Covert information influence operations targeting various events in 2024. Image Source: 3rd EEAS Report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Threats.

The network infrastructure of Russia and China in information influencing spans several platforms and geographical areas, which highlights the scale and complexity of the threat to democracies. Official and named channels are just the tip of the iceberg in information influencing. These interact with a vast network of channels connected to states that are hidden from the public.

The report of the European External Action Service provides an overview of the key trends in information influencing in 2024. As many as 90 countries have been targeted, highlighting the global nature of the threat. Ukraine remains a continuous victim of the attacks, with almost half of the recorded incidents. France, Germany, Moldova, and sub-Saharan Africa were also heavily targeted. Elections were the main target of attacks in 2024, when more than half of the world’s eligible voters went to the polls. Information attacks were also targeted at organizations and individuals. The EU, NATO, and the independent media were the targets of many at-tacks.

Social media platforms remained the most important channels for influencing information. 88 % of the detected activity occurred on X (formerly Twitter). Key tactics, techniques, and procedures included botnets and coordinated inauthentic behaviour, as well as the creation of inauthentic news sites. The use of generative AI provided a low-cost option for threat actors to produce inauthentic content and expand the scope of their activity. The EU report presents case studies of Russian campaigns in Moldova and Africa, as well as one operation originating in China, illustrating how information influence networks adapt their strategies to geopolitical changes and local conditions.