Protecting Europe’s information space has become a matter of national and continental security, while Italy has emerged as one of the most vulnerable European countries to foreign influence operations, European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno said, reports Decode39.
According to a report by Europa Radicale, 88% of identified cases of Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) are carried out through the X platform. In Italy, 192 cases of Russian propaganda dissemination have been documented, including screenings of films produced by sanctioned media outlets such as Russia Today, whose broadcasting has been banned in the EU since 2022.
Picierno emphasized that hybrid warfare is unfolding on social networks and in public debates, while Russian disinformation thrives due to social polarization, the deterioration of public discourse, declining trust in institutions, and the stance of some members of Italy’s political class who refuse to recognize it as a national security threat.
As a potential solution, she proposed the concept of a “democratic shield” that would give regulatory authorities the power to counter coordinated propaganda campaigns by authoritarian regimes without sliding into censorship or restricting freedom of expression.
Picierno stressed that European countries need to build collective sovereignty in order to counter hybrid threats from Russia and China.
