Project description
Detecting and monitoring fake news
Online social networks, news media and web platforms are the dominant communication means of contemporary societies. However, the truthfulness of information circulating in the digital world is often questioned as disinformation and fake news increasingly influence and distort public opinion and increase divisions among European societies. The EU-funded FERMI project will apply a comprehensive and cross-disciplinary methodology to analyse disinformation and fake news, as well as the sources. The project will provide a set of innovative technological developments for detecting and monitoring the spread of disinformation and fake news and produce tailor-made training material for European Police Authorities, relevant stakeholders and EU citizens.
Objective
Online social networks, news media and web platforms are the way contemporary societies operate for communication, information exchange, business, co-creation, learning and knowledge acquisition . However, the veracity of information circulating in the digital world is often in dispute. Indeed, disinformation and fake news (D&FN) increasingly affect and distort public opinion. National governments and supranational institutions recognize the spread of D&FN as a pernicious social problem. Indeed, the diffusion online of D&FN may have severe consequences. First, the spread of D&FN might infuse uncertainty and fear, intensify the crisis situations, weaken the European societies aggravating their divisions. In turn, the increase in divisions and fear leads to episodes of physical violence offline and other hate crimes. As such, D&FN have the power to polarise public debates and put the health, security, and environment of EU citizens at risk. Finally, the use of fake accounts, the involvement of AI-generated fake content and the use of bots that can spread D&FN at scale pose additional problems. FERMI will exploit a holistic and cross-disciplinary methodology towards a framework that will thoroughly analyse D&FN and their sources, in combination with all the socioeconomic factors that may affect both the spreading of such incidents and their effects on multiple dimensions of society. Comprising a set of innovative technological developments, FERMI will facilitate EU Police Authorities to detect and monitor the way that D&FN spread, both in terms of locations and within different segments of the society, and to put in place relevant security countermeasures; it will produce and diffuse tailor-made training material designed for i) European Police Authorities, ii) other professionals and stakeholders, iii) EU citizens for combating the spread and limiting the impact of D&FN and increasing digital trust.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
80539 Munchen
Germany
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Participants (17)
28760 Tres Cantos Madrid
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1253 Luxembourg
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115 25 Athina
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1000 029 LISBOA
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14482 Potsdam
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20123 Milano
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6051 Larnaca
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1040 Bruxelles / Brussel
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115 25 ATHENS
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1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
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3000 Leuven
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33720 Tampere
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FI-00023 Helsinki
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1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
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Participation ended
75800 Paris
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10226 Stockholm
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28071 Madrid
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