Research Report 15: Countering Disinformation in the Euro-Atlantic — Strengths and Gaps

Kalenský and Hanhijärvi's survey of counter-disinformation tools, policies, and capacity across EU and NATO member states is the most systematic comparative assessment of Euro-Atlantic counter-disinformation capability available in the open literature. The report documents both the significant progress made since 2016 and the persistent gaps: uneven national capacity, weak coordination between military and civilian counter-disinformation efforts, inadequate strategic communications investment, and the continuing challenge of speed versus accuracy in debunking operations.

The report's value is its comparative granularity. Rather than assessing the Euro-Atlantic as a single entity, it disaggregates by country and institutional level, identifying which member states are leaders and which remain significantly under-resourced. The gaps identified — particularly in smaller member states and in the military-civilian interface — have direct implications for NATO and EU collective defence planning. For practitioners advising on counter-disinformation capacity building, this is the essential baseline assessment.