Global Map of Misinformation and Disinformation Regulation
The interactive map displays national-level enacted/binding and soft-law or policy instruments. The broader report dataset also includes proposed or draft measures and selected analytical and policy materials.
Try out our interactive map above! You can press the ‘play/pause’ button and click on the timeline to explore how the number of regulatory instruments changes over time.
Mapping out the global landscape of legislative developments on ‘fake news’ and misinformation, we show how laws enacted to tackle misinformation, disinformation, and ‘mal-information’ around the world have evolved, with most activity concentrated between 1995 and 2025.
Early adoption was concentrated in the African and Asia-Pacific groups, but the regional gap has narrowed considerably. Since 2023, growth has been particularly rapid in Western European and Other States and Eastern Europe. By 2025, the map records 288 national-level legal and policy instruments across the regions represented.
Global Map of Misinformation and Disinformation Regulation
Mapping the Relationship Between Countries’ Legislative Responses to Address Online Misinformation, Disinformation, and ‘Fake News’ & Their Political Freedom
Notes: Regulatory data cover instruments recorded through 31 December 2025. Political freedom is measured using Freedom House’s 2025 Global Freedom score. Law counts reflect instruments recorded through December 2025.
The map combines two measures: the cumulative number of mapped regulatory instruments and Freedom House’s 2025 Global Freedom score. The horizontal dimension of the legend represents increasing numbers of instruments, while the vertical dimension represents increasing political freedom. Grey indicates jurisdictions for which data are unavailable.