Israel's renewed bombardment of Lebanon in recent weeks has once again thrown the presence of Irish peacekeepers in the region into sharp focus.
But beyond the dangers of conflict itself, officials who spoke to RTÉ say United Nations (UN) missions now face a rising threat from disinformation.
False claims, online propaganda, and orchestrated campaigns have increasingly fueled hostility, eroded trust, and, in some cases, put peacekeepers directly in harm’s way.
Experts warn that, as geopolitical tensions grow, tackling this "information war" is becoming as critical as the missions themselves.
In what was then known as The Congo in the 1960s, Irish troops were subjected to something many of their successors have since also experienced while serving on UN peacekeeping missions.
Elements on one side of the conflict said they were western imperialists, while the other side said they were enabling communist influence.
From the Middle East in the 70s, to the Balkans in the 90s, many UN missions have faced similar accusations.
Campaigns to discredit them have extended beyond criticism and propaganda – and into disinformation aimed at disrupting or discrediting their efforts.
In the wake of UN failures during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, landmark reports made recommendations in part to address the issue.
They drove a new UN emphasis in the late 90s and early 2000s on information campaigns – like radio and print media outreach – aimed at countering malicious and false...
The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) has rejected Serbian propaganda related to the so-called "Shopi nation" in Bulgaria and the so-called "Surdulica martyrs," BGNES reports....