Project description
Defending Europe against disinformation
Foreign powers such as Russia and China have used the internet to spread lies and disrupt democratic processes in Europe for political and economic gain. Since invading Ukraine, Russia has increased cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine and other European countries. These attacks threaten Europe’s values, economies, and democracies. The EU recognises the urgent need to defend against these dangers. In this context, the EU-funded ATHENA project will help protect Europe by studying foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). It will analyse over 30 cases of FIMI, identify attackers’ tactics, and develop countermeasures. ATHENA will create tools like a disinformation analysis dashboard and offer training to schools and universities. The project also aims to improve legal frameworks and help people recognise disinformation.
Objective
Russia, China and other countries have exploited the Internet to wage campaigns of disinformation and interference in Europe to disrupt democratic processes for their perceived political and economic benefit. Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has greatly increased its cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns against Ukraine and other countries in Europe. The EU understands the urgency of combatting such attacks against our infrastructures, economies, values and democracies. ATHENA will contribute to Europe’s defence against foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). It will examine at least 30 manifestations of FIMI in case studies, including the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) used by attackers. The consortium will analyse the behavioural and societal effects of FIMI. It will assess and develop countermeasures against the TTP. It will collect and process FIMI data, develop a knowledge graph, a disinformation analysis toolbox and dashboard showing the prevalence of FIMI and the countermeasures in action. ATHENA will conduct a comparative, eight-country analysis of legal and regulatory frameworks against FIMI and their shortcomings and where Member States and the EU should strengthen their policy framework. ATHENA will produce an easy-to-use questionnaire that anyone can use to decide whether they are confronted by FIMI. We will go beyond state of the art by scanning the horizon for new instances of FIMI, for signs of the evolution in disinformation (as with deepfakes and chatbots). From the start of the project, ATHENA will engage stakeholders through interviews, workshops, a Stakeholder Board and a cluster of relevant projects. We will share knowledge with other stakeholders and provide training in countermeasures to universities and schools. The ATHENA consortium comprises experienced partners, including SMEs, universities, cybersecurity companies, fact-checkers and an association, from Ukraine to Ireland, from Sweden to Cyprus.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences internet
- social sciences political sciences government systems democracy
- natural sciences computer and information sciences computer security
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.2 - Culture, creativity and inclusive society
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.2.1 - Democracy and Governance
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
Dundalk Louth
Ireland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.