🤖 Pro-Russian and Xenophobic #Disinformation are Relying More and More on Generative #AI 👉 Read the last EDMO monthly brief of the year: edmo.eu/publications...

🚨 At least 40 #TikTok accounts with over 1.5 million followers are posting sexualized content – #AI-generated & real – of underage children. Their goal: reaching #pedophiles to sell and exchange real #childpornography on services like #Telegram. 1/2

🗞️ "According to Cesarini, this trend is being seen increasing in countries 'that until now were classified as medium or low risk, such as #Spain, #France, and #Germany.'" Read the full interview by @elpais.com with EDMO Executive Board Chair Paolo Cesarini 👇

🎥🔴 Tune in now to follow the livestream! 👇

🎟️ Reminder: Register now to join next week's 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 #𝗔𝗜 event in Brussels or online! Paolo Cesarini, Chair of the EDMO Executive Board, will moderate session 1, titled #𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 #𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱👇

🇪🇺 The Digital Services Act (#DSA) faces repeated criticism from US government officials. They label it a tool for global censorship and a threat to freedom of expression. ⚠️ Only one-fifth of Europeans agree that the DSA should be repealed due to criticism from the US 👇

AI detectors have a blind spot — they often miss fakes generated by the same systems they aim to detect. A new article shows how unreliable they can be, especially in political contexts. Curious what went wrong? Read more: meddmo.eu/ais-blind-sp...

🇺🇦 Since the start of Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine's government has called on foreign soldiers to join the #armedforces. The Kremlin, meanwhile, is trying to mitigate this call effect with #disinformation campaigns targeting different countries, with a focus on #LatinAmerica. 👇

💡 Looking for the latest insights on #genAI & #disinformation that will advance your own #research? As a follow-up the EDMO Scientific Conference, we're thrilled to share a special section of @ijoc-usc.bsky.social edited by @claesdevreese.bsky.social & Aqsa Farooq – take a look: loom.ly/bdhOmAc

🗣️🇪🇺 EDMO SG @goripaula.bsky.social just opened session 3 of today's #EU Parliamentary #Democracy Forum at @europarl.europa.eu, calling for a well-funded whole-of-society and evidence-based approach to make #preparedness and #resilience a reality. 🎥 Livestream: www.europarl.europa.eu/streaming/?e...

...with EDMO Secretary-General @goripaula.bsky.social @eui-stg.bsky.social setting the scene for session 3 on building #resilience! 🔴 Watch the livestream: www.europarl.europa.eu/streaming/?e... 👉 More info about today's #EU Parliamentary #Democracy Forum: www.europarl.europa.eu/relnatparl/e...

🎥 At the #EU Parliamentary #DemocracyForum @europarl.europa.eu just screened a timeline of the EU’s response to #information #manipulation since the Russian annexation of #Crimea – including the setup of EDMO & this month's #DemocracyShield. 👉 Watch the video below + follow us live: loom.ly/nR_JK_4

TODAY: Don't miss the first #𝘌𝘜 #𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮🇪🇺 at @europarl.europa.eu, where @goripaula.bsky.social will set the scene for session 3 on building #resilience (17:10–18:40). 🔴 Watch the livestream: loom.ly/nR_JK_4 📒 Browse the full programme: loom.ly/H_tJFEM

☕ Fake News in the Public Health Sector: When Disinformation Becomes Life-Threatening Listen to our panel "Quick Sips of Truth: Biomedical Disinformation in Focus" at the #CEDMOCafé conference, which explored how health-related fake news damages more than just reputations. ⬇️

Curious about how governments worldwide tackle online disinformation? Our latest research dives into 239 initiatives from 103 countries and 10 international organisations across six continents. Read more: buff.ly/WRv1mrl #Research #Disinformation #EDMO #Democracy #Governance

"The #EU is built on democratic #values. What we value most requires our highest protection. Without #prevention and #preparedness, and without real funding, those protections are hollow." 🗞️ Read today's reflections on the #EUDS by @goripaula.bsky.social @eui-stg.bsky.social ⤵️

🚨 With the launch of several #genAI tools this year, the share of AI-generated #disinformation has reached the highest share ever recorded by our monitoring. 🔍 Read our monthly brief to learn more about how #AI is being weaponised & see for yourself what #factcheckers from our network found 👇

#DemocracyShield: EDMO acknowledges @ec.europa.eu's renewed commitment to enforce its digital rulebook in support of a 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲, 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 + 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. EDMO stands ready to play its role in facilitating an effective + evidence-based roll out of #EUDS objectives. ℹ️ loom.ly/-MMGC1I

🇪🇺 At a time when #democracy is confronted with profound challenges, European democracies must evolve to meet new realities. But how? 🤝 Don't miss EDMO Secretary-General @goripaula.bsky.social at next week's 1st #𝘌𝘜 #𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 at @europarl.europa.eu – streamed live! 🔴 All details👇

The #DSA was expected to get #socialmedia giants like #Facebook, #TikTok to make the online space safer. Yet an experiment reveals that #platforms often treat user complaints about illegal content as a formality. In the #Baltics, they respond almost exclusively to #regulators’ requests, if at all. 👇

🚨🇭🇺 "False or misleading statements targeting the #LGBTQ community 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 in mainstream pro-government #media in #Hungary." 🔍 Read the new investigation by lakmusz.hu, Hdmo.eu on prevalent topics, actors & methods – illustrated w/ examples from recent #Lakmusz #factchecks 👇

On 27 October, the EDMO BELUX consortium held a productive meeting to review current initiatives and plan future developments in the fight against disinformation. Find out more through our newsletter: buff.ly/x8csiMG

"Europe’s democratic resilience depends on sustained and strategic support for the public interest information ecosystem" ✍️ EDMO joins 100+ orgs in calling for robust, strategic #EU #investment in free + independent #media in response to the proposal for the next #MFF. Full letter: loom.ly/cPAwZUM

💬 "Any Response to #Disinformation Needs to Respect #FreedomofExpression" Read the interview of EDMO Secretary-General @goripaula.bsky.social with meetingmediagroup.com 👇🏼

We’re kicking off MedDMO’s next chapter in Malta! Join us Oct 30 (10–11:30 am) at the University of Malta (Room 414, Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences) to discuss disinformation, fact-checking & media pluralism across the Mediterranean. 🔗 Register: forms.gle/gtBkjTJyxGnJ...

🚨 #𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹. From #Franco fan edits to #Hitler #memes, a new wave of #popfascism is spreading fast across platforms incl. #TikTok, #Telegram, and #X, targeting young audiences. 👉 Read the new investigation by @maldita.es & @facta.news: loom.ly/dHT1boI

📱 Did any of the 5 most widely circulated fake stories of September pop up on your own screen? 🚫 #paracetamol 💊 → #autism 🚫 pro #EU🇪🇺 forces rigged #Moldova #election 🇲🇩 🚫 Orwellian UK police harass girl bc of Facebook activity 🚔 👉 Check them all & find all insights from our network: loom.ly/wdaEq8Q

The European Federation of Journalists issued an official statement as well, condemning this „disproportionate restriction on journalists’ right to cover private matters that are in the public interest“. brodhub.eu/en/news/a-pa...

Political researchers have raised concerns their work would be affected due to Meta and Google's decision to cease their official ad services – a move responding to new EU regulations.

🌍 Summer marked by climate change hoaxes In August, @edmo-eu.bsky.social fact-checkers in Europe recorded an increase in disinformation about climate change. Political narratives infiltrated false claims about extreme events, with pro-Russian disinformation also targeting environmental issues 👇

🇪🇺🗳️ 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱: our new cross-country analysis of #politicaladvertising during the 2024 #EUelections examines: – 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 #Meta & #Google on #CoP / #CoC commitments – 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 during the run up to the #elections 👉 loom.ly/i7JDYiY

📢 We are honored to present the keynote speakers at the CEDMO Café: Brewing Resilience Against Disinformation Conference! On Tuesday, September 23rd at @charlesuni.cuni.cz in Prague, the conference will bring together experts, partners, and donors to share insights on digital transformation 👇

The publication examines the digital information environment surrounding anti-euro protests in Bulgaria on September 13, utilizing real-time social media data collection, search analytics, Google platform monitoring, and contemporaneous source supplementation. brodhub.eu/en/research/...

🗳️🇲🇩 Latest insights on #Moldova by Funky.ong @brodhub.bsky.social: – #Disinfo rising, mostly from pro #Kremlin sources – Uncovered: Russian religious #propaganda, Belarusian spies, Vietnamese #botfarms – Key narratives: #electionfraud, #authoritarianism, anti #EU sentiment 👉 More: loom.ly/4xbumpI

🚨 Last Saturday, a Russian #drone violated Romanian airspace, prompting Romanian authorities to issue #ROAlert warnings and urging the local population to seek shelter. 👉 Funky.ong @brodhub.bsky.social examined four primary false #narratives that emerged following the incident: loom.ly/UU7700k

🗳️🇲🇩 Catch up on the latest developments in #Moldova ahead of next week's parliamentary #election with expert analyses from our new Hub fact-hub.eu as well as @brodhub.bsky.social! 👉 Find all insights: loom.ly/C9s0Fn4 👉 Subscribe to the FACT Newsletter: fact-hub.eu

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 #𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰: 𝗘𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗸’𝘀 𝗫 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 #𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 📱"58% of posts contained false claims about the Irish presidency, constitution, or history." 🇮🇪🗳️ Read the new report by our colleagues at @edmoireland.bsky.social ahead of the 2025 Irish presidential #election 👇🏼

⏳🪑🪑🪑 Have you seen the image of European leaders submissively waiting in a #WhiteHouse corridor for a meeting w/ #Trump? Chances are you have: according to data gathered by EDMO, the #AI generated #fake was the most viral piece of #disinformation detected in August. 👉 All insights: loom.ly/vg2qxfY

💬 @tommasocanetta.bsky.social notes that the #Palestinian side is also actively spreading #disinformation; however, "it's clear that right now we are seeing more disinformation coming from the pro #Israel side of things." 🗞️ Read the full DW report: www.dw.com/en/israel-pr...

With the date for #Aras25 set, and the candidates lining nominations, we'd advise everyone to subscribe to our partner organisation's @thejournal.ie FactCheck newsletter. This month they're looking at some of the fringe candidates, and a look back at previous Irish Presidental elections.

📢 Meet the voices of our panel Educating for Resilience! At CEDMO Café: Brewing Resilience Against Disinformation, we’ll explore media literacy – from seniors to teachers, with tools and initiatives that boost critical thinking. 🎟️ Join us in Prague – seats are limited! 👇

EDMO BELUX Co-Lead Trisha Meyer will be presenting the findings of the EDMO report on the compliance and effectiveness of Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines’ (VLOPSE). Register now to join her for the @disinfo.eu webinar on 11 September from 14:30-15:30 CEST

📣 Today, NORDIS is sending out our newsletter, where we share how the Nordic fact-checkers are preparing for the two upcoming elections in Norway and Denmark. Haven’t signed up yet? Do it here: www.nordishub.eu/newsletter/

Our next EDMO BELUX Lunch Lecture will take place on September 15th, 2025, at 12:00-13:00 CEST. Nick Anstead and Bart Cammaerts will present preliminary findings of a study on exposure to visual misinformation during recent elections in several countries. Register here: buff.ly/PM84iNy

👋 Hi Bluesky! Wij zijn BENEDMO, een Vlaams-Nederlandse samenwerking tegen desinformatie, voor en door factcheckers, mediaprofessionals, wetenschappers en andere experts. 💡 Volg ons voor relevante events, updates, tools en inzichten rond desinformatie. 🌐 Deel van het bredere @edmo-eu.bsky.social

📊 Only 20% of residents in 9 EU countries are aware of #DSA The highest awareness is among Hungarians (28%). On the other hand, the lowest awareness is in France, where 72% have never heard of it. 📌 In the Czech Republic, only 14% of people are aware of the DSA.

⛰️ Guten Abend from the beautiful village of #Alpbach, Austria! 🇦🇹 Together w/ colleagues from HDMO.eu, @goripaula.bsky.social & @eldaelda.bsky.social are attending this year's #EuropeanForumAlpbach as session hosts. Take a look at the programme & if you're around, join us tomorrow! loom.ly/goc6tj8

❓What #data do #VLOPSEs collect? How are they structured + used? How can #researchers best utilize #dataaccess under Art. 40 of the #DSA? 👉 Our new report by @jeffallen.bsky.social @mattmotyl.bsky.social + S. Gurley provides valuable answers for academic + civil society researchers: loom.ly/gQa-FjQ

Deepfake scams are spreading fast on Facebook in Greece. Scammers use AI to impersonate public figures and push fake investments or “miracle” cures. Read the full report here: meddmo.eu/greece-disin...

Our Monthly #FactChecking Brief Nr. 5️⃣0️⃣ is out! A sincere thank you to all members of the EDMO FC Network across #Europe: it is their commitment + crucial work that enables our team to monitor and analyse latest #disinformation dynamics in a cross-border, long-term perspective. 👉 loom.ly/Q97Xt9o