United against online disinformation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.