The European Commission Is Creating an Army of Censors

New measures to combat 'disinformation' take billions of euros.

The European Commission has finalized the European Democracy Shield initiative, which sets out measures to strengthen, protect, and promote democracy. First and foremost, it is believed, that in order to promote democracy, it is necessary to create an army of fact-checkers – or content censors – who will fight against the spread of online content that the authorities consider to be false information.

It is written in the document that “in an age of growing geopolitical confrontation, international and regional conflicts, as well as technological disruption, our democracies are under internal and external pressures” and “people’s views are being increasingly shaped by algorithm-based, personalised sources, which limits the shared space for democratic debate.” “Authoritarian regimes see democracies as a threat and deploy increasingly aggressive tactics, including by relying on state or non-state proxies, to weaken them,” the document states. These regimes seek to undermine trust in democratic institutions, free and fair elections, and the fundamental values of the European Union.

The Commission therefore believes that it is necessary to fight for democracy urgently and to do so in three areas: a comprehensive information environment; institutions and the media; and civil society. A brand new European Centre for Democratic Resilience is planned to enforce the measures.

The Democracy Shield initiative gained wider attention this fall when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explained in a speech that democracy is under a wide attack – manipulated information and misinformation are dividing societies and undermining trust in the truth. The Commission President described how Europe urgently needs a European Democracy Shield to monitor and detect manipulated information and disinformation. The President drew parallels with the misinformation that spread during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, in her words, threatened the world’s progress in combating the serious disease, in a manner that carries over to today, in different combats from measles to polio. Of course, it is important to note that the authorities’ approach to misinformation in the context of the COVID-19 crisis did not mean that they actually fought against misinformation, but rather that the facts that were unwelcome for the authorities, for whatever reason, were labelled as such as well. On top of it, the same authorities repeatedly shared information that was refuted soon afterwards. Regardless, von der Leyen’s promised shield for democracy has been made into a public document and it explains the President’s promised fight against false information and disinformation.

In the Future, “Correct” Information Will Be Determined by Fact-Checking and a Media Monitoring Center

According to the European Commission (EC), the first step is to improve situational awareness and protect the “integrity of the information environment.” According to the Commission, many EU countries have tried – in one way or another – to address such challenges to the information environment, but too inconsistently. Therefore, the Commission plans to “offer” assistance and create a European Centre for Democratic Resilience, which will coordinate and share information between European institutions, agencies, and member states in the future. The center will bring together existing networks to develop common measures to prevent, detect, analyze, and respond to threats to the information environment. The center will also be supported by, and work closely with, the Rapid Alert System, a mechanism that allows EU institutions and member states to quickly exchange information on foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) and disinformation.

One of the most significant measures is likely to be the coordinated fight against disinformation. To this end, the Commission intends to establish a European Network of Fact-Checkers and support the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO). According to the EC, the observatory will provide an independent and interdisciplinary research and analysis network for the whole of Europe to combat FIMI and disinformation campaigns. However, the center’s current powers are to be expanded and new monitoring and analysis capabilities developed to support situational awareness – particularly during elections and in crisis situations.

Fact-checkers are planned to work in the EU countries and candidate countries: their task is to check facts in all official EU languages. The document specifically highlights that fact-checking is most needed in situations such as elections, health emergencies, natural disasters etc. The task of the army of fact-checkers is also to create and manage a supposedly independent fact-checking database, where all fact-checks are collected, including those compiled by selected organisations outside the network. The stated goal is to make it easier for journalists, researchers, and civil society to find verified information in the future. At this point, however, it feels appropriate to recall our stories exemplifying a whole host of so-called taboo topics in Europe (e.g. immigration, the origin of the coronavirus, vaccine safety etc), where the media and fact-checkers have actively helped to limit opinions and accurate information by checking “correctness” and attempting to cancel or even punish authors for their diverging views (see here, here, here, here, here, here). This means that, in reality, such entities are engaged in censorship.

In addition, the fight against FIMI and disinformation also includes the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which requires the labelling of deepfakes and AI content; the Digital Services Act (DSA), which obliges Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) to mitigate systemic risks to democracy, such as requiring algorithm transparency. The Commission is also drafting a DSA incidents and crisis protocol (DSA incidents and crisis protocol) to respond quickly and in a coordinated manner to large-scale information operations, and will strengthen the anti-disinformation code, including the demonetization of disinformation, transparency of recommendation systems, and in the future, AI content and user identification. In its Democracy Shield, the Commission has specifically mentioned that, from the end of 2026, Europeans will have access to a EU digital identity wallet, which “could facilitate such measures and promote trust and security in online interactions by enabling secure identification and authentication.”

The EU intends to ensure the integrity of the information environment in the Member States through the existing FIMI Toolbox and the forthcoming Blueprint for Countering FIMI and Disinformation. These will set out guidelines on how to prevent, detect and respond to disinformation.

Election Guidelines and Network of Influencers

Another important area, according to the Commission, is the need to strengthen institutions, fair and free elections, and free and independent media. To this end, it is necessary to improve the work of the European Cooperation Network on Elections (ECNE), and update the Digital Services Act (DSA) Election Guidelines, draw up guidelines on the responsible use of artificial intelligence in elections, and ensure that online platforms mitigate election risks. In doing so, the European Commission has not forgotten to mention influencers, who are playing an increasingly important role in political campaigns. As a solution, the Commission proposes an EU Influencer Legal Hub, a network of influencers through which it will disseminate best practices, promote ethical standards, support influencers’ digital literacy, and secure their “voluntary” commitment to the integrity of information.

Traditional Media Channels To Be Protected and Funded Through a Resilience Programme

In her autumn speech, EC President Ursula von der Leyen described how traditional media outlets are struggling in many EU countries. So-called news deserts have emerged, she claimed, where misinformation spreads, posing a serious threat to democracy. “And when independent media are dismantled or neutralised, our ability to monitor corruption and preserve democracy is severely weakened,” said von der Leyen, adding: “This is why the first step in an autocrat’s playbook is always to capture independent media. Because this enables backsliding and corruption to happen in the dark.” President von der Leyen said that the EU must do much more to protect the media and independent press, and to this end, it plans to launch a Media Resilience Program that supports journalism and media literacy and through which the EC can channel significant funds into the media.

The Democracy Shield initiative recognizes that the resilience of free and independent media needs to be strengthened, as in the digital age, media and quality journalism are threatened by economic pressures, algorithms, concentration of the advertising market, so-called news deserts, and concerns for the safety of journalists. Citizens, especially young people, are increasingly finding news on online platforms and chatbots. However, online platforms use algorithms that emphasize sensational or controversial content rather than reliable information. In the Commission’s view, this amplifies the spread of disinformation and social division. In addition, unfair lawsuits and other forms of intimidation are making the work of the journalists increasingly difficult, which is why the Commission considers the safety and protection of journalists one of its top priorities (e.g. the SPLAPP Directive).

The EC plans to vigorously combat this by implementing and enforcing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) throughout the EU, which sets out general rules for the protection of the media and media freedom. The Commission will also continue to enforce competition rules, which are said to protect media independence, help finance the media, and limit the negative impact of platforms on diverse information. There are also plans to update the Copyright Directive in light of artificial intelligence, and to develop European general news platforms with artificial intelligence support, which, according to the Commission, would share professional news in several languages. The EU plans to provide funding through several channels, such as Creative Europe, Horizon Europe, and the Media Resilience Programme (see, for example, ECAS). All of this adds up to a comprehensive package with which the EU supports what it considers to be independent journalism, teaches media literacy, develops journalists’ skills, and promotes the digital transition, etc – all in the form and direction determined by the EU.

Civil Society, Civic Tech Hub, and EU Funding Methods

The third area of the Democracy Shield is societal resilience and citizen engagement. This provides media and digital literacy education for all age groups, as well as better civic education, including guidelines for schools. The plan also includes the promotion of digital participatory democracy, including a new civic tech hub and an EU democracy guide.

At the same time, the Commission intends to work closely with civil society, supporting it with significant funding through programs such as the Civil Society Platform and the online Knowledge Hub on Civic Space, among others. The Commission plans to increase funding significantly, especially for the years 2028-2034. For example, €9 billion has been allocated to the AgoraEU program for civil society participation and democratic engagement alone. Among the programs to be created there, MEDIA+ and CERV+ are mentioned in the democracy shield, both exclusively for the purpose of achieving the objectives of combating disinformation described here. Other important support instruments mentioned include the Justice Programme, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, the European Competitiveness Fund, the Global Europe Instrument, and national and regional partnership plans.