Ireland joins EU initiative to counter disinformation and safeguard democratic resilience

Supporting independent media organisations, as well as public service news media, is part of a new EU-wide strategy.

Ireland has backed another move towards preparing for threats against European democracy from disinformation campaigns, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and war.

All but one of the 27 EU cultural ministers in Brussels have supported the approval of EU Council policy regarding access to “reliable news” as part of its so-called European Democracy Shield.

They included media minister Patrick O’Donovan, who represented Ireland at the meeting.

The shield initiative is part of the EU’s package of measures to, among other things, integrate “preparedness and resilience” into co-operation between member states and with organisations like Nato in the face of growing threats to the West from countries like Russia.

Supporting independent media organisations, as well as public service news media, is part of a new EU-wide strategy being implemented as part of the EU’s current review of security, defence and “preparedness” to deal with a variety of threats.

These include natural disasters like earthquakes, extreme weather events, industrial disasters, pandemics, hybrid threats like cyber attacks and armed aggression against member states.

A EU statement said: “Ministers approved a comprehensive framework for protecting and promoting European values and democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical challenges.

“In particular, they highlight the specific and essential role of culture and cultural diversity in fostering cohesion, a sense of community and civic engagement in European societies.”

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It said the policies supported by 26 member states related to access to reliable news as part of the European Democracy Shield.

“The shield includes measures to protect free and independent media as a pillar of democratic systems in the EU.

“Although access to reliable news is fundamental to a functioning democracy, factors such as geopolitical challenges, algorithm-driven content and the rise of influencers could potentially undermine trust in journalism.”

Earlier this year, the Irish government published a strategy to counter disinformation and warned of the “escalating threat false and misleading content poses to democracy”.