21 January 2026
OSIS
The Open Society Institute – Sofia has released the 2026 edition of the Media Literacy Index (MLI), highlighting a critical shift in the European landscape as societies face new challenges from generative AI and intensified information warfare. The index, which has tracked regional resilience since 2017, reveals a four-way tie at the top of the rankings while cautioning that a significant geographic divide continues to persist across the continent.
The results underscore a troubling “East–West divide” that remains a defining characteristic of the levels of vulnerability to disinformation in Europe. The top-performing clusters are almost exclusively dominated by Northwest European countries. In contrast, the bottom of the ranking consists primarily of Southeast European nations, specifically within the Western Balkans. The countries showing the highest vulnerability to disinformation are Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania, where systemic deficits in education and media freedom continue to hinder societal resilience.
The 2026 Index identifies a notable convergence among the highest-performing nations. Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and the Netherlands have all secured the top position with an identical score of 71 points. While Finland has traditionally held the sole leadership position since the Index’s inception, this year’s data shows that three other West European countries have successfully narrowed the margin. These “Cluster 1” countries represent the most resilient countries, benefiting from a robust combination of high-quality education, free media, and deep-seated interpersonal trust.
This year’s report features also an “Extended Index” encompassing 47 countries to provide a global perspective on the disinformation crisis. The findings show that Canada and Australia have successfully integrated into the top-performing cluster, matching the resilience of the leading European nations, while the United States is within the second cluster, thus remaining more susceptible to “post-truth” phenomena than its peers in the highest tier.
The Index calculates its rankings using a model designed to capture the multi-dimensional nature of resilience to disinformation and misinformation. Education remains the most significant factor, accounting for 45% of the total score through PISA results and enrollment data. Media Freedom follows closely at 40%, derived from scores by Reporters without Borders and Freedom House. The final 15% is split between interpersonal trust (10%) and e-participation (5%), which measures the use of digital tools for political engagement.
The 2026 MLI Report advocates for a “common sense” strategy to combat the current race to the bottom in the information space. The report emphasizes that there is no single “silver bullet” solution. Instead, it calls for the prioritization of media literacy education starting from an early age, modeling the successful approach used in Finland to avoid the potential pitfalls of heavy-handed regulation. Furthermore, the report suggests a focus on psychological awareness, urging nations to educate their citizens on the mechanics of confirmation bias and emotional manipulation to build lasting cognitive immunity.
Marin Lessenski, the report’s author, notes that Southeast European societies remain most vulnerable and at the same time among the most exposed to Russian information warfare due to their proximity to the war in Ukraine. While Northern and Western Europe maintain resilience through education and media freedom, a persistent “East–West divide” leaves those outside EU institutional stability even more susceptible to great power influence. In 2026, generative AI and a divided West over how to address disinformation further complicate these challenges. Ultimately, using disinformation for short-term political gains is a self-defeating race to the bottom that risks permanent damage to democracy.
The Media Literacy Index is published by the Open Society Institute – Sofia since 2017. It serves as a benchmark for assessing how well-equipped societies are to navigate the complexities of disinformation and misinformation.
The full Media Literacy Index 2026 report can be accessed here
