Italy Introduction Generally, the Internet is freely accessible in Italy and the Italian government does not engage in any kind of censorship or blocking. The Internet penetration rate of the country is higher than the global average, but lower than the EU average. In addition, there is a north/south divide in penetration rate, with the north having a higher rate on average compared to the south. In terms of legislation there has been some controversy and criticism from international organizations and the United Nations. In November 2017, the Italian government adopted a law requiring telecommunication services to retain telephone and Internet data for up to six years. With little parliamentary debate taking place on the new legislation, the general public were unhappy about the situation and staged demonstrations. Moreover, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has raised concerns about Italian legislation relating to two issues in 2017: firstly, the fact that defamation is a criminal offence in Italy and civil libel suits against journalists and online activists continuously put great financial strain on the online media landscape of the country; and secondly, that Italian intelligence employs hacking methods and intercepts personal communications without explicit statutory authorization. However, in 2016 the Supreme Court of Italy ruled hacking by intelligence agencies as constitutional. Italian politicians have subsequently tried to regulate hacking but have thus far been unsuccessful. It is worth mentioning that nearly all politicians in Italy have established a presence on major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter). Populist candidates, such as Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, were able to harness the frustration of the electorate by posting live videos on Facebook discussing issues such as migration and corruption to score high engagement numbers. Even after the election, leading politicians regularly take their debates about legislation to social media, not just to comment on current issues and express their views, but also to accuse each other of political propaganda and engaging in heated debates online. Meanwhile, the Italian government has taken official action against fake news, instituting educational initiatives in schools by adding media literacy to school curricula. They have also established a unit within the Polizia Postale (Postal and Communications Police), encouraging cooperation between ISPs (including social media platforms, and Facebook in particular), citizens and police to report fake news, leading to public refutations and removal requests. The project—called ‘The Red Button’—was launched in January 2018 to allow citizens to report fake news on a portal provided by the police. The National Anti-Crime Information Center for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CNAIPIC) was tasked with analysing the reported content. There has been some criticism regarding the vague language defining fake news and the job of the CNAIPIC. Moreover, the Reuters report Measuring the reach of “fake news” and online disinformation in Europe relativized the impact of such sites in Italy, both in terms of average monthly reach and time spent on those websites, although the Facebook interactions of false news sites exceeded those produced by the most popular news brands. An Overview of Cyber Troop Activity in Italy Organizational Form Social media manipulation in Italy is repeatedly described as an “ecosystem”, coordinating different types of initiatives mostly affiliated with populist forces such as the Lega Nord (Northern League) and the Movimento Cinque Stelle (M5S, 5 Stars Movement). Public concern has arisen specifically in relation to three crucial political events: the 2017 215