LobbyLies

Lobbying is often seen as the exchange of expertise between interest groups and policymakers. Yet in practice, some lobbyists deliberately spread false or misleading information to influence policy debates—from tobacco in the past to today’s climate and tech controversies. Despite its far-reaching implications, lobbying disinformation has not been systematically studied.

The LobbyLies project breaks new ground by developing a conceptual framework to define lobbying disinformation and testing it through case studies in Brussels, the EU’s lobbying capital. By identifying patterns of disinformation strategies and making them visible, it lays the foundation for future large-scale research and contributes to transparent policymaking.