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TikTok: A Unique Marketing Tool or a Sticky Threat to Security and Mental Health?
Over the years, TikTok has risen to become a global entertainment and information ecosystem, with a monthly user base reaching nearly 1.6 billion people. Propastop analyzed whether the platform—which claims to have around 400,000 users in Estonia (a figure provided by TikTok that cannot be independently verified)—is truly “a place where every company and politician must be, because that’s where the consumer and voter are,” or if it poses a potential threat to society’s psycho
3 days ago


We are still dealing with the long tail of decades of Russian narrative-building and disinformation campaigns
EUvsDisinfo i nterview with Keir Giles . Keir Giles is a British writer, an expert on the Russian military and Russian disinformation. He has written and commented on the geopolitical conflict between the West and Russia such as NATO’s Handbook of Russian Information Warfare published through NATO Defense College. In his last book: Who Will Defend Europe? An Awakened Russia and a Sleeping Continent, Giles lays out the stark choices facing leaders and societies as they conf
5 days ago


From “journalism” to FIMI: EU sanctions Diana Panchenko
The European Union has adopted a new round of sanctions aimed at countering Russia’s ongoing hybrid threats, including foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) and malicious cyber activity targeting the EU, its member states and partner countries. The latest decision lists twelve individuals and two entities involved in coordinated disinformation campaigns, propaganda networks and cyber operations linked to Russian state interests. The listings form part of
Jan 2


2025 in review: winning the narrative
At the end of 2025, a clear pattern stands out in Russian disinformation: the persistent construction of an image of strength in the face of growing constraints. Throughout the year, Kremlin-aligned outlets amplified exaggerated or false claims of military success in Ukraine, presenting marginal advances as decisive victories. As discussions about future negotiations gained prominence, this narrative of invincibility served a specific purpose – to shape perceptions, set the t
Dec 31, 2025


The Hybrid Threat Imperative: Deterring Russia Before it is Too Late
While Russia's hybrid tactics are not new, their scale and sophistication in the digital age present unprecedented challenges. By Eitvydas Bajarūnas Executive Summary Hybrid warfare is not episodic, but a permanent feature of Russia’s strategy, rooted in Soviet “active measures” and enhanced by modern tools like artificial intelligence–enabled information manipulation and cyber operations. It exploits the seams of open societies — disinformation, cyber, sabotage, coercion — b
Dec 8, 2025


Axis of authoritarians poses mounting threat on the global information front
Ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, there has been growing alarm over the support that Moscow is receiving from fellow authoritarian regimes including Iran, North Korea, Belarus, and China. However, while Western officials have publicly raised concerns over material support for the Russian war effort, the issue of cooperation in the information sphere has received less attention. This is short-sighted. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has d
Nov 28, 2025


The European Democracy Shield
EU announced the establishment of the European Democracy Shield . The Shield, developed jointly by the European Commission and the European External Action Service, has a robust external dimension and will help empower strong and resilient democracies. Under its first pillar on safeguarding the integrity of the information space, the Joint Communication formulates the EU’s necessary response to the threat of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). With this
Nov 18, 2025


Large language models: the new battlefield of Russian information warfare
In the digital age, disinformation campaigns have evolved beyond social media and ‘fake news’, becoming a full form of information warfare – an area in which Russia excels. The Kremlin’s foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) campaigns have remained largely consistent since the Cold War. But the emergence of the Internet and other communication technologies have allowed for more flexibility and greater impact with fewer resources. Just as the Web 2.0 reshape
Oct 28, 2025


Ukraine’s War of Fact and Fiction
Getting accurate information and news is harder than ever in the social media age, but close to existential in a country at war. As with much of the world, traditional Ukrainian outlets like television, newspapers, and radio play a diminishing role. Citizens have increasingly turned instead to Telegram, YouTube, and Facebook, even though trust in these digital platforms is strikingly low. A survey of 2,000 Ukrainians by Rating Group , a Kyiv-based research organization, hig
Oct 23, 2025


A Baltic Backstop for Russian Blight
Russia’s propaganda and threats are spooking potential investors in the Baltic States. NATO members should offer a financial backstop to...
Sep 12, 2025


Propaganda under the guise of analytics: debunking ABC Political Studies
Today, open cooperation with pro-Russian information platforms is toxic for most European expert communities. Therefore, one of the...
Aug 19, 2025


Humanitarian Aid Fraud and Social Media Propaganda: How Russian Influence Works in France
About organizations, people, and media that promote Russian narratives and spread the influence of the aggressor state in France. On May...
Jul 28, 2025


What we have learnt about FIMI after three years of full-scale war in Ukraine
By Mykola Balaban and Serhii Zhukov The modern level of economic, political, and informational globalisation offers vast opportunities...
Mar 19, 2025


The end of transit: Russian propaganda in search of new ways for Russian gas
The Ukrainian-Russian agreement on the transit of Russian gas to European countries expired on January 1, 2025. This step severed the...
Mar 5, 2025


How Russia Spreads Propaganda Through New Year’s Programming
At first glance, it seems like a musical concert, but upon closer inspection, it is a means of state propaganda. Since New Year’s holds...
Jan 30, 2025


“Disinformation Is a Weapon, and We Are at War”: An Expert on Hybrid Threats in Romania
Interview with Susana Dragomir, political scientist, expert in strategic communications. In November and December, Romania held...
Jan 10, 2025


1000 and 4000 days of Russia weaponising information in its war against Ukraine
As Russia’s war against Ukraine has marked two grim milestones – 4000 days since the initial invasion in 2014 and 1000 days since the...
Dec 31, 2024


"Protecting Historical Lands": How Russia justifies the occupation of Southern Ukraine and explained its retreat from Kherson
On the second anniversary of Kherson's liberation, we recount how Russian propaganda shifted from assurances that "Russia is in Kherson...
Nov 22, 2024


Internal Propaganda: How the Kremlin Uses and Tames the “Z-Telegram”
We explore how Russian authorities were forced to allow a measure of freedom to critique them to war advocates on Telegram — and how they...
Nov 14, 2024


Fifty shades of the Kremlin’s ‘red lines’
In international politics and diplomacy, clearly signalling one’s positions, or so-called ‘red lines’, has a real practical value – to...
Nov 13, 2024
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