European Digital Media Observatory

Let's meet at Voices 2026! Incontriamoci a Voices 2026!

🥁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 until the European Festival of #Journalism and #MediaFreedom kicks off in Florence!

🎟️ Get your free ticket for #Voices2026, explore the programme, and come meet @idmo-it.bsky.social and us at the festival's fair area! 👉 voicesfestival.eu

Fearmongering with AI-generated videos, manipulated speeches and Péter Magyar’s Trump moment

🗳️ Cast the right #vote or prepare to die in war: Hungarian voters see various extreme #AI-generated videos & claims as the country moves closer to its parliamentary #elections on April 12.

🔍 Read the 2nd weekly #disinformation digest of Hdmo.eu partner Lakmusz.hu: edmo.eu/publications...

Despite Meta’s ban, Fidesz candidates successfully posted 162 political ads on Facebook in January

🚫 14 #Fidesz politicians circumvented the #Meta ban on paid #politicaladvertising in January. Only a fraction of the ads was caught by the platform. Read the full investigation by Lakmusz.hu / HDMO.eu: edmo.eu/publications...

Crises in the US, Venezuela, Greenland and Iran fuel disinformation in Europe

⚠️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: in January, one out of five detected pieces of #disinformation was created or manipulated with #AI – that's twice as many as back in September 2025, when 10% had been reached for the first time.
👉 Read the brief: edmo.eu/publications...

The first edition focuses on the role of #polads in view of #Meta's ban, the ruling party’s anti #Ukraine narrative, misleading data on #postalvoting and more: edmo.eu/publications... 2/2

Unstoppable political ads, anti-Ukrainian narratives, and misleading stats in the Hungarian election campaign

Europe's 2026 #elections: #𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆 🇭🇺🇪🇺

With the parliamentary #election coming up in less than 60 days, make sure to follow the weekly overviews provided by lakmusz.hu, member of hdmo.eu, analysing the latest #disinformation trends & digital developments shaping the #campaign period. 1/2

💻 To dive deeper into this topic, we also recommend watching our dedicated training series:

🔴 Module 1: Understanding climate disinformation
edmo.eu/training/edm...

🔴 Module 2: Responding to climate disinformation
edmo.eu/training/edm...

🌎 If we seek 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 #𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, we must strengthen public resilience to 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 #𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

👉 That's why we're pleased to share the #ClimateFactsMatter campaign by @euclimateaction.bsky.social, incl. a digital handbook co-created w/ experts from EDMO + EDMO Hubs: edmo.eu/edmo-news/cl...

🔍 But which were the most central claims to invade the public discourse, and how effective did they turn out to be? We recommend reading the latest investigation by @tjekdet.dk @nordishub.bsky.social: edmo.eu/publications...

Here are the 10 most central claims that have shaped the debate about Greenland

💬 "Disinformation and influence campaigns lay the groundwork for deeply erroneous decisions that can trigger unpredictable consequences for our democracies and our ability to coexist in #Denmark🇩🇰, #Greenland🇬🇱, #Europe🇪🇺, or beyond", says @thomashedin.bsky.social @tjekdet.dk @nordishub.bsky.social 👇

3/3 @facta.news analysed the phenomenon: edmo.eu/publications...

2/3 threatening to close “US bases” in #Italy, tear up trade agreements, and even boycotting McDonald’s.

Posts of this kind – all leveraging on a real segment from a January press conference – immediately became hugely popular online, racking up up to 8.5 million views in 24 hours.

A misleading video has turned Meloni into an anti-American icon across the world’s social media

🍟 #Sarcasm can be an effective rhetorical tool. But in today's online world, it also means handing an easy win to those eager to spread #disinformation + confusion.

According to viral posts, Giorgia #Meloni has launched a head-on attack on US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, 1/3

🔗 edmo.eu/publications...

Shared in at least 11 languages: unproven theory of sabotage and Russian explosives in Adamuz accident in Spain

Over 2.4 million views within just days: once more, this week has shown how digital #platforms fail to prevent the rapid dissemination of #disinformation.

Shortly after the deadly accident in #Adamuz, unfounded claims about foreign sabotage began multiplying. Read the new analysis by @maldita.es 👇

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? FACT-CHECKERS! In an online world where generative AI can fabricate a headline, an image and a source in seconds, 'breaking news' may soon give way to 'fact-checked news'. At a time when lies travel faster than fact...

🔗 www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-medi...

We are rapidly moving toward a situation in which the main source of information for entire generations – social media – is being flooded with unreliable content, while many users are increasingly unable to distinguish what is real from what is AI-generated. If democracies want to survive, they will need to address this issue decisively, and fact-checking is a fundamental tool in this effort. – EDMO Fact-Checking Coordinator Tommaso Canetta interviewed for ‘EESC info’

❓ Will 'breaking #verification' soon replace 'breaking #news'?

💬 Take a look at today's interview w/ EDMO #factchecking Coordinator @tommasocanetta.bsky.social in the latest @eesc.bsky.social newsletter 👇

NORDIS IS MONITORING DEVELOPMENTS IN GREENLAND 👀

We’ve highlighted our Greenland-related fact-checks on our website, so you can easily stay informed. Find them here 👉 www.nordishub.eu

edmo.eu/edmo-news/mo...

Preliminary IBERIFIER report finds 48 significant instances of electoral disinformation in presidential election

🇵🇹🗳️ Anti #immigration narratives have been the most prominent form of #disinformation detected during #Portugal’s 2026 presidential #election, followed by personal attacks on candidates, alleged irregularities in the #voting system + more. Read the full report by ISCTE / @iberifier.bsky.social 👇

AI-Generated Disinformation on the Rise, Creating Parallel Realities

🔍 Read our first monthly brief of 2026 to dive into recent developments seen by #factcheckers across Europe: edmo.eu/publications...

Together with Lisa Ginsborg we are happy to share that our edited volume on "Disinformation: A Multidisciplinary Analysis" is now published!

A long journey which involved many esteemed authors, with whom it was a great pleasure to work and to which we are grateful

link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

🌌 Ready to explore the DisinfoVerse?

Join us next week in Wrocław 🇵🇱 for a full day of panels on disinformation, cybersecurity, science & journalism!

📍 SWPS University | 🗓 15 Jan | 🕒 9:00-18.45

🔗 Register: cedmohub.eu/cs/disinfove...

🤖 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...

@maldita.es has identified more than 5.200 #AI-generated videos and 3.600 videos of real minors – and explains how #TikTok profits from all of this. Read the investigation: edmo.eu/publications... 2/2

Predators on TikTok: a goldmine for pedophiles

🚨 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

The BBC is no exception: Far-right forces are targeting European public broadcasters The far right is threatening to stiffle state-owned media corporations or put them at its service if it comes to power

english.elpais.com/internationa...

"The layoffs, political interference, budget cuts, and attempts to centralize control or undermine the credibility of public service media [are] worrying," says Paolo Cesarini, Chair of the EDMO Executive Board.

🗞️ "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👇