Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS)

EU RANK: 72 (Tier 2: High Performance)

Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS) is a red‑green alliance bringing together Green Europe and the Italian Left, combining ecological transformation with social‑justice and civil‑rights priorities. In the 2022 general election it secured 3.6% of the vote and entered parliament, while in the 2024 European Parliament election it rose to 6.8%, strengthening its position as the main eco‑social force to the left of the Partito Democratico. The alliance is co‑led by Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni and operates in opposition to the Meloni government, pushing for ambitious climate policy, labour protections and expanded civil liberties.​​

Disinformation and alternative media

AVS does not operate a large‑scale parallel media ecosystem and primarily communicates through party channels, mainstream outlets, social media and collaborations with civil‑society groups. Its messaging emphasises climate science, workers’ rights and anti‑discrimination, framing itself as a corrective to both right‑wing culture‑war narratives and centrist approaches perceived as insufficiently transformative. Studies of disinformation in Italy rarely identify AVS as a source of misleading or conspiratorial content; instead, AVS politicians are more often visible as critics of climate‑denialism and far‑right misinformation on migration or LGBT issues.

The alliance benefits from coverage in investigative and issue‑focused media—especially on environment, labour and social‑rights beats—but these outlets are not structured as a closed partisan disinformation network. Available evidence indicates that AVS uses social media in standard campaigning fashion, amplifying advocacy campaigns and protest movements, without documented involvement in coordinated inauthentic behaviour or large‑scale manipulation operations.​

Foreign influence and external alignments

AVS is firmly pro‑European and strongly supportive of deeper EU climate and social policies, aligning with the European Greens and left‑wing groups that advocate ambitious Green Deal implementation and social protections. On foreign and security policy it combines scepticism towards militarisation and arms exports with support for international law, human rights and multilateralism, positioning itself within the mainstream of European green and democratic‑socialist parties rather than as an ally of authoritarian regimes. The alliance has criticised aspects of NATO policy and called for diplomatic solutions in international crises but does so from an explicitly normative, human‑rights‑based perspective anchored in European institutions.​

Analyses of external influence and malign foreign interference in Italy focus mainly on radical‑right formations and structural vulnerabilities, not on AVS. There is no indication that AVS maintains structured ties with authoritarian states or their media arms that would compromise Italy’s information integrity or foreign‑policy autonomy.​

Media capture, advertising and public service media

AVS lacks structural ownership stakes in major media and operates without a proprietary TV or newspaper empire. Its media presence relies on earned coverage in quality press and public‑service broadcasting, as well as participation in political talk shows and issue‑driven programmes where environmental and social topics are debated. The alliance has been highly critical of perceived attempts by the Meloni government to tighten political control over RAI and cultural institutions, warning of an “Orbanisation” trend and calling for stronger guarantees of editorial independence and balanced representation of opposition voices.

Because of its limited control over advertising budgets and state resources, AVS is not a central actor in concerns about clientelistic distribution of public advertising or media capture through commercial patronage. Its policy proposals tend to favour transparency in government advertising, reinforcement of public‑service mandates and support for independent journalism, which aligns it more with protective strategies than with attempts to instrumentalise media for partisan control.

Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity

AVS and its component parties have not been at the heart of major national‑level corruption or party‑finance scandals in the 2015–2025 period. Italy’s landmark graft cases and judicial controversies—ranging from Lega’s historic “49‑million” reimbursement saga to Forza Italia‑linked investigations and local patronage networks—have involved other parts of the political spectrum. AVS nonetheless operates within the same regulatory framework on party funding and transparency that has generated system‑wide concerns, including about the opacity of some private donations and the adequacy of oversight bodies.

Funding data show that the green and left components of AVS benefit from a modest but significant share of “2×1000” public subsidies (for example, Europa Verde–Verdi and Sinistra Italiana together receiving well over €2 million per year in recent cycles), supplemented by smaller‑scale donations and membership contributions. This financial structure, while not immune to general Italian vulnerabilities, reduces reliance on large corporate donors and has not produced notable litigation or high‑profile criminal cases involving AVS figures at national level.

Press freedom, harassment and treatment of critical media

AVS’s public stance is strongly supportive of press freedom, investigative journalism and protections for whistle‑blowers, often linking these themes to broader rule‑of‑law and anti‑corruption agendas. Its leaders have been among the opposition voices denouncing alleged government interference in RAI, restrictions in the cultural sector and the use of defamation suits by political figures to intimidate critics. Press‑freedom reports that criticise trends under the current government typically cite AVS as part of the parliamentary camp advocating stronger guarantees for journalists and against strategic lawsuits.

There is no substantial evidence that AVS engages in systematic harassment of critical media or uses public resources to pressure unfriendly outlets. The alliance may benefit indirectly from the pluralistic segments of Italy’s media ecosystem that share its concerns on environment and rights, but this occurs in an open, contested public sphere rather than through coercive instruments or capture strategies.

Dimension	Risk level	Short justification
Disinformation & alternative media	Low	Relies on mainstream and issue‑focused outlets plus standard social‑media campaigning; not linked to a structured ecosystem of conspiratorial or systematically misleading alternative media.
Foreign influence & external alignments	Low	Pro‑EU red‑green alliance aligned with European Greens/left; no evidence of structured ties to authoritarian regimes or foreign state‑aligned media.
Media‑capture & advertising / PSB control	Low	Lacks ownership stakes in major media and has limited advertising leverage; advocates stronger safeguards for RAI and transparency in public advertising rather than partisan capture.
Corruption & institutional‑integrity risk	Low	Not implicated in major national‑level corruption or party‑finance scandals; funded mainly through modest public subsidies and smaller‑scale donations within Italy’s general regulatory framework.
Press‑freedom & harassment of media	Low	Positions itself as a defender of independent journalism and public‑service media; no evidence of systematic harassment, legal intimidation or advertising pressure against critical outlets.