News — Page 2 of 3 — Defend Democracy

From fake politicians to false flags, foreign likes & Trump playbook: looking back on manipulation and disinformation in Netherlands elections

Experts expected domestic and foreign disinformation campaigns would try to disrupt the integrity of the elections in the Netherlands. Our social media watchdog Kieskijker observed many inauthentic online activities around the general elections on 17 March 2021. Through a real-time campaign Kieskijker exposed disinformation and manipulation, thereby decreasing harmful effects and increasing digital literacy. When…

12/04/2021adminexternal threats, internal threats, technological threatsdisinformation, elections, inauthentic behaviour, politics, social media

Defend Democracy: “Risk of online manipulation and disinformation around elections greater than ever.”

Experts expect that domestic and foreign disinformation campaigns will try to disrupt the integrity of the elections in the Netherlands. Our social media watchdog Kieskijker observes online activities that build up to the general elections on 17 March 2021 and sees fake polls, fake political profiles and fake chat groups. Through a campaign, Kieskijker exposes…

06/02/2021adminexternal threats, internal threats, technological threatsdigitisation, disinformation, elections, inauthentic behaviour, politics

Digital literacy: the basics of dealing with disinformation, lies and propaganda

Outraged by the never-ending blatant lies by the likes of Putin, Xi, Orban and Trump? Then make sure you don’t inadvertently help spread their propaganda. Because that’s what it is: their ‘firehose of falsehood‘ is a propaganda technique bombarding us with a large number of messages that are broadcast rapidly, repetitively, and continuously over multiple…

12/12/2020adminexternal threats, internal threats, technological threatsalgorithm, disinformation, infodemic, journalism, propaganda, social media, twitter

European organisations urge US Congress to protect nonpartisan, independent nature of US Agency for Global Media

Defend Democracy and dozens of other European democracy and rights organisations express their concern about developments at the US Agency for Global Media. They urge US Congress’ foreign affairs committees to act urgently and decisively to maintain the fully nonpartisan, independent nature of USAGM’s journalism networks and open technology fund. “We are writing to you…

11/09/2020adminexternal threats, internal threats, technological threatsdemocracy, journalism, national security, open technology, press freedom

Countries call on EU to tackle disinformation more decisively

The corona virus pandemic throws a critical light on current EU efforts to tackle disinformation. The COVID-19 infodemic confirms that online disinformation impacts our real world: it has economic costs and can even be lethal. Clearly, current efforts to tackle this problem are not enough. On Wednesday 10 June the EU Commission will publish a…

07/06/2020adminexternal threats, internal threats, technological threatsChina, disinformation, EU, NATO, Russia

EU influencer Alice Stollmeyer launches ‘Defend Democracy’ foundation

As a digital activist she learned to expose Russian disinformation.Now she launches a new project to defend democracy. As a leading EU influencer who works 24/7 at the frontline of geopolitics and digital advocacy, in 2014 Alice Stollmeyer witnessed first-hand the spread of trolls and bots. She didn’t need research to find them: they found…

30/03/2020adminDefend Democracy, external threats, internal threats, technological threatscivil society, democracy, EU, NGO, transatlantic, US

Defend Democracy taking next steps as its ‘Democracy Drinks’ are successful

With democracy hanging in the balance worldwide, an increasing number of people worry about their personal freedoms and rights. To give them a warm home where they can exchange about their hopes and fears, their plans and actions, Defend Democracy started organising monthly Democracy Drinks in Brussels (Belgium), the heart of the European Union. The…

03/06/2019adminDefend Democracycivil society, democracy, Democracy Drinks, networking

Active Measures: Will Putin “elect” in Europe? EU Parliament debate organised by Defend Democracy

On Wednesday 10 April 2019, Defend Democracy had the pleasure of organising a very special edition of its monthly Democracy Drinks: the European premiere of must-see documentary ‘Active Measures’ about Putin’s assault on democracy. The special screening took place at the European Parliament. Active Measures chronicles the most successful espionage operation in Russian history: the…

16/04/2019adminDefend Democracydemocracy, Democracy Drinks, elections, EU, Russia, US

The vulnerable cyborg. Arguments for humane digital technology, and how to tackle disinformation

This article by Defend Democracy‘s Executive Director Alice Stollmeyer was first published at Protego Press. When I still was a student in social studies of science and technology, I loved reading and writing about new technologies shaping society and vice versa, about cyborgs blurring boundaries between ‘man and machine’, and about the sociology of things…

02/11/2018adminexternal threats, technological threatsbig data, big tech, data privacy, disinformation, GDPR, hybrid threats, technology

Putin’s Postmodern War With the West

It may not look like war, but perhaps it should. Russia’s interference in American democracy proves that popular conception of the term needs to be updated – and failure to do so could increase U.S. susceptibility. By Patryk Babiracki Previously published in The Wilson Quarterly; republished on this page with kind permission of the author. “We…

14/02/2018adminexternal threatsdefence, democracy, disinformation, EU, hybrid war, NATO, Russia, security, US