Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live under authoritarianism?
Many don’t need to imagine. Today, 74% of the world’s population lives under autocratic rule.
Here’s what it looks like: journalists and activists targeted by smear campaigns, civil society tracked and silenced through surveillance, human rights organisations branded as “foreign agents” and cut off from funding, and democracy defenders killed for standing up for their rights.
Experiencing life in that 26% is what allowed the EPD network, alongside other civil society organisations, to help shape the European Democracy Shield — pushing for a more ambitious framework, including its extension to EU candidate countries.
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Being born into the 26% isn’t the finish line for the EPD network. It’s the reason to protect democracy from those who wish to harm it.
Today, 76% of people globally feel the threat of disinformation as a tool to influence public opinion is real.
A single social media post showing false information may seem harmless, but many together undermine your freedom of expression, access to reliable information, and right to free and fair elections.
A healthier online space is not about controlling what people can say. It is about making platforms accountable and protecting people’s ability to access reliable information and participate in democratic life.
Organisations like Penplusbytes play an essential role in making the online space safer, more inclusive and more democratic. During Ghana’s 2024 elections, Penplusbytes used AI to detect over 10,000 cases of suspicious election-related content, with 138 of them revealed as true and 38 pieces of disinformation debunked through their own channels and in collaboration with media outlets.
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The EPD network works to protect the online space from disinformation because democracy should not depend on who controls the narrative.
When companies advertise, they don’t just buy market visibility. They also help fund media outlets and shape which ones can thrive — and, ultimately, the information environment we all rely on.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Serbian civil society organisations BFMI and CRTA provided evidence that TV Happy was one of the country’s leading sources of pro-Kremlin disinformation. Lidl subsequently stopped advertising on the channel.
When civil society has the freedom to investigate, expose evidence and speak out, change becomes possible.
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The EPD network gives civil society the tools to protect democratic debate and challenge practices that can harm it.
The most powerful person in Germany’s election wasn’t running for office. He owned the platform where millions got their news.
That’s today’s digital public square. Platforms maximise engagement, not truth. Outrage spreads faster than facts, shaping what people see before they vote.
A democratic society needs a digital space where people can access reliable information, express themselves, organise and make informed choices. The platforms that shape this space therefore shape how we participate in democracy and consequently the world we live in.
That’s why the Digital Services Act requires platforms to reduce risks to freedom of speech and information during election campaigns. The EPD network and our partner Liberties helped strengthen these rules by exposing how platforms favoured powerful political voices over users’ control of their feeds.
Big Tech still lies about the rules, calling accountability “censorship”, and threatens to leave the EU market. That’s why the fight isn’t over.
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Choose how you want to live. That choice is what the EPD network works to protect.
Behind government doors, decisions shaping millions of lives are made every day. Yet, for many citizens, the view remains blurred, with global transparency averaging just 42%.
People trust what they can help shape. For too long, citizens saw policies only after the ink was already dry. In Kenya, Mzalendo helped change that by working with the Senate to create a platform where local governments can track proposed laws and provide input in real time.
When citizens have a seat at the table, democracy becomes something they can help build, not simply something done to them.
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Democracy is the only house where everyone should have a key. The EPD network works with local partners to keep the doors open, so more people can help shape the decisions that affect their lives.
Young people will live the longest with today’s decisions. Yet, when those decisions are made, they’re too often missing from the guest list.
In Paraguay, not a single senator is aged 30 or younger, and only 7.5% of members of the Chamber of Deputies are under 31. According to the Global Youth Participation Index, the country ranks 95th out of 191 for youth political participation.
Then, the invitation finally arrived.
Through a landmark agreement with the Government of the Department of Central, Decidamos created a permanent channel for young people to help shape public policies.
Democracy works better when the people who will inherit its decisions have a say in making them.
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The EPD network works with local partners to make sure the next generation isn’t left off the guest list.
This initiative was developed with the co-financial support of the European Union under the Nets4Dem project.
Its contents are the sole responsibility of the European Partnership for Democracy and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
