At the RADAR Public Debate co-hosted by the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Europapolitik and TEPSA, 120 participants from 4 EU countries came together to learn and discuss with an expert panel the impacts of disinformation on electoral processes.

“Fake news and disinformation are flourishing not only since the beginning of the COVID 19-pandemic and the war in Ukraine. External actors, such as Russia and China, have been trying to negatively influence democratic processes in the European Union and undermine the liberal model of democracy already for a long time. The same goes for internal actors, e.g. Eurosceptical and extremist groups as well as certain media outlets, who contribute to spreading disinformation in the EU. These trends are further amplified by social media platforms and the use of artificial intelligence. Deep fakes, filter bubbles and echo chambers are used to deceive, influence and manipulate people’s perceptions, thus increasing social and political polarization in society.“

As part of our follow-up to the RADAR Public Debate that took place in Vienna on October 23, we polled 75 of the attendees to gather their views. This is what they answered…