What's
Feb 10. 2022
Journalists and researchers unite against information disorders in Central Europe
Prague, February 10 – The Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO), a unique multidisciplinary hub that brings together 4 higher education institutions, 1 research institute, 1 technological company and 5 fact checking organisations, is launching on February 10th a new website to create a community to debunk misinformation, analyse information disorder trends and raise awareness.
The CEDMO hub is an unprecedented initiative gathering professional fact checkers, researchers, AI specialists and media literacy experts united by a common goal: to provide the public and governments with the necessary means to verify information and counter information disorders in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
Led by Charles University in Prague, the project includes AFP, a global leader in fact checking, SWPS University in Poland, Czech Technical University, Demagog.cz and the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies and University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. CEDMO is part of a network of similar national and regional multi-disciplinary hubs across the continent.
A key feature of the CEDMO project is the use of artificial intelligence to map and detect the spread of disinformation. This project aims to strengthen digital and media literacy and ultimately enable national authorities and regulators as well as the public to be better informed. The technical infrastructure is developed by the Athens Technology Center (ATC).
CEDMO will offer:
- Fact checks in English, Polish, Czech and Slovak provided by AFP, Demagog.cz, Demagog.sk, Infosecurity.sk and Konkret24
- Research papers focusing on disinformation circuits, digital space transformation, regulations and the impact on the media, communities and society
- Tools for the general public, media, fact-checkers and education professionals
“CEDMO is a great opportunity to connect theoretical concepts and research results to practice since the project covers not only researchers but also entities from journalistic, governmental and also non-governmental environments. It can make a strong tool to help current central European society to fight misinformation and fake news.” Martin Solík, member of CEDMO Strategy Board and assistant professor at Faculty of Mass Media Communication, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia.
“In mapping out vulnerabilities to disinformation in Central Europe and proposing mitigation by a stronger AI-assisted fact-checking, media literacy education, research and data-based interventions, in CEDMO we aim to strengthen interdisciplinary and international cooperation in order to support regional resilience, social cohesion, wellbeing and democracy in our countries.” Václav Moravec, CEDMO Project Coordinator, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague.
“AFP is proud to be part of a project that puts the spotlight on misinformation and brings together key players in the field – fact checkers, researchers and educators — to help the public better navigate through potentially harmful false or misleading claims.” Christine Buhagiar, Europe Director, Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Project Contact email: cedmo@cedmohub.eu
CEDMO Partners
AFP
AFP is a leading global news agency, providing 24/7 coverage of world news across all fields. Since 2017, AFP has built up the world’s largest digital investigation network, with more than 120 journalists covering 80 countries to date. These specialised journalists are a reference in the fight against disinformation and publish in 24 languages on the factcheck.afp.com website.
Contact: Dario Thuburn dario.thuburn@afp.com
Charles University: Adriana Dergam adriana.dergam@fsv.cuni.cz
Czech Technical University: Luboš Král kral@fel.cvut.cz
Demagog.cz: Petr Gongala petr.gongala@demagog.cz
KInIT: Jakub Šimko jakub.simko@kinit.sk
SWPS: Karina Stasiuk-Krajewska kstasiuk-krajewska@swps.edu.pl
UCM: Peter Krajčovič peter.krajcovic@ucm.sk
ATC (GR): Nikos Papapolizos n.papapolizos@atc.gr
