Reports and Studies about Social media and networks, innovation and policy

On 20 April a Commission Decision was adopted on the financing of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the field of "Communications Networks, Content and Technology" and the adoption of the work programme for 2020.

Social media platforms and the algorithms they use to shape the news that people read, as well as people’s behaviour online, all play a role in the rapid spread of disinformation. Research has shown that people tend to be unaware of their own cognitive biases and underestimate the influence of algorithms on their social media behaviour. Improving the media literacy of consumers and reducing their vulnerability to disinformation is a necessary part of the solution. This study proposes an approach based on behavioural science, which triggers people to be aware of their own online behaviour.

This year's first event of the European Film Forum 2019 took place during the Berlinale. With Creative Europe MEDIA and Horizon 2020 supporting a number of subtitling projects, the debate focused on how to use technology to make European films travel across Europe and beyond by discussing the possibilities that exist for subtitling and dubbing.

From social media to fact-checking, from radio to media convergence, or from immersive content to accessibility, the underlying themes of the research and innovation projects presented here show the ambition to foster scientific progress across disciplines to match an ever-changing media landscape.

In its Communication "Tackling online Disinformation", the Commission puts forward an action plan and self-regulatory tools to tackle the spread and impact of online disinformation in Europe and ensure the protection of European values and democratic systems. One of the actions is to convene a Multistakeholder Forum on disinformation to develop a Code of Practice to tackle online disinformation by July 2018. The Forum met on the 29 May.

The Media Literacy Expert Group met on June 15, 2018 in Brussels. Attendance was by invitation only. The agenda, presentations and minutes from this meeting are now available.

The public consultation took place between 13 November 2017 and 23 February 2018. The aim of the consultation was to help assess the effectiveness of current actions by market players and other stakeholders, the need for scaling them up and introducing new actions to address different types of fake news.

The Eurobarometer survey was conducted via telephone interviews early February in all EU Member States. Over 26.000 citizens were interviewed about their perception of fake news and their trust in news media sources. The findings show a clear concern for the spread of disinformation online in Europe.

In January 2018, the European Commission set up a high-level group of experts ("the HLEG") to advise on policy initiatives to counter fake news and disinformation spread online. The main deliverable of the HLEG was a report designed to review best practices in the light of fundamental principles, and suitable responses stemming from such principles.

The public consultation took place between 13 November 2017 and 23 February 2018. The aim of the consultation was to help assess the effectiveness of current actions by market players and other stakeholders, the need for scaling them up and introducing new actions to address different types of fake news.