11.06.2025

Practical guide for security authorities

Maria Pawelec and Luzia Sievi on false information

alse information can pose a significant threat to public safety, for example by causing panic in crisis situations and making the work of emergency services more difficult, but also more indirectly by undermining trust in state institutions. 

Authorities and organizations with security tasks (BOS) have a special responsibility to take action against misinformation in order to maintain security, but at the same time must respect fundamental rights and democratic values such as freedom of expression. 

Maria Pawelec and Luzia Sievi, together with Michelle Duda from Cologne University, have thus written a practical guide for security authorities. This guide provides BOS with well-founded, ethically and legally reflected guidance on how to deal with misinformation in social media. It is based on empirical research as well as ethical and legal reflection in the interdisciplinary PREVENT project (2022-2025), which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The handbook contains legal principles, including on the topics of data protection and official responsibilities, as well as a systematic overview of possible countermeasures. These measures are evaluated both ethically and legally. 

The guide provides both theoretical principles and suggestions for practical application through reflection questions, quizzes and practical and legal case studies. It serves to raise awareness, educate and inform BOS employees and volunteers in the field of civil security. 

The guide enables BOS responsibly select and implement countermeasures in accordance with democratic, ethical and constitutional principles and makes an important contribution to combating security-threatening misinformation in social media.