Nearly two months away from the next European elections, disinformation is becoming of increasing importance in European political life because of the nefarious influence it could have on the election results.

For years the harmful consequences of disinformation have been a matter of concern for the public in general, and for politicians in particular. Democratic society and our cosmopolitan way of life are being called into question. The extreme right and other extremist European forces and autocratic regimes in third countries are forging alliances to carry out disinformation campaigns that are undermining the European venture, and they are using social media and algorithms to do it. They are using technology as their main tool for this malicious campaign.

A multifactor strategy is needed to protect democracy and to overcome disinformation, and existing technology can help us successfully counter it. It is crucial that the three areas of the digital combat – disinformation, hybrid threats and cybersecurity – be joined up effectively, creating synergies and enhancing security, while respecting the rule of law.

It is likewise essential to regulate the creation and operation of algorithms so that people can decide to accept or reject certain algorithmic features, and strike the right balance between people’s fundamental rights on the one hand, and companies’ intellectual property rights on the other. However, it is unacceptable for tech companies to turn manipulation and hate speech into profit. Private interests cannot override public interest.

It is essential that public, pluralistic and independent information in all the EU’s languages convey indisputable facts relating to the promotion of national, regional and local information in the Member States.

On the agenda is the creation of a European public news channel, available on different platforms, with a serious commitment to editorial independence, allowing Europeans to access the information they need in order to make informed choices. Classifying journalism as a European public good, as proposed by UNESCO, and stepping up ways to defend journalists, are steps that need to be taken.

On literacy and empowering the general public, it is essential to follow Finland’s excellent example of promoting people’s creative thinking. This requires measures that provide tools to promote media, cultural and democratic literacy at all levels of education, and addressing all age groups and minorities.

Democracy is the government of the people by the people, and the best way to protect democracy is for people to express their strong desire to live in a democracy!

The European social model – through social and regional inclusion and cohesion, equality and solidarity – is the most effective (and most rational) way for people to feel that their general well-being goes hand in hand with democracy, and for them to therefore be inclined to fight disinformation.

To protect democracy there is an urgent need for a more in-depth approach, a holistic strategy and better European regulation of the many dimensions of this phenomenon. All this is dealt with in our opinion, prepared by the EESC's section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and Information Society (TEN).

Carlos Trindade, EESC member