Three prominent international backers have withdrawn their official sponsorship from the annual counter-disinformation gathering #Disinfo2026 in Vilnius, Lithuania, following intense pressure from the Trump administration over conference programming that examined the United States as a source of foreign information manipulation.
Sponsors Withdraw Support as Transatlantic Tensions Roil Vilnius Conference
The annual meeting of Europe’s counter-disinformation community, #Disinfo2026, opened amid diplomatic friction as several key government backers pulled their names from the sponsor list at the last minute. Organized by the Brussels-based non-profit EU DisinfoLab, the conference brings together hundreds of researchers, journalists, technologists, think tanks, and policymakers to a hotel in Vilnius to discuss foreign information manipulation and interference.
Just before proceedings began, the logos of three primary government supporters—the European External Action Service, Canada, and Lithuania—disappeared from the event website. Photographs of printed conference materials showed white stickers affixed over the markings of these organizations.
Three individuals familiar with the matter, including European officials, confirmed that the U.S. State Department had been in touch with multiple governments over their financial and institutional support for the gathering. The diplomatic pressure campaign unfolded over the preceding days, resulting in swift withdrawals from the European Union’s diplomatic service, Global Affairs Canada, and the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Disputed Panels Focus on the United States as a FIMI Threat
The friction centered on specific panel discussions exploring whether Washington has itself become a source of foreign information manipulation and interference, known by the acronym FIMI. One prominent session focused specifically on how the European community could strengthen resilience without Washington. Another panel examined the United States as a foreign information manipulation and interference threat, featuring three American speakers, including a former CIA employee.
Internal State Department documents reviewed by journalists showed American officials expressing gratitude to Lithuania for “taking US concerns seriously.” The documents indicated that Washington considered a panel framing the U.S. as a foreign information threat to be reprehensible and surprising
and welcomed Lithuania’s decision to scale back its involvement.
The targeted panels featured several American speakers, including a former CIA officer and researchers critical of current policy trends.
Governments Offer Varied Explanations for Withdrawing from Disinfo 2026
The withdrawing governments offered varied explanations for their decisions, though participants noted that the conference program had been public since June. Lithuania’s foreign ministry issued a statement declaring that Lithuania has cancelled its participation in ‘Disinfo 2026’ as several parts of the conference programme differ from the official position of the Government.
The country’s withdrawal announcement arrived just after Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius stated that Lithuania would pay for a permanent US military base if the US agreed, following a statement from Donald Trump that he would consider the request.
Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Samantha Lafleur noted that while the agency assesses external events on a case-by-case basis, following changes to the framing of several panel discussions, GAC decided to revise its participation in those sessions.
Despite dropping formal sponsorship, Canadian officials and a slated panel chair continued to attend the conference.
Similarly, an EU spokesperson confirmed that the European External Action Service pulled its official support because organizers chose to frame discussions in ways that do not align with the official positions held by the EU.
However, the European Union continues to provide financial funding to the event despite removing its branding.
France Maintains Support While Researchers Push Back Against Pressure
Not all European governments aligned with the withdrawal push. A diplomatic source at France’s foreign ministry stated that there’s absolutely no reason for us to change our commitments,
describing the annual gathering as an essential operational laboratory for developing counter-disinformation policy.
Independent researchers and civil society participants also voiced defiance against the diplomatic pressure. Benjamin Shultz, a lead researcher at the American Sunlight Project who attended the conference, observed that despite the redacted sponsor banners, attendees showed up in strength. Adam Fivenson, a non-resident fellow at American University’s Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology, defended the public airing of uncomfortable questions as a necessary remedy for information spaces.
To me, this conference is an island of civil society sanity,
Fivenson said, adding that it also shows vulnerability from the Trump administration. If they were confident in what they are doing, why would they care about this conference?