Democracy Reporting International

Matviichuk said civil society will continue to push for accountability and real security guarantees.

“We will raise our voice, and it’s important we are not alone.”

We’re ready to contribute to a peaceful and just Ukraine with our colleagues at DRI Ukraine.

Full analysis: x.com/avalaina/sta...

Any peace plan to end the war should answer these two questions.

1️⃣ Does it prevent future Russian aggression?
2️⃣ Is there a human dimension to the plan—POWs, civilian hostages, victims of atrocities?

Currently, the plan answers neither.

🕊️“People in Ukraine dream of peace”

Nobel laureate @avalaina.bsky.social visited our office today to discuss civil society in Ukraine and the latest 28-point plan, presented by the U.S. to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Her thoughts 👇

The Enabling Digital Environment for Civil Society: Global Trends in Repression and Resistance — an EU SEE Perspective - Eu SEE A Global Analysis by the EU SEE Initiative The weaponisation of digital regulation has emerged as a defining challenge to civil society’s ability to operate freely online. Across regions, new and amen...

But civil society is pushing back.
⚖️ Taking governments to court
📢 Demanding stronger transparency laws
🤝 Partnering for accountability
💡 Building digital resilience
...and we're supporting this effort!

Read it here: eusee.hivos.org/document/the...

Three global trends shaping the digital civic space:
⚙️ Surveillance & censorship
🧱 “Cybercrime” & “fake news” laws misused
🔓 Weak data protection leaving activists exposed

How free is civil society online? 🌐

At #ICSW2025, #EUSEE launched its latest brief on how digital tech is being weaponised to restrict freedoms across 86 countries - and how civil society is fighting back, calling on governments, donors, and tech companies to protect civic space online.

📣CALL FOR APPLICATIONS!

⭐Our STARLIGHT 2.0 programme is all about equipping experienced lawyers & NGO legal staff to turn #humanrights into action through strategic litigation.

📅Deadline👉 Nov 20
📝Apply here👉 bit.ly/4o9Pmph

🤝 @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social @hertieschool.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu

🔥 Want to delve deeper? Stay tuned for our wrap-up takeaways register for our newsletter and tick Digital Democracy ▶️ bit.ly/35skPzW

🤝 Huge thanks to our partners Embassy of Canada to Germany @alliance4europe.bsky.social and @stiftungmercator.bsky.social

👀Disinformation spreads everywhere, all at once!
It erodes trust in democratic institutions and makes it harder for all of us to make informed decisions. To counter it, democratic actors need to work together. That's why yesterday we convened the disinfo community in Berlin for #DisinfoCon 2025!

💪 with support from
@stiftungmercator.bsky.social

🤝co-organised by
@alliance4europe.bsky.social

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Moving Beyond US Tech Dependence: Paths, Challenges, and Opportunities for European Digital Sovereignty. After registering, you will receive a confirmation ... As Europe's dependence on US-based digital platforms deepens, critical questions emerge around geopolitical autonomy, innovation, and control of the information space. This panel will explore:  1. How...

⚠️Last call! #DisinfoCon2025 Day 2 Webinar kicks off this afternoon! Be part of the conversation: As Europe is rethinking its digital space, we are asking the ultimate question, can it find its own path beyond the reach of U.S. Big Tech?

Register now: bit.ly/4ouuBou

The online space is the enabling environment like never before❗

At #ICSW2025, our #EUSEE team led a crash course on monitoring online narratives and digital threats. Hands-on, data-driven, and empowering for civil society across Asia, the session was one for the books 👏🏽

Access the full report for more insights, evidence, and solutions!

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) promises transparency, but enforcement is uneven. Platforms delay or restrict researcher data access, forcing civil society (and DRI!) to go to court for this right 👩‍⚖️

We investigated and identified 735 fake or “murky” TikTok accounts impersonating candidates and parties. Almost 80% were removed after our reports. But the tactic is evolving fast 💯

When tested in 10 EU countries, major chatbots often gave wrong or misleading election info. Error rates were especially high in non-English languages, exposing a threat to proper election participation 🗳️

Generative AI isn’t the future, it’s here, be it in deepfake audio campaigns in Slovakia or images reinforcing negative stereotypes. In Germany’s 2025 election, 7% of AfD posts contained AI-generated content 🤖

Key findings:

Far-right actors achieved the highest engagement rates online, even while posting less. Their secret weapon was emotional, polarising content that algorithms reward 🎯

How healthy is Europe’s digital democracy? 🕵🏽

Our latest report maps three years of data, tracking how campaigns, platforms and AI shape public debate; with insights from national elections in 🇪🇸🇵🇱🇦🇹🇷🇴🇩🇪 and EP elections in 15 EU states.

Read now 👉 bit.ly/492TfYz

Given the challenging context for European democracy today, the Shield should offer a strong response in terms of framing, funding, and follow-through.

Deep dive into our recommendations 🖇️https://ow.ly/YMlK50VnVjA

💬 A Centre for citizens

The recently announced Centre for Democratic Resilience should support this checklist, addressing the full spectrum of disinformation (internal and external), supporting research into democratic resilience and innovation, and bringing democracy closer to citizens.

🌐 Be flexible and cross-cutting

Democracy is the system that underpins EU society. As such, supporting it should cut across sectors and involve a wide range of actors. Given today’s highly volatile political context, all efforts to support democracy need a flexible whole-of-society approach.

🛡️ Fund democracy support

A strong democracy is a security guarantee. Europe is facing increasing security challenges, leading to increased defence spending. Democracy support should be recognised as a contribution to security and stability and should therefore receive proportionate funding.

🤖 Boost EU tech sovereignty

The EU can no longer afford to be dependent on foreign technology and digital services, as this opens it up to blackmail and undue interference. The Shield should support European tech alternatives that are aligned with EU democratic values and standards.

🇪🇺 Cover EU candidate countries

EU and candidate countries are profoundly interlinked, particularly in terms of the information space. The Democracy Shield will be cracked if it does not protect Europe as a whole and enable knowledge exchanges on countering autocracy.

🗣️Include civil society

Currently, the legitimacy of civil society to participate in policymaking is being undermined. There should be a stronger commitment to ensuring an enabling environment for civil society to operate in and for citizens to mobilise and make their voices heard.

📱 Give social media feeds back to their users

Online platforms employ opaque recommender systems that determine what content citizens engage with, contributing to rising polarisation. The EU should use its digital rulebook to give users more control over their feeds.

💰 Introduce monetisation governance

Online platforms are removing guardrails against information manipulation. Transparency is needed in the way content is monetised to ensure it doesn’t harm the information environment. The DSA risk assessments can provide this transparency.

🎙️ Support media and journalists

Pressures on public interest media and journalists have increased, and funding has been slashed, but the media is democracy’s first line of defence. The sector must receive greater judicial, political and financial support.

💻 Existing digital rulebook first

The EU must not fold to external pressures and continue to implement and strengthen its digital regulation, including the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, Regulation on Political Ads, Media Freedom Act and AI Act.