European citizens increasingly struggle to distinguish reliable information from misleading content online. Information integrity, including the fight against mis- and disinformation, is one of the United Nations’ top priorities. UNRIC reached out to Benelux civil society organisations that act against it to learn more about their work.
Three experts from the EDMO (European Digital Media Observatory) network answered our questions, to help us understand how information integrity is under attack and what can be done to fight against this trend. EDMO is a network of independent, EU-cofunded initiatives launched in June 2020 to combat online disinformation by fostering collaboration between fact-checkers, academic researchers, media literacy experts, media organisations and other relevant stakeholders across Europe.
The structure operates through a network of 15 hubs in 27 European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) countries (Moldova, Norway, Ukraine), independent bodies that collaborate locally and regionally on mis- and disinformation research, factchecking and media literacy initiatives.
Among them, EDMO BELUX covers Belgium and Luxembourg, led by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles. BENEDMO covers Belgium and the Netherlands, with the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision as the coordinating institution.
Threats to information integrity in the Benelux
Mis- and disinformation have no borders, and false narratives are spreading globally, for instance on climate change, health issues, financial questions such as cryptocurrencies, as well as European Union politics, the Ukraine war and artificial intelligence.
In 2025, BENEDMO conducted specific research on health disinformation. “We were surprised, many doctors see patients who take medical advice from TikTok or other social networks”, says BENEDMO partner Ferre Wouters, a Research Associate at KU Leuven’s Media, Information and Persuasion Lab and Editor-in-Chief of Factcheck. Vlaanderen. On electoral interference, he is clear: “A big and positive difference in Belgium and the Netherlands is that we don’t see campaigns trying to influence our elections, like it has been the case in Romania”.
“In Luxembourg, there might be more local politics that are subject to disinformation in Luxembourgish”, explains Trisha Meyer, Principal Investigator of EDMO BELUX and Associate Professor of Digital Governance and Participation at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. An important nuance is brought by Trisha Meyer: “We should not be labelling something as disinformation if it’s a political opinion, to respect a wide margin of freedom of expression. It has to be verifiably false information and trending to be considered a threat”.
Actors spreading mis- and disinformation in the Benelux
Disinformation is spread for different purposes. Political or geopolitical reasons motivate state and political actors, notably those from Russia, Iran, and Israel.
Commercial networks also use disinformation as “a business model”. An increasing number of scams powered by AI surf on the hype around bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Ferre Wouters describes “a wave of AI slop: scams on social media using deepfakes designed to trick people into clicking and paying”.
Lastly, a third wide group consists of ordinary citizens who just make fun of it, explains Michael Opgenhaffen, BENEDMO partner, Associate Professor of Digital Media and Journalism at KU Leuven and co-founder of Factcheck.Vlaanderen. “Some people just want to spread disinformation because it works and they want to go viral”.
Are fake news and lies taking the lead?
The experts agree that fake news can spread very fast and feel overwhelming. Still, it has not replaced accurate information overall. Michael Opgenhaffen cautions against dramatic claims that “misinformation spreads way faster than accurate or real information.” In his view, misinformation and disinformation are real problems. Yet, it is easy to exaggerate: “The majority of news is still accurate and interest worthy news.”
Trisha Meyer links that to how people consume information differently today. “Are we in a state of information overload? For sure,” she says, and AI only makes it harder to tell what is real. But the balance depends on “the individual media diets of internet users”.
The biggest risks: distrust, confusion and growing vulnerability
Trisha Meyer describes a fragile information environment where several trends reinforce each other: “It is this combination of news overload, with news avoidance, the hyperpersonalisation of our feeds, that creates a societal vulnerability that then can be exploited quite easily.”
For Michael Opgenhaffen, the most damaging effect is the slow erosion of trust far beyond individual false claims: “There is some kind of mistrust now in professional journalism, in academic and scientific news, but also in news from global health organizations. There is a growing sense that we can’t really trust anything anymore, and that we no longer know what is true and what is not.”
His colleague Ferre Wouters, points to another issue that often gets less attention: false information does not affect everyone in the same way. He argues that “we should also focus on how misinformation is spreading within vulnerable groups.”
The most successful campaigns of BENEDMO and EDMO BELUX
One successful example of BENEDMO’s work is the Fact-Check Marathon ahead of the 2024 Belgian and European elections. “We tracked all kinds of political information surrounding that moment in the midst of the campaign and fact checked those”, explains Ferre Wouters. The initiative published more than 50 fact checks in total. “The effort was not just about volume, but about visible correction in the campaign debate”. The marathon successfully reached young audiences: after surveying 100-150 youngsters (18-30), BENEDMO found that the Fact-check Marathon had strong exposure and learning impact among that target group.
For EDMO BELUX, success also means reaching very different audiences. Trisha Meyer highlights two ongoing awareness campaigns with media partners: “RTBF is reaching young people, notably on social media.” At the same time, “RTL has chosen the other spectrum, the 65+ age bracket,” using a well-known Luxembourgish public figure to share practical “tips and tricks and tools” to deal with information overload and online safety.
A need for European cross-border cooperation
The experts underline that cross-border cooperation is crucial because mis- and disinformation spread across countries and languages “without a digital border,” as Ferre Wouters puts it. Michael Opgenhaffen adds that it is not only the same stories travelling, but also “topics that are being localised, where a message is transferred to the local situation of a new country or a new region.”
According to the experts, the safest way to avoid mis- and disinformation is to mix multiple sources of information, including traditional media, rather than relying on a single platform or social media feed. This is why investing in journalism and paying for subscriptions is more crucial than ever, to ensure access to trustworthy, high-quality news.
Originally published at UNRIC.