On November 29th and 30th, the 2022 edition of the Countering Disinformation Wargame took place in Brussels at TownHall Europe. The event was organized by the think tank Friends of Europe in collaboration with the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), an autonomous international organization established in 2017 in Helsinki, with the participation of 32 countries, as well as NATO and the European Union.

Every year, Hybrid CoE hosts a digital wargame as part of training activities to disseminate the necessary skills to counter disinformation campaigns. The organization focuses primarily on "hybrid threats," which are actions of media manipulation conducted by government or non-state agencies with the aim of damaging a state or international institution, influencing its decision-making at the local, regional, national, or supranational level. These operations are coordinated and target the vulnerabilities of democratic countries.

Demystifying Disinformation
On November 29th, the event began with the conference "Demystifying Disinformation," featuring contributions from academics, journalists, and researchers. In the opening speech, Radio Free Europe Director Jamie Fly highlighted the challenges faced by independent media in democratic countries: "A fragmented information environment and growing distrust in the media leave room for malign influences and disinformation."

Jakub Kalensky, founder of EUvsDisinfo, opened the first panel by explaining the Kremlin's propaganda strategy in the West: "There is nothing new in the narratives about the war in Ukraine. It's the repetition that gives strength to the Russian message, makes it familiar, and familiarity leads to growing acceptance. The difference in budget and people involved in the information war is abysmal: in Europe, it is still mainly the United States and the UK financing the fight against disinformation." Following this, Hybrid CoE Senior Analyst Jukka Aukia discussed the long propagandistic tradition of the Chinese Communist Party, which "claims to be democratic to destroy democracy and create more space for authoritarianism. Chinese disinformation amplifies ethnic and social conflict in the West, promoting racism and economic grievances."

The fundamental role of disinformation for terrorist organizations, aimed at fueling antagonism between groups, was emphasized by Mariam Tokhadze, Director of the Georgian Centre for Strategy and Development: "If I can convince my audience that I am the only one with all the answers, I can progressively make them believe that violence is the only viable solution. Extremist groups have developed such effective communication strategies that government organizations have always found themselves playing catch-up."

During the second panel, Chris Kremidas-Courtney, Senior Fellow of Friends for Europe, highlighted the new challenges posed by Extended Reality and the Metaverse: "For the first time, reality may not be a single verifiable perspective. This development could endanger democracy and social cohesion." When asked, "how can quality journalism combat disinformation?" Paul Taylor, Contributing Editor of Politico Europe, responded decisively: "Simply by doing their job. Journalists need to be in the field to provide an account and cross-check sources. Late is better than wrong!" Finally, the Director of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), Lauri Tierala, presented the work of the observatory founded by the European Commission. Tierala also announced the launch of six new national hubs, providing coverage for all twenty-seven EU member states.

Countering Disinformation Wargame
On the second day, the simulation of an information war took place on the Trasim platform. Representatives from various European countries were divided into seven groups, constituting the Blue Team: five national teams, NATO, and the EU. Other participants formed the Green Team, representing public opinion and independent media, and the Red Team, tasked with producing disinformation campaigns, fake news, hate speech, and creating pitfalls for the communication strategy of the Blue Team.

On Trasim, national teams could produce various types of content through STRATCOM communications and institutional profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as utilizing news outlets, influencers, and disseminators. The platform simulates the real-time flow of news on social media, allowing for the recreation of information overload, online controversies, polarizing debates on Twitter, and the chaos created by trolls, bots, and operators of Russian and Chinese propaganda. The challenge for the Blue Team was to recognize and respond to fake news, choosing effective debunking and prebunking tactics, providing transparent accounts of their actions, and defending the cohesion of their audiences. The ability to collaborate with other national and international bodies was another crucial element.

At the end of the exercise, the organizers compared strategies and emphasized the most effective approaches, revealing an improvement in the Blue Team's performance throughout the simulation. This demonstrated the utility of the wargame in applying skills and devising original solutions to the challenges of disinformation.