European Union in the age of misleading communications. Insights on disinformation and propaganda

This paper focuses on the presentation and the analysis of the European Union reactions in the communication sector in the wake of the ongoing current crisis on its Eastern flank and in a broader context. First of all the paper shall focus in its brief introductory section on the definition of disinformation and propaganda, and their uses throughout the history. After establishing the core notions, the next research approach would be directed on the Why we need to study them?. Thus the paper would present how this concept applies to Russia and its media campaigns of the last couple of years. These notions would be then supplemented for the specific purposes of this paper by concept of strategic communications defined in a 2011 Chatham House report, as “a systematic series of sustained and coherent activities, conducted across strategic, operational and tactical levels, that enables understanding of target audiences and identifies effective conduits to promote and sustain particular types of behaviour” (Cornish & all, 2011, p. 4).