CEDMOCentral European Digital Media Observatory

Using different methods, the Central European Digital Media Observatory will carry out international, multidisciplinary, large-scale research on the phenomenon of fake news and media disinformation. Moreover, the consortium will develop technical infrastructure enabling the implementation of daily fact-checking procedures and publication of trustworthy information reports carried out by media partners in their respective languages. The project will involve various stakeholders, including journalists, PR specialists, teachers, students, and parents, which will allow for access to unique data and alignment of our research with social needs.

The Central European Digital Media Observatory, established as a consortium, is a highly specialized multidisciplinary research and education hub, working against disinformation in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

Members of the consortium include:

• Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic) – consortium leader
• Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) (Czech Republic)
• University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (Slovakia)
• SWPS University (Poland)
• Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies (Slovakia)
• Demagog.cz (Czech Republic)
• Agence France-Presse (France)
• Athens Technology Center (Greece)

The consortium will:

1. research, develop and improve technological capabilities that employ AI tools, in fact checking activities
2. implement a continuous process of information checking
3. inform a wide range of media consumers about trustworthiness of particular stories and news
4. analyze the impact of disinformation on society
5. carry out an information campaign concerning media literacy and increase awareness about disinformation and fake news
6. monitor the media landscape for disinformation to propose better regulation in this area
7. communicate and disseminate the results of the project.

CEDMO activities are grouped in eight thematic areas and SWPS University will participate in the following tasks:

Activity 2: Develop CEDMO’s website and the information flow structure

SWPS University will develop a communication strategy and tools for internal communication. The team will also supply materials for the repository and for the project’s website (in Polish and in English).

Activity 5: Analyses of the impact of disinformation on the society

We will carry out a series of extensive international and multidisciplinary research projects, with the use of social sciences and humanities methodology, such as in-depth interviews (IDI), computer assisted web interviewing (CAWI), computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), quantitative and qualitative discourse analysis, value analysis, as well as elements of mathematical modelling (to analyze dissemination of fake news). This will allow us to develop an extensive and exhaustive analytical landscape that will show us how media disinformation works in Poland, in the context of Central Europe, and the whole European Union (thanks to exchange of best practices and information within a larger European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO)).

SWPS University will coordinate research activities of the whole consortium and will prepare the majority of research reports. We will carry out research described in points 1–3 (Research objectives section), in Poland, and will develop methodological guidelines for the consortium partners. We will also oversee the content and the formal aspects of sub-contracting of research activities described in points 4–5 above.

Activity 6: Information campaigning focused on media literacy and the prevention of disinformation and fake news education

Our research results will be used in education campaigns concerning media literacy. Our innovative program, will take advantage of the latest and unusual tools. It will be addressed to various social groups and will be based on the latest research results emerging from this project. The stakeholders engaged in the campaign will include organizations, influencers, and experts, who have declared their support for the project. SWPS University will be responsible for the organization and implementation of these campaigns in Poland.

Researchers from SWPS University will:

• develop and publish handbooks for parents and teachers, which will be available online
• organize a training course and four webinars for teachers
• organize a training course for media professionals, such as journalists and PR specialists
• develop and publish educational videos and podcasts
• develop and publish audio-visual materials addressed to teenagers, created in collaboration with popular influencers.

Activity 8: Communication and dissemination of the results

SWPS University will develop reports on the situation in Poland and suggestions for the Polish administration.

Activity 8: Communication and dissemination

SWPS University will contribute to the development of the communication strategy and communication plan, conduct continuous strategic activities aimed at popularization of the project results in Poland (such as campaigns in social media, appearances in the media, presentations of the project during various events, etc.), and will provide materials for the publication on the project’s website and in social media. Representatives of SWPS University will participate in a conference in Prague. SWPS University will also organize a conference in Warsaw. Researchers from SWPS University will publish books and articles in high impact academic journals. They will also present research results during conferences in Poland and around the world.

In this project, researchers will use various tools developed by experts specializing the field of Artificial Intelligence, such as Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

Research, carried out in collaboration with numerous researchers and research centers, will include the following topics:

• the impact of disinformation on various social groups, such as teachers and teenagers
• visual and linguistic structure of fake news
• attitudes and tools used by professionals, such as journalists, PR specialists, and entrepreneurs, related to the expansion of disinformation in various aspects of social activity
• models of fake news dissemination on the internet (developed with the application of mathematical modelling)
• geopolitical contexts of disinformation in the media.

The research outcomes will include two conferences as well as publication of several monographs (including three monographs resulting from research carried out by the Polish research team), articles in peer-reviewed academic journals (including two articles concerning research conducted by the Polish team), and popular science publications. The results of our research will be communicated broadly as they emerge, and will be used in education campaigns, and in the fact checking process.

Thanks to the triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative methods, we will also develop a compendium including the information on broadcasters, structure, channels of distribution, addressees, and geopolitical contexts of disinformation in the media. This will be the first such comprehensive compendium on media disinformation, as other research projects conducted so far have been focused only on certain aspects of the phenomenon and were largely unstructured.

Furthermore, the project is conducive to establishing an ongoing institutionalized collaboration between SWPS University and research centers from other countries. It also aligned with the internationalization of our university in the area of communication and media studies and, more broadly, social sciences. Our researchers will share their knowledge on media disinformation and fake news internationally, promote Polish research abroad, and be inspired by studies carried out in other European countries, including the members of the larger EDMO project.

Our main target groups include:

• media consumers
• school-age youth
• parents
• students, in particular students of journalism and communication studies
• teachers and educators
• activists
• journalists and other media professionals
• public relations specialists and press officers
• fact-checkers
• public administration officials at various levels of the government
• researchers specializing in social sciences and humanities.