Paolo Cesarini, Chair of EDMO Executive Board

This text is an adapted version of a speech delivered on 2 June at WEXFO 2025 in Lillehammer, Norway.

The European media landscape is facing sustained and evolving threats from information manipulation and foreign interference, a trend that has intensified since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. A 2022 European Parliament report identified Russia and China as primary actors targeting EU institutions, often through disinformation, covert political financing, infrastructure control, and espionage. These hybrid tactics now represent a critical challenge to national sovereignty, democratic integrity and security.

Public concern mirrors these institutional alarms. According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, 81% of EU citizens see disinformation and foreign meddling as urgent issues, particularly during elections. With the 2024 European Parliament elections in focus, both EU-level and national authorities mobilized with increased coordination to safeguard the integrity of the democratic process. The result: disinformation threats were contained, turnout reached its highest in two decades, and the overall legitimacy of the election went unchallenged.

Media’s Role in Pre-Election Resilience

Central to this success was the proactive work of fact-checkers, civil society organisations, and media watchdogs. The European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) monitored disinformation narratives and coordinated timely debunks. Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Mechanism, enshrined in the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, enabled fast action on emerging threats by alerting platforms before misinformation could gain traction.

The Kremlin’s aim to delegitimize the elections and suppress turnout ultimately failed. However, beneath this apparent success, a subtler war on public perception continued. Disinformation campaigns adapted by targeting emotionally charged themes such as immigration, climate policy, Ukraine, and economic hardship—subjects deeply embedded in national discourse. This narrative layering illustrates how disinformation often infiltrates the media ecosystem without resorting to conspicuous, high-profile falsehoods. Recent national elections in several European countries, including Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Germany, confirmed the pervasiveness of information manipulation and foreign medling in electoral contexts.

For journalists, this reinforces the importance of sustained vigilance and nuanced reporting. Low-intensity, long-tail disinformation can normalize distorted narratives unless consistently challenged by credible journalism.

Three Structural Challenges Facing Journalistic Integrity

Despite the EU’s progress, the threats facing journalists and media professionals are growing in complexity. These challenges are driven by three main dynamics:

1. Geopolitical Incentives Fueling Foreign Manipulation

The digital information space is now a weaponized frontier. Russia, in particular, remains an active player, exploiting digital media through sophisticated operations. The Doppelgänger campaign, uncovered in 2022, cloned major European news outlets and press agencies (e.g., Bild, The Guardian, ANSA) to circulate Kremlin narratives, such as framing Ukraine as a Nazi regime or denying atrocities like the Bucha massacre.

Newer operations like “Portal Kombat” reflect a pan-European network of clone sites (often under the “Pravda” branding) pushing false content during elections. EDMO analysis revealed fabricated reports—such as alleged French troops in Ukraine or videos of Ukraine’s First Lady mocking war victims—distributed in nearly every European language.

This is not just a threat to democratic institutions, but a direct attack on journalistic credibility. Newsroom brands are being impersonated, their authority hijacked. Protecting the integrity of journalistic identity is now as important as fact-checking content.

2. The Generative AI Arms Race

The surge in generative AI technologies has democratized the tools of deception. Synthetic video, AI-generated voice, and machine-written articles are now easily accessible. While these tools offer efficiencies for newsrooms, they are also used to manufacture false realities at scale.

The German parliamentary elections in early 2025 provide a troubling example. The “Storm-1516” operation—linked to Russian influence efforts—used AI to create over 100 fake websites. These platforms pushed deepfakes and fabricated stories targeting political figures like Annalena Baerbock, Robert Habeck and Marcus Faber, then amplified the content through influencer networks. Other widely circulated falsehoods included fabricated stories about Germany mobilizing troops in Eastern Europe and signing large-scale migration deals with Kenya, showcasing how AI tools now enhance both the reach and credibility of malign campaigns.

For journalists, this marks a turning point. Verification now extends beyond traditional sources. Image and audio authentication, digital footprint tracing, and AI-detection literacy must become core newsroom competencies. Editorial teams must also be proactive in explaining to audiences how they verify authenticity to maintain trust.

3. Blurred Lines Between Foreign and Domestic Disinformation

FIMI operations increasingly involve domestic actors, including politicians and influencers, acting as local amplifiers. This was evident in the Romanian presidential elections of late 2024 and May 2025. Călin Georgescu, a fringe candidate with an anti-globalist, anti-Ukrainian stance, surged in popularity through a TikTok-driven campaign that used bots, fake accounts, and influencer networks—strategies reportedly supported by Russian interests. His campaign’s viral success (62 million views in one week) disrupted traditional electoral patterns and led to the annulment of the second-round vote.

Even in the follow-up May 2025 runoff, EDMO noted widespread inauthentic online behavior from several candidates. Artificial amplification, algorithmic gaming, and online manipulation are becoming standard campaign tools.

The implication for journalists is profound: political reporting can no longer treat social media popularity at face value. Metrics like likes and shares are increasingly synthetic, and narratives may be shaped by paid networks or foreign actors. Journalists must integrate digital forensics into political reporting and adopt a skeptical stance toward viral trends.

The Path Forward: Journalism as a Democratic Guardrail

Safeguarding democracy now hinges on media systems that are resilient, independent, and adequately resourced. While regulatory frameworks like the Digital Services Act, the AI Act, and the European Media Freedom Act are important steps, they must be complemented by industry-led efforts:

• Fact-checking needs stable funding: Especially during non-election periods, to prevent vulnerability gaps.
• Ethical journalism must innovate: Media houses should invest in AI-assisted tools for verification and threat detection, as well as in new editorial formats and dissemination channels to boost reader engagement.
• Newsrooms need digital security literacy: From deepfake detection to source verification, journalists must upskill to meet the evolving threat landscape.

The fight against disinformation is not just about rebuttal—it’s about offering an alternative that is more credible, accessible, and engaging. Media organizations must regain the central position in public discourse through trustworthy, high-quality journalism that cuts through noise and distortion.

Conclusion: Journalism at a Crossroads

Europe’s democratic institutions are facing a long-term information war—one where lines between foreign and domestic, truth and illusion, platform and publisher, are increasingly hard to draw. Journalists are on the front lines of this battle. With news brands being impersonated, AI blurring the real and the fake, and domestic actors weaponizing virality, the press must evolve quickly.

This moment calls not only for defense but leadership: in setting standards, building trust, and enabling citizens to navigate complexity. Journalists are not just reporters of facts—they are now stewards of reality itself.

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