Vilnius conference proceeds after supporters scale back involvement

The Disinfo2026 conference in Vilnius went ahead on October 7 and 8 after Lithuania cancelled its participation and Canada revised its involvement in several panels, following US diplomatic outreach over a session examining whether the United States poses an information-manipulation threat to Europe. The European External Action Service also withdrew its support for the event, though the scope of that decision remains unclear. Reporting said the EU continued to fund the conference. France remained listed as a main supporter, and a French diplomatic source said the country had no reason to change its support for civil society work. The conference, organised by Brussels-based nonprofit EU DisinfoLab, brought together researchers, journalists, civil society groups, technology specialists and policymakers working on foreign information manipulation and interference, known as FIMI. Its programme included a panel titled “USA as a FIMI threat,” which considered how Europe’s counter-disinformation community might build resilience without Washington and respond to a strained transatlantic relationship.