Disinformation: budgetary inflation with limited effects
Disinformation exists, foreign interference has been documented, and social media raises real political questions. But the most robust scientific studies show that their effects on opinions and polarization remain limited and contextual. Yet, with the Democracy Shield and AgoraEU projects, the European Union is embarking on an unprecedented budgetary and institutional ramp-up to respond to them. Between empirical evidence and political inflation, the question of proportionality deserves to be asked. The fight against disinformation and political polarization online is changing scale in Europe. With the Democracy Shield project and the future AgoraEU program, the European Commission is no longer content to simply provide a framework: it is planning an unprecedented budgetary and institutional ramp-up. The future multiannual financial framework (2028–2034) allocates €8.6 billion to AgoraEU, including €3.2 billion for MEDIA+—now…