EDMO’s 60th monthly brief reports that the war in Ukraine, migration and hantavirus were among the topics most targeted by false news in May 2026.
According to the report’s data, disinformation around COVID-19 increased, likely due to claims circulating about the hantavirus outbreak. Several false stories linked the issue to the coronavirus pandemic, vaccines and conspiracy theories, while claims also circulated about measures similar to those introduced during the COVID-19 period.
At the same time, current events continued to fuel disinformation around migration, with anti-migration and Islamophobic narratives exploiting incidents that took place in European countries.
The report’s data also show that the share of disinformation content generated or altered using artificial intelligence decreased by three percentage points compared to April, returning to the levels recorded in October 2025.
Read EDMO’s monthly brief here.
