Check against delivery - Speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

[Audio montage on disinformation]

This is the soundtrack of disinformation.

But this room has heard voices of reason.

Queen Elizabeth. Václav Havel. Angela Merkel. Simone Veil. Lech Wałęsa. The Dalai Lama.

These voices have changed the course of Europe — and the world.

Now it is your turn to speak.

And the question is simple — perhaps the most important of all:

What does protecting democracy mean to you?

***

Young person 1: It means I know when a voice is real — and when it is pretending.
 

Young person 2: It means building a future where no one is left outside the conversation.
 

Young person 3: It means I can be safe — without being silent.
 

Young person 4: It means starting with dialogue and working towards trust.
 

And to me?

Protecting democracy means being able to look my children in the eye — and all of you — and say:

I did not stay silent.

***

And how could anyone be?

Just look at the past few weeks and months.

• In Moldova, voters were told Russian speakers would be dragged into war — that the land would be sold to foreigners, and the Church banned.
• In Romania, false narratives claimed foreign soldiers were preparing to launch a civil war — and that dead citizens were still on the electoral rolls.

None of it was true.

All of it was designed to divide.

And it is not just Europe.

• In Tehran, videos show crowds cheering Israeli strikes — but they are fake.
• In Los Angeles, protest clips go viral — some pulled straight from video games.

Fake videos. Fake soldiers. Fake riots.

But one message keeps coming back:

That democracy itself is a lie.

***

But the lies do not always shout — sometimes, they whisper.

A political leader calls Hitler a communist during a campaign.

No one blinks.

A president blames Ukraine for the war.

Days later, he admits it was Russia who invaded.

The danger is not just believing these lies — it is getting used to them.

Twenty-five years ago, no one would have said these things out loud.

Now, they travel the world in seconds.

And too often, we scroll on.

***

Today, the challenge is not getting information — it is knowing what to believe.

In this alternate political reality, truth is just another opinion.

If this is where we are now…

Where will democracy be in five years?

In ten?

***

Just weeks ago, I published my first Annual Report as Secretary General.

It is the clearest warning yet.

• False narratives about Ukraine, migrants, and LGBTI communities — fuelling hate and extremism.
• Elections under fire in 41 of our 46 member states — all targeted by disinformation.
• A weakened media landscape where journalism shrinks while provocations rise.
• And most importantly: no strategy has stopped the spread.

These are more than findings — they are a wake-up call.

***

The window for action is closing fast.

That is why we have called for a Council of Europe Convention on Disinformation and Foreign Influence.

It is part of our work on a New Democratic Pact for Europe.

A Pact with real tools and concrete solutions.

A shared vision to rebuild trust.

This Convention on Disinformation and Foreign Influence would be the first of its kind.

It would draw the line between:

• Freedom of expression and the imperative for truth.
• Legitimate critique and strategic destabilisation.
• Opinion and deliberate disinformation.

It would be built for the realities we face today — and the ones we see coming.

***

No one understands these risks better than the young people in this room.

You are the very first generation to grow up with social media, 24/7 news cycle, and artificial intelligence.

• More than 40 percent of young Europeans between the ages of 16 and 30 get their news primarily from social media.
• And almost 80 percent encounter disinformation on a regular basis.

But the problem runs deeper.

• In France, nearly one in three young people say they no longer believe in democracy.
• In the UK, more than half would prefer a strong leader who does not have to deal with Parliament.
• In Montenegro, close to 60 percent trust no political party at all.

These things keep me up at night.

We must respond to this loss of trust — or others will.

And they will not speak for our values.

***

Yet there are still voices who downplay the risk.

Who say: if your democracy can be broken by a few hundred thousand euros in digital ads — maybe it was not strong to begin with.

That was Vice President J.D. Vance early this year.

But we know better.

Outrage gets clicks.

Clicks drive profit.

And the most extreme voices rise to the top.

Outrage cannot be the business model of democracy.

Not today on the final day of No Hate Speech Week.

Not when indifference becomes easier than resistance.

Not now. Not ever.

***

This is why this hackathon matters.

The future is not written yet.

This — right here — is where it starts.

Eleven teams.
Three hundred submissions.
Hundreds of participants — from all over Europe.

Because in the end, it is not about trolls or fake news.
It is about the kind of democracy we choose to build — together, across our continent.

Have a great hackathon!