First policy brief from EU Horizon project on authoritarian states’ control of information

HSSH, with work led by university researcher Matti Pohjonen from HSSH’s Methodological Unit, is a partner in a EU Horizon project led by CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute) in Bergen, Norway, that explores different mechanisms of authoritarian information suppression globally. 

The first policy brief of the project has been published and it focuses on the conceptualisation of information suppression. The brief highlights how the concept of information suppression includes a distinct set of tools deployed by governments that fall outside of the more thoroughly analysed concept of disinformation. Information suppression is used strategically to silence opposition and control narratives both domestically and internationally.

To effectively counter information suppression, a nuanced understanding is crucial. This includes recognising the interplay between online and offline tactics, the role of non-state actors, and the complex dynamics within diaspora communities. By addressing these factors, policymakers and researchers can develop more comprehensive strategies to protect freedom of expression and democracy.

"A rigorous conceptual understanding of information suppression is crucial to research the contemporary politics of digital media. This implies the need to include both classical mechanisms of information suppression such as media censorship and internet shutdowns that are widely used globally but also the new ways actors manipulate the "salience" of information through mechanisms such as flooding social media with misleading content, algorithmic amplification of  spin or emerging forms of AI-driven propaganda," Matti Pohjonen says.