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Despite pledges, online platforms are failing in the fight against disinformation. The EDMO Executive Board assesses the reports of the signatories of the Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation and invites for more accuracy, clarity and transparency in the reporting. Particularly concerning is the recent announcement by Twitter to start charging for access to its application programming interface.

A European Commission call for tenders has confirmed a European University Institute-headed consortium as lead of EDMO. During its second mandate, EDMO will intensify its efforts against the rising challenges of online disinformation, including the war in Ukraine. Three new partners join the consortium: the University of Amsterdam with its Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), the Belgian Media & Learning Association (MLA), and Europe MediaLab (Fondation EURACTIV). The consortium also welcomes the Center for Democracy and Resilience at GLOBSEC and the think tank Integrity Institute as subcontractors.

Read the latest collaborative investigations of the EDMO fact-checking network on the circulating disinformation and conspiracy theories related to the Covid19 pandemic.

Researching on disinformation? Don't miss the Call for Papers for a thematic issue on Disinformation and online media at the Revista El Profesional de la Información, guest-edited by IBERIFIER coordinators Ramón Salaverría and Gustavo Cardoso.

The European Media Literacy Week took place from 24 to 28 October, gathering international media literacy practitioners. The EDMO network participated and presented various media and information literacy initiatives. As part of the Media Literacy Week EDMO, the Ireland Hub and Media Literacy Ireland held a training on Nurturing Trust by Evaluating the impact of media literacy initiatives. In the future, this kind of training will be tailored to local environments for other EDMO Hubs.

For the first time, EDMO collaborated with Africa Check and Fact Space West Africa to organise a training on understanding and handling disinformation, aimed at media practitioners focusing on Africa. Two editions took place online over the autumn and enabled the gathering of brilliant trainers and participants, who exchanged expertise, views and experiences on crucial aspects of the fight against disinformation. The three-days trainings focused on actors and techniques of disinformation, fact-checking and verification, safety and protection of journalists.

EDMO organised an event at the European Parliament in Brussels on 12 October. Hosted by Vice-President Eva Kaili, the discussion presented the latest innovations in the fight against disinformation. Experts exchanged on how disinformation affects our democracies, the European media ecosystem, and the trust in the scientific community. In light of EDMO’s recent actions on disinformation around the war in Ukraine and on the 2022 Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation, the potential of the EDMO network and of the EDMO Hubs to increase societal resilience to disinformation was highlighted.

The Italian Digital Media Observatory launched a second cycle of media literacy trainings developed IDMO's partner TIM, the Italian network provider, for middle and high school students and teachers. This initiative aims to increase young people's awareness of the opportunities but also the risks of digital media, especially with regard to misinformation. IDMO is also partnering with RAI for the programme Pills against Disinformation.

On October 11 in Dublin, representatives of the Ireland Hub met the European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová. The discussion focused on the ways the Irish Hub tackles disinformation in Ireland via fact-checking and media literacy initiatives, as well as on the proposed European Media Freedom Act and the Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation.

On 8 and 9 December, the EDMO network including EDMO Hubs, fact-checkers, and researchers, gathered in Athens (Greece) for the Second EDMO Training Event focused on the Truly Media Platform. Hosted by the Athens Technology Center, the event was the occasion for the international EDMO network to meet in person and exchange on future cooperation and collaborative fact-checking practices.

The EDMO network expands its coverage to all 27 EU Member States as well as Norway, in the EEA. Following the second call for EDMO Hubs, the European Commission has selected six new hubs that will become part of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), strengthening the European ecosystem that works to fight disinformation. Officially announced on 1 December 2022, the six newly established EDMO hubs should be operational by the beginning of 2023.

EDMO trainings contribute to a deeper understanding of disinformation and how to effectively tackle it. The 2022 calendar of EDMO trainings has been updated on the website. The new online survey for stakeholders working on online disinformation will be open until 15 November 2022. Tell us about your needs and help us identify the most relevant topics for future EDMO training sessions.

EDMO invites new players from the online information ecosystem active in the EU to become signatories of the 2022 Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation. Presented on 16 June 2022 by 34 signatories, it sets a broader range of commitments and measures for platforms and industry to counter online disinformation. An important role for EDMO is foreseen in the implementation of a number of commitments. EDMO will also be part of the permanent task force dedicated to the adaptation and update of the Code.

Since the beginning of the ongoing exceptional heatwave, the EDMO fact-checking network has identified a rise in disinformation related to climate change, as attention on the pandemic and the war in Ukraine is fading. The July fact-checking brief and the latest collective investigations reveal the circulation in the European public opinion of conspiracy theories and precise narratives undermining the reality of climate change.

EDMO and the Media & Learning Association are running a series of online seminars on the work of the EDMO Hubs on Media Literacy. This series will highlight specific aspects of the media literacy work of these hubs and will identify good practices that can be shared by others engaged in media literacy. The first webinar on 14 September focused on the media literacy activities of the Hubs in Italy, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Recordings and a report will be soon available and registrations are open for the next editions.

As part of EDMO’s work to map the media literacy landscape in Europe, EDMO produces country profiles for each Member State. The country profiles offer an overview of media literacy in the country, along with details about any national policies or frameworks, information about key stakeholders, the status of media literacy in the national curriculum and outside formal education, and the activities of the EDMO Hubs. The profiles of Croatia, Finland, France, Ireland and Italy are available.

To complement the work of EDMO, the European Commission opened a call to fund a project to analyse how narratives are created and spread in the European discourse.

The Task force of EDMO on Disinformation and the War in Ukraine chaired by Dr. Claire Wardle published its report with 10 recommendations to further support the fight against disinformation and counter respective challenges posed by the conflict. The recommendations are aimed at policymakers, technology companies, newsrooms and civil society. They are the result of weekly observations, research and discussions carried out over the last three months.

EDMO fact-checking network proposes ways to not be misled about crimes that foreigners are suspected of committing.

For the first time in two years, the EDMO Advisory Board gathered in Florence on 1 July.