Now more than ever, there is an urgent need to equip civil society, stakeholders, and citizens with a critical approach to the information space. The malicious use and weaponization of (dis)information—the ‘ends’—are not new, but their sophistication, reach, and intensity- —the ‘means’—are nascent and increasing. Contemporary methods of information warfare are not crude or amateurish, but rather complex, difficult to attribute, and costly to counter. They are expertly calibrated to confuse, provoke, and cause maximal damage with limited investment.

The rapid development and implementation of these methods and strategies have transformed the digital information space into a 21st century competitive domain for hacking and leak attacks, disinformation bombs, and cyber sabotage. If the West does not promptly and properly respond to these challenges, it will face an uphill battle in this era of great power competition.

What can be done? EFI’s critical mission is to empower the West with the tools, knowledge, and a platform to fight back against the Kremlin and Beijing’s disinformation attacks. Doing so requires taking concrete steps today to address and diminish the effectiveness of influence operations and disinfo campaigns of all kinds – and moreover, to come up with a strategy for managing them. The Emerging Futures Institute (EFI) can provide critical insight, as well as a platform for collaboration across conventional expert sectors, to these proactive and innovative response measures and their policy implications.

Together, these efforts can further elevate the confidence, expertise, credibility, and voices of analysts and local organizations as important actors in understanding and countering disinformation in the European and transatlantic policy communities. Our goal is to transfer know-how on analyzing and countering disinformation; and forge cross-regional analytical communities that are better equipped and committed to fighting the Kremlin’s and Beijing’s political warfare.

It is no longer enough to have a whole-of-government approach. To effectively counter the digital challenges of the 21st century, the West must adopt a whole-of-society movement. Disinfo Hub seeks to answer this challenge by bringing together some of the brightest minds of our time and incubating the emerging minds of the next generations across the entire digital, political, social, and industrial battlefield.

Only together can we offer cohesive solutions and win this fight.