On 7-8 October, EU DisinfoLab, an independent European civil society organisation, convened the biggest European conference on disinformation in Vilnius, Lithuania, with 650 participants from civil society, media, academia, tech companies and government institutions. Following pressure from the US government, multiple sponsors removed their logos from the conference at the last minute.

At Disinfo2026, the latest trends facing the counter-disinformation community were discussed, including a panel entitled “US as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back”, which drew ire from the US government. In the run-up to the conference, the US State Department called on EU Member States and Canada to withdraw their support for the conference and also put pressure on the organisers to change the agenda, despite it being public for months prior to the conference.

In recent years, the US government has openly pressured the EU to backtrack on its digital regulation. It has even attempted to intimidate individuals by imposing sanctions – a move to silence democracy defenders. 

The EU should withstand these pressures. The European External Action Service should not have given in to pressure from the US, thereby publicly distancing itself from European researchers and civil society and an open debate on challenges and threats. This is particularly surprising given the institution’s long-term commitment to fighting foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) – a term the EEAS coined itself. Conference sponsoring does not imply agreement with the full content, but allows for editorial autonomy of the organiser and the ability of participants and speakers to present and discuss freely. 

Debate and disagreement are fundamentals of democracy. Independently organised conferences should not be forced to reflect the EU’s official line, as implied by the EEAS last week. Notably, the other main sponsors, the government of France and GoVilnius, did not withdraw their sponsorship.

We call on the European Parliament to adopt a resolution in support of free debate and urging EU institutions to withstand undue pressure by foreign actors – regardless of its origin – that targets democratic infrastructure and values. 

EU institutions should reaffirm their support to European researchers, civil society, media and others fighting for Europe’s information integrity. This is particularly important at a time when financial support for civil society is being reduced drastically, further impeding its work.

Signatories

1. Adam Fivenson, American University, USA
2. Alliance4Europe
3. American Sunlight Project
4. Ana Fernández Inguanzo, Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
5. Antoine de Gunzbourg, Open Source Intelligence & Strategy, MELETA
6. Association of European Journalists in Belgium
7. Bits of Freedom
8. Bulgarian Romanian Observatory of Digital Media (BROD)
9. Carlos Entrena Serrano, Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
10. CheckFirst
11. Daniel Scarnecchia, viz., Skywatch
12. Defend Democracy
13. Democracy Reporting International
14. Dr. Adela Levis, University of Michigan, USA
15. Dr. Eirliani Abdul Rahman, University of Mannheim, Germany
16. Dr. Emma L. Briant, University of Notre Dame, USA
17. Dr. Keith Peter Kiely, GATE Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria
18. Državljan D / Citizen D, Slovenia
19. EDGE foundation
20. EDMO Ireland
21. Elbarlament
22. European Digital Media Observatory for Belgium and Luxembourg (EDMO BELUX)
23. European Exchange
24. European Fact-Checking Standards Network
25. European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
26. European Partnership for Democracy
27. Free Press Unlimited
28. Georgios Terzis, Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
29. Global Media Registry, GMR
30. HateAid
31. INPACT / All Eyes On Wagner
32. Irish Council for Civil Liberties
33. Kofi Annan Foundation
34. Nicolas Hénin
35. Open Terms Archive
36. People vs Big Tech
37. Ranking Digital Rights
38. RNW Media
39. Robin Berjon, Supramundane Agency
40. Sophie Pornschlegel, University of Maastricht
41. Transparency International EU
42. Trisha Meyer, Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
43. WHAT TO FIX

© European Union 2026 – Source : EP