Europe’s Disinformation Factory

The EU-Funded Narrative War

This article is also available in Brazilian Portuguese. 👉 

image: Copilot-AFPP

By Antonio Fernando Pinheiro Pedro

Europe is exporting informational manipulation under the false promise of protecting democracy. The charming packaging? Public policies and research programs funded by the European Union. The content? A semantic assault on freedom of speech.

Democratic Facades and Authoritarian Scripts

Free expression — once a non-negotiable pillar of democracies — now faces threats from bureaucrats disguised as guardians of truth. The study “Manufacturing Misinformation – The EU-funded propaganda war against free speech” by Dr. Norman Lewis, published by MCC Brussels in May 2025, unveils a disturbing trend: the shift from combating falsehoods to constructing politically approved narratives.

In Lewis's words, this Orwellian drift is marked by the emergence of institutions like a Ministry of Narrative Control, legitimizing certain discourses while silencing dissent. Dialogue is no longer welcomed — it's curated, filtered, sterilized.

Narrative Intelligence: The Engine Behind the Curtain

Of the 349 projects funded by the EU, several stand out as building blocks of an informational cage:

• FAST LISA – legal-linguistic tactics to fight hate speech
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• REASON – countering online hate discourse
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• RECO-DAR – mapping extremist ecosystems
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• VIGILANT – AI-based disinformation detection
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• VERA.AI & TITAN – public “trust-building” through verification
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• ORBIS – boosts democratic participation, but with scripted transparency

These projects don't just reinterpret meaning — they appropriate concepts and redefine neutrality itself.

Democracy on Autopilot

Technologically advanced, yes — democratically sound, no. Lewis argues these platforms replace open debate with semantic coercion, eroding trust and co-creation in the public sphere.

His appendix, aptly titled NEUspeak, reveals how institutional jargon weaponizes words like transparency and resilience to camouflage control. Language once neutral now serves the state.

Brazil’s Supreme Court — A Mirror in Black Robes

Lewis’s findings resonate loudly in Brazil. Under the excuse of “fighting fake news,” the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has installed a content monitoring regime that dangerously resembles European models.

Through unilateral rulings and investigations devoid of due process, the STF has crossed into journalistic and legislative territory — censoring outlets and erasing digital voices. The Brazilian version of the EU’s model carries a unique blend: populist overreach, corruption, and narco-marxist flavoring.

The outcome? A juristocracy wrapped in Latin American tragedy.

Final Thought — The Naked Emperor and His Killer Toy

Lewis’s final metaphor is piercing: “The emperor is naked.” Behind noble words lies a system built for silence.

And here in Brazil? We’re not just importing the EU’s narrative weaponry — we’re test subjects of its most twisted experiments.

The shiny policy box, once opened, isn’t filled with enlightenment — it’s a killer toy. One designed to murder hearts, crush voices, and erase minds.

References

Lewis, Norman. Manufacturing Misinformation – The EU-funded propaganda war against free speech. MCC Brussels, May 2025. Available at: brussels.mcc.hu (PDF)

Orwell, George. 1984. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2009.

Pedro, Antonio F. Pinheiro. “Somos Todos Cobaias do 'Golpe do Golpe' Globalista”. Blog The Eagle View, Feb 2024. Available at: theeagleview.com.br/2024/02/somos-todos-cobaias-do-golpe-do-golpe.html

Antonio Fernando Pinheiro Pedro is a lawyer (USP), journalist, and environmental consultant. He served as Executive Secretary for Climate Change for the Municipality of São Paulo from June 2021 to July 2023. A founding partner of Pinheiro Pedro Advogados, he is a director of AICA (Corporate and Environmental Intelligence Agency). He is a member of the Brazilian Lawyers Institute (IAB) and Vice President of the São Paulo Press Association (API). He was the first president of the Environmental Commission of the São Paulo Bar Association (OAB/SP), president of the Technical Chamber of Legislation of CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development), Chairman of the Environment Committee of AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce), and a consultant to the World Bank, the UN, and several other organizations charged with improving the state's legal and institutional framework. He is a member of the Strategic Studies Center of the Think Tank Iniciativa DEX, a member of the Superior Council for National Studies and Politics of FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), President of the Water University Association - UNIÁGUA, Editor-in-Chief of the Portal Ambiente Legal and responsible for the blog The Eagle View.