The recent publication by Carlos González-Tormo and Nuria Hernández-García in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (https://rdcu.be/fmdKM) analyses the role of hybrid threats in the European context, focusing on the relationship between disinformation, digital media consumption, and democratic attitudes in the European Union between 2019 and 2025, and examining how these factors have evolved during critical periods such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Unlike the predominant narratives that warn of a widespread erosion of institutional trust and increasing polarisation, the authors argue that democratic stability in the EU has been greater than expected, as the data show that trust in European institutions has remained relatively constant and that polarisation has not experienced a significant increase. In this regard, the study challenges the more alarmist interpretations concerning the direct impact of disinformation.
However, the research introduces a key nuance: disinformation does not primarily act as a factor of immediate destabilisation, but rather as a gradual mechanism for the normalisation of certain narrative frameworks, particularly those linked to Euroscepticism, in a process that manifests itself with particular intensity in areas such as immigration and national sovereignty, where certain ideas that were previously marginal come to be perceived as legitimate positions within political debate. In this respect, the analysis identifies two fundamental variables that mediate this dynamic: attitudes towards immigration and the level of trust in national parliaments.
In themselves, these factors exert a decisive influence on the construction of political identities, support for European integration, and preferences regarding a potential withdrawal from the EU. Thus, digital media consumption does not have a direct and uniform effect, but instead operates through specific attitudinal filters.
Furthermore, from a theoretical perspective, the article contributes to the development of the concept of hybrid threats by demonstrating that external influence and information manipulation function more effectively through strategies of narrative reconfiguration than through direct attacks on institutions. This approach reinforces the idea that democratic resilience can coexist with sector-specific vulnerabilities.
Finally, the research reveals relevant practical implications, such as the need to design more targeted media literacy policies focused on particularly sensitive issues such as immigration. Likewise, it advocates institutional communication strategies that not only correct false information, but also construct alternative narrative frameworks capable of responding to citizens’ concerns without reinforcing exclusionary discourses, while also highlighting the importance of reassessing the role of digital platforms, particularly with regard to the algorithmic amplification of content. Consequently, the study offers a more nuanced view of the impact of disinformation in the European Union, emphasising that the principal risks to democracy stem not so much from abrupt erosion as from gradual transformations in the boundaries of what is considered politically acceptable.
