The past four weeks have seen a flare-up in anti-mask and corona-denier protests in European cities.
There is a risk these will grow as EU states re-impose hygiene measures due to a second wave of infections - posing a danger to public order and health.
Russia and China helped pave the way with disinformation campaigns.
But the trend is more complex than that, posing a challenge for EU regulators, who also need to protect rule of law and free speech.
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.