We cannot counter propaganda on social media with laws. What is needed is a platform for European news - in all European languages. This is technically possible. We just need the political will.

Despite major regulatory efforts, the EU Commission has not yet succeeded in preventing foreign interference, propaganda and manipulation of public opinion in Europe. Citizens are currently seeing news that is not news, fakes whose origins are unclear, increasingly deceptively real news generated by AI and spread by bots and trolls funded by autocrats.

So, what to do, Europe? It is not enough to fight fake news with fact checking. We need to strengthen fact telling just as much. In other words, professional journalism, which is struggling to survive due to the current digital structural change of the public sphere and which we urgently need as the fourth estate to control power. It's about strengthening professional journalism so that citizens can access reliable information. And speed is of the essence.

We can act through the smart use of technologies that do not have to be invented but are available today.  This means that news and political information from Europe's media can be made available on a publicly organised and accountable platform.

News and political information from Europe's media can be made available to all Europeans in their own national language on a publicly established and accountable platform. Only based on reliable information can citizens make free and self-determined decisions. And only with its own digital infrastructure does the free press in Europe have a chance of survival. In times of hybrid warfare, democracy must finally be able to defend itself in the information sector.

This is why the Council for European Public Space has developed the concept of a decentralised platform for trustworthy news. It is based on the experience of numerous pilot projects in recent years and second studies commissioned by the European Parliament's research department, the STOA.

The experiences show: It is technically and legally possible to make all European TV news available to all Europeans in their own language. This would finally fulfil an important fundamental right: according to Article 11 of the European Charter of Human Rights, all citizens already have the right to unhindered free regardless of borders. With the help of this new digital service, they can compile their own news from the wide range of European media, change perspectives and compare sources.

The Europlatform does not create a centralised Brussels perspective on the world. It merely combines what is already available everywhere in Europe and, by making it accessible to all citizens in all languages, increases the range of professional news and thus the diversity of opinion in every member state at a stroke.  It is plural, decentralised and subsidiary in terms of technology and content, and thus reflects the spirit of Europe.

As a first step, TV news from public broadcasters should be made accessible. Europe's license fee payers finance public service media with over 27 billion euros per year, of which the Germans contribute over a third. Why should the news, which is already paid for, not be available to all citizens throughout Europe? All that is needed to make this rich offer visible to all Europeans is an investment of an estimated 40 million euros per year. Europe must make this sum available because this infrastructure represents a piece of practical public service for democracy that enables all citizens to obtain reliable information and orientation on a daily basis. In further steps, the platform must be open to private TV providers and media houses, as well as non-profit independent media and cultural institutions. The visibility of the new offering should be established by introducing a findability obligation for reliable news on TikTok, X, Instagram and co.

The simultaneous overcoming of language barriers, made possible for the first time by technology, is a huge opportunity for better mutual understanding and for Europe to come together. Umberto Eco already called translation the language of Europe. Today, translation technology must be the continent's technology of the future. For the first time in history, it could also enable national public spheres to alternate.

Europe's strength would become visible, which lies in its unity while at the same time preserving its diversity. A common democratic resonance chamber would emerge in Europe. This is a prerequisite for political action, which can only be democratically legitimised through public deliberation processes. Let us strengthen the European public sphere now through concrete measures before it is too late!

**

The blog is written by Matthias Pfeffer who works as a Director of the Council for European Puplic Space. DECA's Interaction Lead Minna Horowitz is also involved in the Councils work.

Contact:

matthias@europeanpublicspace.eu

minna.aslama@helsinki.fi

‍