Foresight in Action
By Dr David Wright . The ATHENA project has been using horizon scanning and other foresight methods to understand how new and emerging technologies will impact foreign information manipulation and interference in the next three to five years. In this blog, we focus on the different methods used in foresight and, especially, how artificial intelligence […]
Engage Against the Machine! Why Communications Professionals Matter in the Fight Against Disinformation
By Nayara Güércio . What happens when truth begins to feel negotiable? That was the question at the heart of my recent presentation, “Engage Against the Machine: The role of communications professionals in AI-driven disinformation” at TU Dublin‘s 2026 SymPRandA – Credibility, Content and AI: Rethinking PR Practices. From the beginning, the session felt less […]
Epistemic Judo and Weaponising Truth
By Marianna Prysiazhniuk . Imagine two chess grandmasters at a table. One is secretly playing go, not chess. Their moves seem inexplicable by chess logic until you realise one never aimed to checkmate. Instead, their goal was to encircle, build territory, and make the entire board unplayable. This is the predicament of Western liberal democracies […]
Making Sense of FIMI: From Fragmentation to Shared Insight
By Nayara Güércio . FIMI is not one problem with one solution. It keeps moving, shifting shape, adapting as it goes, often slipping past the simple explanations we try to impose on it. That is why no one project can fully capture it. Seen together, the projects from the FIMI cluster (including ATHENA, RESONANT, ARM […]
Not Just Withstanding, Responding: Rethinking Strategies Against Foreign Information Manipulation
By Nayara Güércio . Foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) are no longer abstract risks discussed only in policy circles. They are shaping public debate, influencing political trust, and testing democratic stability across Europe. The ATHENA Project operates within this context. In December 2025, Dr David Wright, coordinator of the project, delivered a presentation to […]
When Information Becomes a Weapon: Understanding the Forces Shaping Modern Democracies
By Nayara Güércio . The beginning of a new year often marks a point of transition. For the ATHENA Project, it also signals the start of its final year, and the moment when years of research are brought together to inform those working to protect democratic life. This moment signals not a conclusion, but a […]
Building a stronger European response to FIMI: Reflections from the FIMI Cluster meeting at #Disinfo2025 in Ljubljana
By Inès Gentil (EU DisinfoLab), ATHENA partners and ARM project partners. On 16 October 2025, partners from across Europe met in Ljubljana for the ATHENA FIMI Cluster Meeting, hosted by EU DisinfoLab as part of its annual conference #Disinfo2025. Around the table were researchers, fact-checkers and analysts from LAUREA, EOS, UCD, Maldita, the ARM project (CMO) […]
Pravda in Spain: How Russian propaganda machine targets Spanish audiences
By Celia Ramos Vera, Maldita.es Key points: The visit of the ex High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to Kyiv on 9 November 2024 triggered the first massive wave of publications on Spain News Pravda, the newly launched Spain-focused branch of the international Russian disinformation and propaganda network Pravda, which […]
FROM SCREENS TO DUBLIN: ATHENA PMC MEETS IN PERSON!
This week, the ATHENA team convened in Dublin for an in-person meeting, bringing together colleagues who had not seen one another for some time, and allowing others to finally meet beyond the confines of a screen. As we begin our final project year, it is heartening to witness the progress achieved so far, while recognising […]
OUR BOOK IS OUT!
New ATHENA Publication Released! We are delighted to announce the release ofForeign Information Manipulation and Interference: Case Studies from the ATHENA Project,published by Springer and edited by our project coordinator, Dr David Wright. This timely volume explores how state and non-state actors, including Russia, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, North Korea and India, deploy foreign […]