Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N‑VA)
EU RANK: 142 (Tier 4: Low Performance)
Nieuw‑Vlaamse Alliantie (N‑VA) is a Flemish nationalist, conservative party advocating far‑reaching autonomy or confederalism for Flanders within or beyond Belgium. It combines economic liberalism with cultural conservatism and stricter positions on migration and security. Since the 2010s it has been one of the largest parties in Flanders, frequently leading or strongly influencing Flemish governments and playing a major role in federal politics.
Disinformation and alternative media
N‑VA maintains strong communication operations across mainstream media and social platforms and has ties to a network of sympathetic commentators and online outlets in Flanders. Its discourse on migration, identity, Islam and the EU is often polarising but remains mostly within institutional constraints; systematic Belgian disinformation studies tend to identify Vlaams Belang and fringe actors as the core hubs of conspiracy‑driven and false content rather than N‑VA.
However, N‑VA has been criticised for amplifying or normalising narratives that originate in more radical ecosystems and for using sharp rhetoric that blurs the boundary between robust debate and delegitimising tropes, especially on public service media and the judiciary. On the DMI scale, this results in a medium disinformation/alternative‑media risk: not the primary conspiratorial hub but a powerful actor whose messaging sometimes overlaps with more extreme informational ecosystems.
Foreign influence and external alignments
N‑VA is pro‑EU in economic terms but critical of aspects of integration, strongly pro‑NATO and supportive of Western security alliances, while maintaining a nationalist agenda focused on Flemish interests. It supports sanctions against Russia and other authoritarian regimes and calls for robust responses to foreign interference in Belgian and European politics.
Belgian and EU analyses of foreign information manipulation do not link N‑VA structurally to Russian or other authoritarian influence operations; concerns lie more in its domestic political impact and its relationship with far‑right forces than in foreign alignments. N‑VA’s foreign‑influence DMI risk is low–medium.
Media capture, advertising and public service media
As a leading Flemish governing party for much of the last decade, N‑VA exerts significant influence over media policy, appointments and public advertising at the Flemish level. It has often criticised VRT, accusing it of left‑liberal bias, and has pushed for budget cuts, mandate changes and governance reforms that critics view as attempts to tame or politically steer the broadcaster.
In the wider media market, N‑VA’s strong presence in government, local authorities and public companies gives it leverage over communication budgets and access, which can encourage alignment from some outlets or commentators. In DMI terms this corresponds to a medium–high media‑capture risk: a structurally powerful actor whose policies have sometimes undermined the autonomy and resources of public service media.
Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity
N‑VA has been involved in governance controversies and local patronage debates, though its leadership has generally positioned the party as a cleaner alternative to older clientelist machines. Individual politicians and local branches have faced criticism over appointments, conflicts of interest or benefits from public‑sector structures, but the party has not yet been at the centre of a systemic corruption scandal on the scale seen historically in some other pillars.
Given its scale, access to public resources and ideological project of remaking Belgian institutions, the potential for patronage and instrumentalisation of state structures is significant and warrants close monitoring. DMI integrity risk is medium: a major institutional actor with typical vulnerabilities, but currently without a defining corruption mega‑scandal.
Press freedom, harassment and treatment of media
N‑VA leaders are frequent, vocal critics of parts of the media, particularly VRT and certain print outlets, which they accuse of bias against Flemish nationalism and conservatism. While they insist on formal press freedom, their repeated attacks can contribute to a climate in which journalists are more easily targeted online by sympathisers and in which public broadcasters feel under constant political pressure.
The party also influences public discourse by framing certain journalists and outlets as “activists”, which risks delegitimising critical reporting. There is, however, no systematic use of state repression against media in the liberal‑democratic Belgian context. N‑VA’s DMI press‑freedom and harassment risk is medium–high: strong, sustained pressure on public broadcasters and some critical outlets that can chill scrutiny and embolden more extreme attacks.