A European project analyzes the manipulation of information by foreign agents in the EU.

Writing / Irene Vega

In order to understand which actors outside the EU use information suppression tactics, techniques and procedures, the RESONANT project, in its first phase, has completed an analysis of incidents involving this practice. After more than a year of work, this international consortium has created a Database of Academic Literature on Information Suppression. These initial results are part of the work led by the URJC, in collaboration with the rest of the project partners. This compilation includes documented cases, practices, and examples of information suppression carried out by different actors in countries such as Russia, China, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Turkey, and Iran. In addition, the Database of Information Suppression Incidents and the Inventory of the main threats and risks derived from the suppression of information by both authoritarian regimes and governments with low democratic quality have been created. These achievements, as well as research on the subject, have served to determine a proposed definition of the concept of information suppression. Deletion of Information.

Based on these initial results, the RESONANT consortium members will continue working toward their primary objective: to build a better understanding of state and non-state actors who engage in information suppression. The project's goal will be to recommend strategies, tools, and methodologies that reduce the impact and vulnerability of specific groups, such as diaspora communities.

To improve knowledge about the effects of information suppression, RESONANT proposes an analysis of potential behavioral changes in diaspora communities as a result of this suppression, as well as an analysis of EU state authorities' awareness and preparedness in terms of practical legal means to combat it. Furthermore, the project will develop a handbook of methodologies and policy recommendations, which will contribute to communicating and disseminating practical means to counter information suppression, manipulation of information, and foreign interference (FIMI). Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference).

Multidisciplinary and international project

The RESONANT consortium (Multidisciplinary Cooperation in Research on Information Suppression and Diaspora Communities as Targets of Information Manipulation and Foreign Interference) is funded by the European Commission through the HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-02 call and coordinated by the Italian FORMIT Foundation. The consortium includes ten partners, including companies, institutions, research centers, and universities, including the URJC, from seven countries (six from the EU and Ukraine). Therefore, this project has a multidisciplinary nature, encompassing several areas of knowledge.

At the URJC, the project enjoys close collaboration with the European Projects Office and is led by Rut Bermejo Casado and Isabel Bazaga Fernández, professors from the Faculty of Political and Legal Sciences (FCJP) and researchers from the Good Governance Observatory. "The fact that the URJC is participating in this consortium demonstrates the recognition, within Europe, of its high research capacity and expertise in highly topical issues such as disinformation, information manipulation, and foreign interference in the European Union. All of these issues are key to the functioning of our democratic systems," emphasizes José Luis Postigo, researcher at the Good Governance Observatory.