Fighting against disinformation while ensuring the right to freedom of expression

All projects must achieve: EU institutions, national decision-makers, practitioners (media, education, security), civil society and societal actors are better equipped to confront and prevent mis- and disinformation while upholding freedom of expression and academic freedom; EU institutions and national decision-makers gain in-depth understanding of stakeholder categories opposing anti-disinformation initiatives, their narrative drivers and engagement strategies; improved knowledge of how digital media shapes public opinion to inform rights-respecting regulation. Additionally, projects must achieve at least one of: media, education and security practitioners become knowledgeable about tools and legal remedies to counteract anti-policy narratives; enhanced understanding by institutions and policymakers of independent media roles, media dissemination hubs, professional mediators and the multifaceted aspects of information access (availability, accessibility, affordability, comprehensibility, transparency, inclusivity, privacy, security); institutions and media practitioners understand astroturfing’s mechanisms and possess policy recommendations and tools to recognize and counter it; accessible educational materials enabling societal actors to design and implement anti-disinformation initiatives without harming freedom of expression.

Investigate how data-driven media systems facilitate disinformation (including gendered and anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric); examine market incentives driving sensationalism over factual reporting; explore regulatory models that uphold freedom of expression, media pluralism, privacy and data protection; design and test online trust indicators and tools to help especially children and youth distinguish journalistic content from unsourced opinion; involve media organisations, practitioners and information spreaders in co-creation and piloting of solutions; study astroturfing mechanisms and develop counter-tools; research professional mediators’ and media hubs’ roles in shaping public discourse; develop legal frameworks and policy methodologies for safeguarding open civic discourse (e.g., against hate speech, Holocaust denial); build on and cluster with specified Horizon-CL 2-2022 and Horizon-CL 3-2021 projects; engage a broad range of academic and non-academic stakeholders (public, private, civil society, cultural heritage); apply participative and experimental research methods; ensure produced data is FAIR and exploit EOSC and relevant Data Spaces.