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The document provides a comprehensive analysis of the shift from content-based 'notice-and-takedown' regulation to systemic 'safety-by-design' approaches. It evaluates the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK's Online Safety Bill, emphasizing the need for transparency, data access for researchers, and a balance between state, corporate, and individual power to protect liberal democratic values in the digital sphere.

The report analyzes how right-wing actors, particularly the AfD, instrumentalized the climate debate during the 2021 German federal election. It finds that while the AfD published the lowest percentage of climate-related content, its posts achieved significantly higher engagement than those of other parties. The study identifies a shift from outright climate denial toward a 'culture war' strategy, using disinformation narratives such as 'denial and delay' and 'absolution' to frame climate action as a threat to the German lifestyle. The analysis also highlights a stark platform divide, with Twitter predominantly hosting pro-climate messages and Facebook serving as a hub for climate-skeptical content.

The report examines 34 Irish far-right Telegram channels, revealing a massive increase in activity between 2019 and 2020. It details how these communities use the platform's limited moderation to target minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and political opponents through orchestrated disinformation campaigns. Case studies show the far-right's role in inciting racial tension following the shooting of George Nkencho, spreading false claims about a house fire in Balbriggan, and launching a homophobic smear campaign against Minister Roderic O'Gorman. The analysis also highlights a significant intersection between far-right actors and COVID-19 conspiracy networks.

The report identifies a network of nearly 5,000 social media accounts producing over 280,000 messages in 2020 to spread anti-refugee disinformation. It highlights how key events, such as the Evros border crisis and the Moria camp fires, served as flashpoints for transnational mobilisation. The research demonstrates a significant overlap between mainstream political parties—such as the AfD in Germany and New Democracy in Greece—and far-right extremist ecosystems. Common narratives include the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy, the depiction of refugees as 'invaders' or 'soldiers', and the targeting of NGOs with claims of criminal complicity in human smuggling. The report concludes that anti-migrant discourse is increasingly transnational and integrated into broader geopolitical tensions, such as Greek-Turkish relations.

The report 'POLLUTED PR' details how advertising and PR firms work covertly for the fossil fuel industry to block climate action. It highlights a significant spending gap, noting that the fossil fuel industry spent at least $1 billion on PR and advertising between 2014 and 2018, outspending clean energy trade groups by over 400:1. The document provides case studies of firms like Edelman, Porter Novelli, and FTI Consulting, illustrating tactics such as 'astroturfing' and the promotion of 'false solutions' like algae biofuels to maintain the industry's social license. It concludes by calling for professionals in the creative industry to divest from fossil fuel contracts.

The Union of Concerned Scientists provides a resource for experts facing harassment, outlining how to differentiate between good-faith inquiries and disinformation tactics. It offers specific protocols for responding to attacks on social media, via email, through blogs, and in mainstream media, while emphasizing the importance of documentation, institutional support, and legal counsel.

The study finds that while trust in media and government officials varies, there is high and consistent trust across all 50 U.S. states in doctors, infectious disease experts, the CDC, and family and friends. Local TV and local/state government officials are the most trusted media and government sources, respectively, while President Trump is the only source trusted by fewer than half of Americans.

The study finds that a vast majority of Americans across all 50 states trust their own doctors, infectious disease experts, the CDC, and family and friends for COVID-19 information. While trust in media and government varies—with local TV and local/state officials being more trusted than national networks and federal figures—there is very little geographic variation in these trust levels, with a maximum range of 4 percentage points across states.

The guide identifies seven telltale traits of conspiratorial thinking: contradictory beliefs, overriding suspicion, nefarious intent, the conviction that 'something must be wrong', a perceived role as a persecuted victim, immunity to evidence, and the re-interpretation of randomness. To illustrate these patterns, the authors asked 42 Georgians to invent COVID-19 conspiracy theories, finding that such narratives are often used by opposing political sides to undermine one another. The document argues that recognizing these tactics is essential for building resilience against misinformation during times of crisis and uncertainty.

The document distinguishes between actual conspiracies and conspiracy theories, noting that the latter are often driven by feelings of powerlessness and amplified by social media. It introduces the 'CONSPIR' acronym to identify seven traits of conspiratorial thinking and provides a toolkit for communicators, including 'prebunking' and 'debunking' strategies. The text highlights that climate change denial often employs conspiratorial rhetoric as a political strategy to delay action.

The author argues that Russia has shifted from viewing the EU as a model for modernisation to seeing it as a strategic challenger to its neo-imperialist vision. To counter Western influence and the 'eastward march' of Europe, the Kremlin employs a strategy of 'managing instability' through disinformation, cyberattacks, and the support of far-right political parties in Europe. While Russia seeks bilateral rapprochement with key powers like Germany and France to bypass sanctions and isolate Eastern European 'Russosceptic' countries, the author contends that Moscow's strategic goals remain unfulfilled and that it will continue to exploit Western electoral cycles to foment populism.

The document examines how digital technologies and social media influenced the 2019 elections in four SADC member states. While these tools have opened spaces for youth engagement and increased transparency, they have also been used for disinformation and surveillance. The author argues that the region's political culture remains unresponsive, co-opting new media into traditional elite-driven systems rather than reforming governance, which could lead to instability similar to the Arab Spring.

The Debunking Handbook 2020 outlines the psychological mechanisms that make misinformation 'sticky,' such as the continued influence effect and the illusory truth effect. It advocates for 'prebunking' through inoculation and provides a structured four-part framework for effective debunking: leading with facts, mentioning the myth once, explaining the fallacy, and reinforcing the fact. The guide also addresses the rarity of 'backfire effects' and emphasizes the importance of source credibility and the use of causal alternatives to replace false information.

The Young Digital Leaders 2019 report evaluates a digital citizenship education (DCE) programme implemented in Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania. The initiative, supported by Google.org, aimed to empower students aged 1116, upskill teachers, and equip parents to foster positive online engagement. Evaluation data shows significant gains in participants' understanding of digital concepts like echo chambers and filter bubbles, though the report notes that short-term workshops are less effective at changing long-term attitudes and behaviours than teacher-led, slower-paced delivery. The report recommends that the European Commission adopt the Council of Europe's definition of digital citizenship and that national governments embed DCE into school curricula across multiple subjects.

The report argues that the fossil fuel industry, specifically citing Exxon, knew about the warming effects of CO2 as early as the 1950s but spent millions on disinformation to obscure this reality. It asserts that the industry adopted the 'tobacco industry’s playbook' to attack scientific consensus, use fake experts, and promote logical fallacies to confuse the public. The document outlines the 'FLICC' framework (Fake experts, Logical fallacies, Impossible expectations, Cherry picking, and Conspiracy theories) to explain the techniques used in climate denial and proposes 'inoculation' as a method to neutralize these tactics by communicating facts, revealing sources, and explaining denialist techniques.

The document examines the transition of digital technologies from tools of democratic empowerment to instruments of state control in Africa. It distinguishes between 'hard' digital dictatorship, characterized by internet shutdowns and restrictive legislation, and 'soft' digital dictatorship, involving the use of big data and disinformation to manipulate public behavior. While hard tactics are currently more prevalent in Africa, the author warns of a shift toward more sophisticated, data-driven manipulation.

The study investigated whether logic-based or humor-based corrections could neutralize misinformation across three different topics. The researchers found that these corrections were only effective in reducing misperceptions for HPV vaccination, while results varied for other topics, suggesting that the efficacy of such corrections is issue-dependent.

The author contends that current EU efforts to combat disinformation are insufficient because they rely on member states that may be hostile to critical media. While the EU has introduced some protections for whistleblowers and small-scale grants for investigative projects, the document argues for a permanent funding facility for journalism and a re-evaluation of the subsidiarity principle to allow the EU to intervene more directly in member states where media freedom is under threat.

The Young Digital Leaders curriculum, developed by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and supported by Google.org, is a Europe-wide programme for students aged 12-15. It consists of five sessions: Critical Consumers, Resilient Citizens, Effective Communicators, Rights Experts, and Digital Leaders. The programme teaches students to identify disinformation, challenge stereotypes, communicate respectfully online, understand digital rights and consent, and use digital tools for civic engagement and positive social change.

Analysis of surveys involving over 8,000 U.S. adults reveals that most Americans, including those highly concerned about climate change, significantly underestimate the 97% scientific consensus on human-caused global warming. The study identifies that while pro-climate opinions can form through non-scientific routes like social norms, correcting the underestimation of scientific consensus can act as a 'gateway' to increase worry and support for climate policy.