Democracy without cyberspace protection from disinfocracy – the most devastating hybrid threat of the 21st century – has no hope of survival in the physical world.

Disinfocracy is a 21st century hybrid regime that operates on the principle of disinformation and manipulation of public opinion on social networks and penetrates the physical world through mobile devices. It represents a process of information terror, thanks to which modern civilization gradually loses the ability to distinguish lies from truth. As a result of this information disorientation, trust in interpersonal relationships, political representatives and state institutions is sharply weakened, while frustration, uncertainty and fear in society are deepening, causing chaos, hatred, extremism, radicalization and escalation of security and social tensions at the regional, national and international levels, which is critically reflected in the everyday lives of citizens around the world.

Disinfocracy is a 21st century hybrid regime supported not only by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes but also by AI-generated content, including so-called deepfake videos, in which ordinary citizens, politicians, public figures and international authorities are audiovisually manipulated and presented using advanced artificial intelligence tools in a way that creates the impression that they are making or saying statements that they would never have made or said in reality. However, this hybrid regime is also legitimized by representatives who consciously spread disinformation, hatred and propaganda and manipulate public opinion in order to mobilize voters and strengthen their power at the expense of democracy.

Disinfocracy has a destructive impact on the democratic world, comparable to historical totalitarian and authoritarian regimes such as fascism, nationalism and communism. Like these ideologies, it uses lies, disinformation, hatred, propaganda and manipulation to consolidate power – this time with the help of modern technologies, social networks and artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes that seek to destroy the democratic world prefer hybrid attacks on NATO member states to direct military aggression. The impact of this process is existentially serious: democratic principles and values ​​are gradually being pushed out of the collective memory of society, which is especially critical during election periods. At such times, politicians who abuse disinformation, polarization and fear to mobilize voters can gain support, thereby legitimizing disinfoocracy – the hybrid regime of the 21st century, which is gradually replacing democracy.

In the era of the emerging disinfoocracy, the fight for democracy is lost in advance, because politicians lack a comprehensive security, legislative and legal framework that would provide states and democracy with effective protection in cyberspace, from where hybrid threats spread to the physical world.

If citizens lose their democracy simply because it is not secure in cyberspace, they lose what is most precious to them – the opportunity to live their lives as they see fit. Defending the democratic world therefore becomes a top security priority in the digital age, because without effective protection of democracy in cyberspace, it has no hope of surviving in the physical world.