COVID-19 Disinformation: Challenges for the European Union

What is it about?

This essay exposes the dangers of disinformation for the EU, which have intensified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reviews relevant EU responses. It analyses two challenges exacerbated by the corona crisis: the toxic effect of conspiracy theories, particularly the corona-5G hoax, and the public diplomacy campaigns of competing geopolitical actors, especially China.

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Why is it important?

The essay argues that the future of European stability will rest not only on ensuring societal resilience to disinformation and conspiracy theories but also on designing ethically guided pre-emptive mechanisms and confronting external sources of disinformation which jeopardise European health provisions, economic recovery and geoeconomic strength.