EU drops sponsorship of disinformation conference at Trump officials’ request
Summary
The US government asked several countries, including Canada, Lithuania, and the EU’s diplomatic service, to stop sponsoring a European conference on disinformation. These countries then withdrew their support after concerns about a conference panel that discussed the US as a potential source of foreign information interference.Key Facts
- The conference, called #Disinfo2026, gathers experts on disinformation in Vilnius, Lithuania.
- The Trump administration contacted multiple governments to pressure them to withdraw support for the event.
- Canada, Lithuania, and the EU’s diplomatic service all pulled their sponsorship and removed their logos from conference materials.
- A panel titled “USA as a FIMI threat” examined the US role in foreign information manipulation in Europe.
- US officials thanked Lithuania for limiting its involvement after the country found that panel "reprehensible and surprising."
- The US State Department’s outreach reportedly came partly from Sarah B Rogers, undersecretary for public diplomacy.
- Some officials said the program of the conference did not reflect their countries’ official views on the US role in disinformation.
- Despite withdrawing sponsorship, Canadian officials still participated in the conference.
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