Investigating Pro-Kremlin Influence in Europe”, funded by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF), is a project led by ISD’s Information Operations Workstream alongside its technology partner CASM technologies and AFP (Agence France Presse). Over the past year, this research initiative analysed how pro-Kremlin disinformation intersects with domestic extremist and conspiracist ecosystems across Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Through a series of nine investigations including cross-lingual network analysis, investigative research, and local expert collaboration, this project has mapped how Russian state-aligned narratives are adapted to national contexts and amplified through domestic actors. It has also evaluated the effectiveness of current European sanctions in pushing back against these trends.

The project has been central to ISD’s Influence Operations workstream, producing actionable intelligence on foreign information manipulation and producing recommendations to strengthen European resilience against coordinated propaganda campaigns.