Join the 2024 EDMO Annual Conference on 13 and 14 May in Brussels. The programme will focus on 2024 EU elections, media literacy, AI (as a challenge and as a solution), access to online platforms’ data, the Code of Practice on Disinformation and the DSA. The event will convene media and policy practitioners and experts, representatives from the private sector, policymakers, academics, regulators, journalists, and members of civil society. The 2024 edition is in-person only and seats are limited. Register now!

Until now, AI-generated disinformation content is still a small minority of the total detected disinformation in the EU, according to the monthly reports of the EDMO fact-checking network, but some relevant cases circulated in the past few weeks and months and were debunked by fact-checking organizations. Considering four categories of content – AI-generated images, audio, video and text – and looking at recent precedents (many of them listed in this report of the EDMO Taskforce on EU Elections and in the EDMO monthly briefs), what can reasonably be expected for the upcoming EU elections?

EDMO Working Group on Media Literacy Standards and Best Practices is delighted to share its draft checklist on media literacy standards and best practices. The list has been developed by the Working Group with input from the EDMO Hubs and other practitioners and experts during a consultation session in December 2023. The Working Group is keen to seek feedback from a wide range of practitioners, researchers, public bodies and other experts. Share your thoughts by 17 April.

Media Literacy Matters, a three-day conference on digital and media literacy in practice, took place from 26 February to 1 March 2024 within the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, organised by Mediawijs, the Flemish Department of Culture, Youth, and Media, CSEM, Media and Learning Association, Porticus Foundation, and UAntwerpen – Treatpie and in cooperation with EDMOeu. Several members of the EDMOeu team, representatives from the EDMO Hubs, and members of the EDMO Advisory Council all spoke in conference sessions, joining more than 400 attendees in discussions about the status and future of the media literacy in Europe.

The March edition of EDMO’s Media Literacy Monthly Digest highlights a range of engaging and informative resources to boost your media literacy skills. From AI image detection challenges like NORDIS-Faktabaari’s “AI-To: the photo challenge game” to online game series on misinformation by IDMO and critical thinking exercises with Slovakia’s “Factology Checker,” there’s a game for everyone. Educators and teachers can strengthen their knowledge with BENEDMO’s curated list of Dutch-language materials and HDMO’s accredited online training “InfoGrund in the online world,” while families can spark media conversations with the French podcast series “Médialogues en famille.” With this diverse toolkit, EDMO empowers everyone to become a more informed and critical media consumer.

The highlights of fact-checking of the EDMO Hubs can be found in an interactive map updated on a monthly basis. In March, the Hubs choose their best fact-checking items on disinformation targeting a wide range of topics, such as the climate, vaccines and health, immigration or EU policies.

New BECID investigation: LGBT+ issues are one of the most popular and persistent topics of disinformation. Most narratives about the traditional family, which supposedly is under attack, are also relevant in the Baltics. In Latvia, this time it resurfaced due to two legislative initiatives. Latvia was one of the last EU countries to adopt any sort of framework for civil partnership.

New BELUX investigation: in February 2024, CitizenLab unveiled an information operation named “PAPERWALL”. This Chinese-originated influence operation has built a network of 123 dummy media outlets worldwide, with a strong presence in Europe. The exposed assets included a Belgian and a Luxembourg website.