When Information Becomes a Weapon: The EU’s Turn to FIMI

When Information Becomes a Weapon: The EU’s Turn to FIMI

As the EU seeks to defend democracy from foreign interference, it is reframing information as a potential security threat. This is reshaping how Europe understands speech, power, and security. This episode explores what FIMI changes and what it risks breaking in the EU’s own tools of global influence. Host: Luis Bouza García (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) Guests: Lucas Proto (El Confidencial / Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Ruth Ferrero Turrión (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Sophier Veriter (Institute of Security and Global Affairs Leiden University). Producción: Franco Delle Donne (Rombo Podcasts)

Educating for Democracy: Empowering Citizens to Identify Good Information

European federalists have long wished for the EU to be taught in schools, but the real chance for Europeanised education may lie in fostering critical thinking skills in school.  In this episode, we explore whether citizenship education should be a subject in European curricula, and how EU-level coordination can support teachers and students. Hosts: Luis Bouza García (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and Álvaro Oleart (Université libre de Bruxelles) Guests: Alessia Chiriatti (Istituto Affari Internazionali) and Federico Castiglioni (Istituto Affari Internazionali) Production: Franco Delle Donne (Rombo Podcasts)

Policy alternatives to EU’s regulation of disinformation

In this episode, we unpack three proposals on democratic responses to disinformation, from social media regulation and algorithmic transparency to strengthening public service media. We also explore calls for a holistic EU-wide strategy on information integrity. Hosts: Luis Bouza, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Álvaro Oleart, Université libre de Bruxelles. Guest: Julia Rone, Assistant Professor Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam researching social movements, politics and the utopias and dystopias of digital media. Production: Franco Delle Donne, Rombo Podcasts

RECLAIM Final Conference, entitled “Frontiers of Truth: Reclaiming liberal democracy in a post-factual world”

Today’s episode is a bit special, as it was recorded in the context of the RECLAIM Final Conference, and it was a panel entitled  “Beyond the clickbait: Information flows and EU policy-making” which basically dealt with the EU media ecosystem, the relationship between EU media and EU institutions, the business model of EU media both established such as the FT and new initiatives such as James Kanter EU Scream, or the relationship between media and tech/AI. Host: Álvaro Oleart, FNRS Postdoctoral Researcher, Université Libre de Bruxelles. Guests: Ciara Bottomley (Amnesty International), Paola Tamma (Financial Times), James Kanter (EU Scream.  Production: Franco Delle Donne, Rombo Podcasts

Forget FOMO, This Is FIMI

Today, we explore how the EU's emerging FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) framework shifts the focus from truthfulness to intent in combating foreign influence, raising critical questions about transparency, bias, and the limits of democratic defense. Host: Lucas Proto, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Guest Editor: Jan Daniel, Senior Researcher, Institute of International Relations Prague Prague. Guests: Charlotte Wagnsson is Professor in political science at the Swedish Defence University; Domenico Valenza, foreign policy practitioner and Associate Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies.  Production: Franco Delle Donne, Rombo Podcasts