Allies Shouldn't Sponsor a Conference That Brands America a Disinformation Threat
A Vilnius disinformation conference scheduled a panel on "USA as a FIMI threat." Lithuania, Canada and the EU's diplomatic service stepped back. In our view, they were right, and the free world should focus on its real adversaries.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 9, 2026 | 6-min read Imagine an international conference on fighting propaganda, backed by allied governments, that schedules a panel on how your country became a threat to its friends. Not Russia. Not China. The United States. That is what happened this week in Vilnius, Lithuania, where a panel titled "USA as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back" was on the program [1]. After American diplomats raised objections, Lithuania withdrew, Canada scaled back its participation, and the European Union's diplomatic service had its logo removed [1][2][3]. In our view, they made the right call, and allies should think twice before lending their names to events like this. Key Takeaways The #Disinfo2026 conference, organized by the Brussels-based nonprofit EU DisinfoLab, ran Oct. 7-8 in Vilnius and included a panel on the U.S. as a source of "foreign information manipulation and interference," or FIMI [1][3]. The foreign ministries of Lithuania and Canada had been listed as "main supporters"; both distanced themselves after U.S. outreach, Reuters reports, and the EU's External Action Service had its logo removed [1][3]. Canada said its officials were still taking part but had revised their