The European Commission has presented an action plan intended to counter the spread of disinformation across Europe. The intention is to ensure that the democratic systems of the EU and its Member States are adequately protected, in view of the 2019 European Parliament elections. 

The action plan focuses on four key areas, with the intention of strengthening cooperation between the EU and its Member States. It prioritises the need for the EU to be better equipped to detect instances of disinformation, both within Member States, and the EU’s neighbouring countries. It also looks towards the setting up of a Rapid Alert System between the EU and Member States. This would facilitate data sharing on the circulation of disinformation, and assist with communication of the EU’s values and policies. 

The plan also looks to ensure that disinformation does not impact the 2019 elections by stepping up efforts to close fake online accounts, and immediately detect disinformation campaigns, in both traditional and online media sources. Finally, it looks towards raising awareness on EU institutions and empowering citizens through media literacy. This would help citizens to tell when information being presented is false. 

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