Dissatisfied with being accused of being an information threat to Europe, the United States lobbies allies to withdraw support for anti-disinformation conference
Quick Look
- The State Department lobbied Canada and European allies to withdraw support for an anti-disinformation conference that included a panel on the United States' role as an "information threat to Europe," three U.S. officials said.
- Lithuania has canceled its participation, Canada has adjusted its participation methods, and France remains the main supporter.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The anti-disinformation conference hosted by the European Union’s Anti-Disinformation Laboratory was originally scheduled to be held from the 7th to the 8th. The agenda included discussing the threat of the United States as a foreign information manipulation and intervention, causing dissatisfaction among US officials and lobbying allies to withdraw support.
Three U.S. officials revealed that the U.S. State Department lobbied Canada and European allies to withdraw support for an anti-disinformation conference because the conference arranged a discussion to discuss the United States' role as an "information threat to Europe."
According to Reuters, the meeting will be held from the 7th to the 8th, and one of the panels will be titled "The United States as a Foreign Information Manipulation and Intervention (FIMI) Threat: Acknowledge, Adapt, and Counterattack." The conference was hosted by the Brussels-based non-profit EU DisinfoLab, which says its mission is to understand and deal with disinformation.
Please read on...
U.S. State Department officials urged officials from Lithuania, Canada and France to withdraw support for the conference, U.S. officials said. U.S. diplomats also persuaded the foreign ministries of Canada and Lithuania, listed as "major supporters" of the conference, to distance themselves from the meeting. The French government is still listed as the only remaining "main supporter" of the conference.
The agenda of the meeting, which has been public since at least September 9, states that it will explore one of the most thorny issues in today's counter-disinformation field, namely how the United States has become a FIMI threat to Europe. Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Lithuania had canceled its participation in the meeting because some parts of the meeting agenda were different from the government's official position.
Global Affairs Canada also said in a statement that Canadian officials were still participating in the meeting, but due to changes in the discussion framework of the meeting, Canada decided to adjust the way it participated in several discussions.
The U.S. State Department said that while it could not comment on the details of the meeting, it was not surprising that countries distanced themselves from the meeting after learning that the United States was labeled a disinformation threat.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The United States will continue to lobby allies to avoid participating in forums that label the United States an information threat
Likely · Within weeks
France may face diplomatic pressure from the United States to adjust its level of support for the conference
Possible · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific lobbying methods does the U.S. State Department use?
- Why does France remain a major supporter?
- Will this incident affect cooperation between the United States and Europe on other information security issues?
