The institution emphasized that they will not be silenced.Continue reading
MCC Brussels published its latest report “Manufacturing Misinformation: the EU-funded propaganda war against free speech” by Dr. Norman Lewis. In it, the author highlights that the European Union spends millions of euros on projects exploring so-called “hate speech” and “disinformation,” which is mainly financed through the Horizon research program.
The report reveals a covert campaign by the European Commission to regulate public debate in Europe under the guise of combating ‘hate speech’ and ‘disinformation.’ It uncovers how the Commission has funded hundreds of unaccountable non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and universities to carry out 349 projects related to countering ‘hate speech’ and ‘disinformation’ to the tune of almost €650 million, MCC Brussels’ statement reads.
This massive allocation of taxpayers’ money has been consciously used to fund an Orwellian disinformation complex to dictate and control the language of public debate. The report argues that this is not a benign act of responsible government but a systematic assault on free speech in Europe. They highlighted that
the EU is engaged in a silent war to regulate language, aiming for a top-down, authoritarian, curated consensus, where expression is free only when it speaks the language of compliance established by the Commission.
These projects, often framed in ambiguous and euphemistic terms referred to as “NEUspeak,” are designed to construct an ideological infrastructure for controlling political narratives and shaping public opinion. This is a self-conscious attempt to create a moral panic around “disinformation” and “hate speech” with the ambition that EU institutions, under the guise of the Digital Services Act (DSA), will be called on to further regulate online speech, the report shows.
By funding activist-researchers, the EU produces the very narrative which is increasingly key to its legitimacy: that only EU institutions can protect European democracy from misinformation and hate.
This is described as a “Ministry for Narrative Control” dedicated to shaping European thought and delegitimize alternative narratives, like the rising tide of populist opposition, the report reveals.
The report highlights several examples of these projects:
The report points out that this vast expenditure, 31% higher than the money allocated for transnational cancer research projects, reveals that the EU is dependent on inventing the problem it then must solve.
What is presented as neutral “research” is often the ritual confirmation of preordained political assumptions, with academia and NGOs financially incentivized to legitimize the Commission’s narrative.
MCC Brussels’ report is not merely an exposé of financial misuse but a democratic intervention. It argues that when language is narrowed, softened, obfuscated, or stripped of meaning, so is the possibility of resistance and the development of alternatives. The Commission, by defining what may be said and how it must be framed, does not protect democracy but undermines it. The institute therefore warns that this crusade fatally undermines free speech and democracy in the name of democracy and free expression.
“This is not benign,” said Dr. Norman Lewis, author of the report. “These 349 projects involve hundreds of organizations in a recursive, self-serving loop. It’s a corrupt and corrupting influence that diminishes civil society and academic integrity. There is no pursuit of truth – only alignment with a bureaucratic narrative designed to stifle opposition.”
MCC Brussels concludes that this campaign – under the banner of democracy – poses a serious threat to democratic values, by narrowing public discourse and suppressing dissent in favor of algorithmic governance and elite consensus.
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