The European Union, Canada, and Lithuania dropped their official sponsorships of a leading European counter-disinformation conference after receiving direct pressure from the United States State Department. The diplomatic retreat unfolded just days before the #Disinfo2026 summit in Vilnius, sparked by a panel session examining the United States as a potential foreign interference threat.
The annual gathering, which kicked off Wednesday at a hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania, brings together hundreds of researchers, journalists, technologists, and policymakers. Run by the Brussels-based non-profit EU DisinfoLab, the conference provides a laboratory for developing European policy against foreign information manipulation and interference, known as FIMI. But this year’s schedule hit a severe diplomatic nerve in Washington by featuring a session titled, “USA as a FIMI threat: adapt, acknowledge, push back.”
According to internal State Department documents reviewed by The Guardian, US officials intervened directly with multiple governments to demand changes. Washington expressed gratitude to Lithuania for taking US concerns seriously and for finding a panel framing the US as a foreign threat “reprehensible and surprising.” Sources familiar with the deliberations pointed to the office of Sarah B Rogers, the US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, as a key driver of the communications.
The backlash left visible scars on the conference venue itself. Days before the event, the logos of main supporters—including the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European External Action Service (EEAS), and Global Affairs Canada—were stripped from the official conference website. Attendees and observers noted white stickers hastily affixed over the printed logos of these organizations on official physical programs and flyers.
How Allied Governments Responded to Washington’s Push
Each of the withdrawing governments issued statements pointing to programmatic disagreements. The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry announced the cancellation of its participation because several parts of the conference schedule differed from official government positions. The move arrived shortly after Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius met with US envoy John Coale and requested a permanent US military base in the country, a proposal President Donald Trump stated he would consider.
Canada similarly recalibrated its footprint. Samantha Lafleur, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, explained that the government assesses sponsorship on a case-by-case basis and decided to revise its participation following changes to panel discussions. However, Canadian officials still maintained a presence at the conference. The Globe and Mail reported that Canadian jurist Kimberly Prost, who was sanctioned by Trump over an International Criminal Court case involving American troops in Afghanistan, was featured as an attendee, while a Canadian official was slated to chair a session on disinformation in the Arctic.
The European Union’s diplomatic service also withdrew its official branding and support. An EU spokesperson confirmed that the EEAS pulled out because organizers chose a framing that did not align with official Union positions regarding the US as a disinformation actor. Despite dropping its official sponsorship, the EU continues to provide financial funding for the event. In its latest FIMI threat report published in March, the EEAS named Russia and China as “threat actors” without making negative references to the United States.
Not all European partners capitulated to American pressure. A diplomatic source at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Paris saw no reason to alter its commitments, emphasizing that supporting civil society remains both a principled and operational necessity for Europe’s security architecture.
| Organization / Nation | Sponsorship Status | Stated Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Withdrawn | Programme differed from official government position |
| Global Affairs Canada | Withdrawn (Participation retained) | Revising involvement due to panel session framing |
| European External Action Service (EEAS) | Withdrawn (Funding maintained) | Disagreed with characterizing the US as a FIMI actor |
| France Foreign Ministry | Maintained | Commitment to supporting civil society and operational labs |
The Fallout for Free Speech and Transatlantic Security
Nina Jankowicz, a former US official and disinformation expert who briefly led the Biden administration’s Disinformation Governance Board, sharply criticized the intervention. She argued that the State Department used the immense power of the US government to pressure international partners and discourage Americans from criticizing their own government.
Benjamin Shultz, a lead researcher at the American Sunlight Project and conference participant, disputed claims by Canadian officials that the panel subjects had been altered or reframed at the last minute, noting that descriptions had remained unchanged since June.
The intervention highlights an increasingly interventionist posture from Washington regarding European civil society organizations. Over the past year, the State Department has awarded millions of dollars in non-competitive grants across Europe to groups aligned with Trump’s agenda, changing who conducts and controls international research and policy dialogue.
