We are facing a number of threats that

a) are developed on various levels (national, local/sub-national and international);
b) utilise a new concept of time, in which informative immediacy affects decision-making and the fact that certain content can go viral very quickly may impact how remedies may be effectively applied;
c) involve a variety of different actors: parties, media, citizens and private businesses, which are outside regulatory models exclusively centred on the role of the media and of parties;
d) are carried out through actions that combine the advantages of the – rapidly evolving – new technological infrastructure and potential for manipulation.