Ongoing wars and electoral processes once again created fertile ground for disinformation across Europe in March 2026. According to the latest EDMO monthly brief, the war between Israel/USA and Iran became the most dominant disinformation topic of the month, filling online platforms with misleading claims, recycled footage and manipulated visuals.
Artificial intelligence was again heavily used to create and spread false content, confirming a growing trend seen during major international crises. Members of the EDMO fact-checking network also warned that AI chatbots should not be seen as trustworthy fact-checkers, with X’s Grok standing out after wrongly assessing visual material linked to the conflict.
At the same time, electoral disinformation continued to spread in several European countries. In Hungary, ahead of the parliamentary elections on 12 April, HDMO Hub and members of the EDMO fact-checking network identified false claims circulating widely, many of them appearing to favour Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party.
Similar developments were observed in Denmark, Slovenia and Bulgaria, where pre-election debates were affected by misleading narratives.
Read the full EDMO monthly brief here.
