The "Securitization" of Information Disorders

Hybrid threats, consisting of a combination of conventional and unconventional, military and non-military activities, including disinformation campaign, were clearly addressed by the EU external action service in the light of the degradation of relations with Russia. In this scenario, the gradual transformation of disinformation into a security issue is part of a broader process known as ‘securitization’, that happens when a certain issue is designated as an existential threat to certain objects and requires urgent and extraordinary actions often going beyond the regular political rules and procedures. The emerging idea is that Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) does not only constitute a threat to democracy, but also to EU security. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to analyze the development of this process through the documents produced by the EU institutions, also highlighting the risks and inconsistencies related to it. Indeed, in the last years the EU has been promoting a discourse linking disinformation to security, exceptionalism, and geopolitical strategies, but being lax at the same time with the obligations and responsibilities of digital intermediaries.