Cogent Social Sciences

Information Manipulation and the Integrity of Democratic Processes: FIMI, Disinformation, and Media Ecosystems

The contemporary information ecosystem is increasingly defined by the rapid dissemination of manipulated content, posing a fundamental challenge to democratic stability and public trust. Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) and domestic disinformation campaigns weaponize hate speech and gender-based violence to marginalize vulnerable populations, silence political participation and deepen societal polarization. These developments strain the established ethical and operational frameworks of journalism, civic engagement, and political communication.

While the academic community has recognized the severity of these threats, the tactics employed by malicious actors continuously adapt to new digital environments and media formats. Consequently, researchers and practitioners operate in a landscape where traditional countermeasures often lag the sophistication of the narratives being deployed. Contributions are encouraged to address the empirical, systemic, and social dimensions of this phenomenon. Attention will be given to how media producers, fact-checkers, and civil society organizations are responding to the systemic risks posed by coordinated information manipulation.

In alignment with global frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG 5 on Gender Equality and SDG 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), this Article Collection recognizes one of the most pressing challenges in contemporary political communication: the erosion of information integrity in the face of evolving disinformation strategies. Coordinated influence campaigns and FIMI increasingly shape public discourse, yet their specific mechanics across different media products and regional contexts require deeper empirical analysis. Without rigorous examination of how these narratives are constructed, disseminated, and consumed—and how they translate into tangible harms like gendered disinformation and hate speech—democratic institutions risk failing to protect the integrity of civic processes. This Article Collection provides a critical forum for bridging the gap between theoretical models of communication and the operational reality of modern propaganda. It invites scholars to explore the intersection of journalism, social media dynamics, and political discourse through a multidisciplinary lens, illuminating how disinformation actively shapes the modern public sphere.

1. Disinformation and Electoral Processes: Case studies and comparative analyses of information manipulation during regional and national elections.
2. Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI): Identifying the strategies, actors, and impacts of cross-border influence campaigns.
3. Hate Speech and Social Polarization: Analyzing how disinformation campaigns exploit societal fault lines and utilize hate speech to undermine democratic cohesion and target specific communities.
4. Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: Examining the intersection of disinformation and gender, specifically how manipulated narratives are weaponized to harass, silence, and marginalize women and vulnerable populations in the public sphere.
5. Platform Interventions and Countermeasures: Assessing the dual role of digital platforms as both vectors of harm and tools for democratic resilience, including algorithmic transparency, “safety by design” principles, and collaborative counter-disinformation tech.
6. Disinformation in Journalism: The impact of manipulated narratives on journalistic practices, professional ethics, and fact-checking responses.
7. The Amplification Role of Social Media: How platform algorithms, echo chambers, and user behaviors facilitate the spread of false information.
8. Analysis of Disinformation Products: Methodological approaches to dissecting specific media artifacts, fake news structures, and manipulated audiovisual content.
9. Civic Education and Resilience: Strategies for combating disinformation through media literacy and citizen engagement.

When submitting to this Collection, please select the "Media and Communication Studies" section, and select the name of the Collection from the dropdown menu when prompted. 

Mauro Marino-Jiménez is the Executive Director of the Observatorio de la Desinformación: Misión Perú (a collaborative initiative under the sponsorship of the Observatorio Complutense de la Desinformación).  As a university professor specializing in communication research, his work focuses heavily on the structural analysis of political discourse, media environments, and the pedagogical tools necessary to build societal resilience against information manipulation. Site of the project: https://observatorioperu.org

The Guest Advisor does not have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

For more information about this Article Collection, please reach out to the Commissioning Editor, Dr. Molly Cole, at [email protected].