BANNER: Report cover for “Building a common operational picture of FIMI: Using IMS to Strengthen Technical attribution and disruption . (Source: EU DisinfoLab)

This report  presents a methodological and strategic assessment of how Foreign Information Manipulation and Interferences (FIMI) can be more effectively analyzed, attributed, and disrupted. Based on a months-long working group facilitated by the EU DisinfoLab, this study examines the structural and operational dimensions of contemporary information operations, focusing on systems, supply chains, and infrastructures that enable interference activity. 

The report operationalizes the concept of Information Manipulation Set (IMS) developed by the French counter-disinformation agency VIGINUM and introduces an analytical model designed to bridge the gap between isolated incidents and full-scale campaigns while raising evidentiary and attribution standards. Drawing on documented open-source investigations, it identifies persistent enforcement gaps and the complexity of modern information supply chains. The findings offer policy-relevant insights and recommendations on how to better target the operational infrastructures underpinning FIMI, while strengthening cross-institutional coordination, warning, and transparency. 

This document reflects the contributions of the participating organisations and is endorsed by EU DisinfoLab, CheckFirst, Viginum, Cassini, the Auswärtiges Amt, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the DFR Lab, without implying that every position expressed necessarily reflects their full respective institutional positions.