Disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference have become persistent challenges for democratic societies, affecting public debate, electoral processes and trust in institutions. These challenges require coordinated responses that combine EU‑level action with strong engagement at national, regional and local level. Strengthening democratic resilience however requires approaches that are adapted to local contexts and supported by appropriate tools and cooperation frameworks.
The European Committee of the Regions has advocated that local and regional authorities are key actors in countering disinformation, given their proximity to citizens, their role in public communication, and their involvement in areas such as education, media literacy and community engagement. This work forms part of broad efforts in strengthening democracy both within the European Union and with regard to candidate and potential candidate countries.
This page provides a non-exhaustive overview of relevant CoR opinions, studies and selected EU resources, offering a practical entry point for local and regional authorities, practitioners and stakeholders working on countering disinformation.