In October 2025, the Foundation for Democracy Assistance, with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine, presented a comprehensive study titled "Defensive Democracy in the Information Sphere." The document was developed by a team of experts—Yurii Honcharenko, Olha Maksymova, Andrii Vasylchuk, Valerii Maidaniuk, Solomiia Shvanychyk, and Kostiantyn Kanishev. The study proposes a new Ukrainian …
In October 2025, the Foundation for Democracy Assistance, with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine, presented a comprehensive study titled “Defensive Democracy in the Information Sphere.” The document was developed by a team of experts—Yurii Honcharenko, Olha Maksymova, Andrii Vasylchuk, Valerii Maidaniuk, Solomiia Shvanychyk, and Kostiantyn Kanishev.
The study proposes a new Ukrainian concept that combines the principles of democracy and national security in the context of hybrid warfare. The authors emphasize that modern threats have become invisible—they operate not only through weapons but through the information space, social networks, algorithms, bot farms, and deepfakes that undermine trust in reality. This is why Ukraine, as a country living under constant information attack, is developing its own model of defensive democracy—a system in which the state, civil society, media, and religious communities jointly protect democratic values without sacrificing freedom of speech.
The concept is grounded in Christian democratic principles, where human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity form the foundation of information security. The authors emphasize that the primary goal is not to control the information space but to strengthen citizens’ critical thinking and develop local resilience mechanisms—from school media literacy programs to community resilience centers.
The study presents a four-level model of information resilience that includes threat monitoring, strategic communications, media literacy development, and ethical regulation. Special attention is given to Russian disinformation, the phenomenon of “parallel realities,” and the risks posed by new artificial intelligence technologies.
The central element of the work is the Advance Truth Strategy (ATS)—a strategy for preempting disinformation by forming Ukraine’s own meanings and metanarratives that do not merely debunk fakes but create a positive Ukrainian information reality. This involves a shift from reaction to initiative—where Ukraine does not justify itself on the enemy’s battlefield but imposes its own agenda, symbols, language, and values.
The practical section of the study presents the INFOLIGHT.UA–2026 operational model—a system for analytics, monitoring, and rapid response to information attacks. It envisions the creation of a monitoring center, a rapid response laboratory, and a network of local hubs capable of ensuring information resilience at the community level.
The authors emphasize that “defensive democracy” is not about restrictions but about the ability to protect freedom. In a world where war is waged over meanings, Ukraine offers its own philosophy of democratic self-defense—open, ethical, and based on trust.
