Disinformation Monitoring (Operational Priorities)

The operational priority of Disinformation Monitoring is rooted in the growing threat that hostile disinformation poses to Allied security and cohesion. In the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022, NATO and EU leaders have explicitly recognized that state and non-state adversaries are weaponizing the information environment to undermine democratic societies and Alliance decision-making.

The NATO Strategic Concept 2022 warns that “strategic competitors” exploit the openness of Allied nations by conducting malicious cyber activities and promoting disinformation campaigns as part of a broader hybrid strategy .

This analysis answers: Why does hostile disinformation pose a growing threat to Allied security and cohesion following Russia's 2022 war against Ukraine? How do state and non-state adversaries weaponize the information environment as part of a broader hybrid strategy? Which mission sets, force posture and command-and-control architectures support disinformation monitoring as a NATO operational priority? What capability families, industrial base and structural bottlenecks constrain countering disinformation across the Alliance?