic floods gave life-threatening advice to desperate people, hampered the crucial work of emergency services and exploited fear, anger and grief, an AFP investigation has found. According to The Guardian, people are urged to stop the flow of misinformation as the fire department says it is hindering work to save citizens. 
  • Mud, fertile ground for false information: This article from Le Soir reviews how, in the aftermath of the tragedy that struck the Valencia region, false information began to spread rapidly. The small, devastated, and isolated villages were particularly affected by this flood of falsehoods.
  • Hurricanes Helene and Milton at the centre of baseless claims: Climate change disinformation about U.S. hurricanes often questions the link between climate change and storm intensity. Key false claims include the idea that Hurricanes Helene and Milton were deliberately created or controlled, with conspiracy theories involving chemtrails and weather manipulation technology. Some also falsely claim that Democrats engineered the hurricanes to target Republicans before the election. 
  • Myths about FEMA: During disasters, myths about FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency in the U.S.) can spread, which ultimately can discourage survivors from accessing the assistance they may desperately need. The best way to correct misinformation is to get the truth out about FEMA’s role in disaster assistance. Find here a number of current rumours and myths addressed to help survivors of Hurricane Beryl tell fact from fiction.

Climate, politics and manipulation

  • Climate deniers waiting in the wings as Trump reclaims presidency: Meet those aiming to capitalise on Trump’s re-election by slashing climate action, from Koch network fixtures to Project 2025 and beyond, by DeSmog.
  • Green Agenda or a ‘Global Plot’?: Russian outlets increasingly weaponise environmental discussions to undermine Western credibility and push anti-EU narratives, according to euvsdisinfo.

Crisis communication tools to combat climate disinformation.

  • For first-hand information, we recommend following Maldita.es, which is doing an extensive job of monitoring and fact-checking the floods and the disinformation that is unfolding, with coverage also available in English. 
  • DANA in Valencia: Tools for effective communication in the face of disasters
  • Social media user manual against the ‘hoax industry’ in the face of a catastrophe 
  • Guidelines for non-science journalists in times of crisis
  • Crisis Navigator for Rapid Mobilisation of Science Communication.

Reading & resources

  • X lacking moderation: According to Science Feedback, misleading or false content on X (that was reviewed around the 2024 European Parliament election) was not properly moderated by the platform. Out of 894 tweets labelled misinformation by European fact-checkers, 19.5% were deleted from the platform, 11.3% had a Community Note or another “out of context” warning label, and 67.2% had received no visible action.
  • Google maps chronolocation: This guide from Bellingcat tells readers how to find and interpret the filename of images on Google Maps. This can be useful for chronolocating images and establishing a sequence of events at a location.
  • Viruses and misinformation: This article, written by Sander van der Linden and David Robert Grimes, compares misinformation and a virus, suggesting that mathematically misinformation is spread similarly to a virus. The article also makes the comparison between vaccination and debunking/prebunking. 
  • Russian disinformation evolution: This article, written by Maxime Audinet and Colin Gérard, discusses the changes to Russia’s disinformation network after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, it examines how banning Russian state media has forced Russia to restructure its propaganda apparatus.
  • RFK Jr. healthcare claims: Newsguard has put together a depository of healthcare claims made by Robert F Kennedy Jr. This includes 90 claims dating back to 2016 that are proven false. In addition, Newsguard has compiled research and resources documenting these false claims.
  • DSA beyond Europe: A “Global Majority House” is being set up by a coalition of research and civil society organisations to develop collaboration between the global south and Europe on digital governance issues. This coalition consists of several organisations including (but not limited to) the Digital Rights Foundation, What To Fix, and the Myanmar Internet Project.

This week’s recommended read

This week, our intern Quinton Walsh suggests reading Social Media, Mass Atrocities, and Atrocity Prevention, a background paper from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The paper explores the ways that social media can contribute to the risk of mass atrocities, gaps in the research, and potential strategies for addressing atrocity risks. 

Mis/disinformation poses a significant risk to the incitement of violence. This past summer riots broke out across the UK after a Southport stabbing was falsely attributed to a “migrant”. On 6 January 2021, a mob attempted to prevent the certification of the election after then-President Donald Trump made claims of election fraud. In Myanmar, the presence of dehumanising language and hate speech against the Rohingya minority group on Facebook contributed to anti-Rohingya sentiments ultimately leading to mass violence and forced displacement. 

This background paper provides useful insights for practitioners and researchers interested in the dynamics between online mis/disinformation and offline violence.

The latest from EU DisinfoLab

  • Evolving disinfo landscapes. We’re updating our disinformation landscape factsheets and expanding coverage to all EU countries with support from the US Mission to the EU. Updated documents for Belgium and Luxembourg, plus new ones for Malta and Cyprus, are now available. Want to contribute? Get in touch!
  • OSINT Guide to IBD & FIMI. The European External Action Service (EEAS) has published a report “How to Detect and Analyse Identity-Based Disinformation/FIMI – A Practical Guide to Conduct Open Source Investigations”. The content of the report was developed in collaboration with EU DisinfoLab, and you can find it here.

Events and announcements

  • 22 November: CYBERWARCON will take place in Arlington, Virginia, US, bringing together attendees from diverse backgrounds to identify and explore cyber threats.
  • 21 November: Zevedi will be hosting a workshop about the DSA and what it means for fighting disinformation in Germany.
  • 2-3 December: The European Media and Information Fund (EMIF) will host its two-day winter event in Florence, Italy, to discuss disinformation trends and provide networking opportunities.
  • 4-6 December: SciBeh will be hosting a  virtual workshop on psychological manipulation
  • 5 December: Forum Europe will be hosting the international AI summit in Brussels.
  • 6 December: ThinkYoung will be hosting a Hackathon in Brussels, the deadline for application is 6 November.
  • 10 December: Open Eyes Institute will be hosting a webinar on climate and migration
  • 6-10 January 2025: The Digital Methods Initiative (DMI), Amsterdam, is holding its annual Winter School on ‘Chatbots for Internet Research?‘.
  • 24-27 February 2025: RightsCon 2025, hosted by Access Now, will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, and will bring together leaders and activists to discuss key digital rights issues.
  • 22-25 May 2025: Dataharvest The European Investigative Journalism Conference will take place in Mechelen, Belgium.
  • 15-16 October 2025: After this year’s brilliant outcome, the EU DisinfoLab annual conference #Disinfo2025 will be bringing the community together again, this time in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Mark your calendars!
  • Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are cancelling our policy event initially planned for March 2025. However, our commitment to fostering collaboration around policy work remains unwavering. In 2025, we will continue to engage actively in policy discussions through a series of dedicated webinars – more updates coming soon! We look forward to your involvement and participation.

Jobs

  • Internews has several job openings including an EJN mentor for the Mediterranean media initiative, an administrative and financial assistant, and a subgrants analyst
  • The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies has a misinformation and disinformation consultancy
  • The Center for Countering Digital Hate has job openings for a UK government and parliamentary affairs officer, a senior press manager, a director of advertising industry advocacy, a senior US policy associate, and a US programs associate
  • CyberPeace Institute is hiring an intern, a community storytelling and engagement manager, a sales and engagement specialist, and a fundraising manager
  • Debunk.org has several job openings including a researcher and analyst for disinformation analysis, a media literacy expert on disinformation, a researcher and analyst for disinformation analysis in Mongolia, an administrator/project coordinator, voice actors, and translators
  • Logically is hiring a fact-checker and a social media producer
  • NATO has an opening for a head of the campaigns and social media unit
  • The University of Miami’s Climate Accountability lab is looking for a PHD to investigate the change in climate change discourse on social media and a PHD to investigate the corporate capture of academic research and government agencies by fossil fuel interests
  • Experienced manager seeking role in counter-disinformation: Manager with 20 years in agile commercial roles and three years of active involvement in OSINT, skilled in managing complex projects and effective communication, seeks to fully commit to combatting online disinformation. Available to work with the broader disinformation community — view their LinkedIn profile for more details.

This good X!

Check out this post on X from our executive director Alexandre Alaphilippe.