From the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to environment disasters and the elections in Germany, the US and at European level: The recent past was formed by occasions with massive capacity for disinformation. To combat the dissemination of such disinformation, GADMO– an alliance between the Institute of Journalism and the Department of Data at TU Dortmund University, the fact-checking editorial teams at the German Press Agency (dpa), Agence France-Presse (AFP), Austria Press Company (APA) and CORRECTIV, along with AIT Austrian Institute of Innovation– has actually been working together for practically three years. GADMO becomes part of the Europe-wide “European Digital Media Observatory” (EDMO), which is moneyed by the European Commission and covers all 27 EU member states and Norway.
Know what’s fact
Since its launch, GADMO has actually established itself as the very first port of call for truth checks and clinical analysis in the area of disinformation. Among the milestones accomplished so far are a substantial online reality inspect archive with more than 3,800 short articles. Every month, around a hundred new fact checks are added that help users to debunk false assertions. The GADMO team likewise offers video training courses for numerous target groups: Young people learn the fundamentals, i.e. how to compare disinformation and trustworthy sources, while media specialists get more thorough support with examining AI-generated content and utilizing digital research study tools.
GADMO has actually released the second stage of the job under the brand-new slogan “Know what’s fact”. In addition to traditional fact-checking, the focus will now shift to investigative research, clinical analysis, and media literacy offerings for moms and dads and older target groups. The brand-new “GADMO Brief” format will include a regular monthly examination of the work of all certified German-language fact-checking organizations. The outcomes of the joint work will be revealed on a devoted Instagram channel. “With the largest German-language fact-checking center and brand-new formats such as the GADMO Quick, the network is showing how powerful cooperation can be,” says Teresa Dapp, head of the dpa’s fact-checking group. “In the next stage of the task, we want to reach a lot more individuals– on the channels that pertain to them.” In the area of media literacy, the group at the Institute for Journalism will examine existing programs to figure out whether they appropriate for instructor training trainees and for use in school lessons. In addition, the IJ group will curate the products, equate them if essential, and prepare them in such a method that teachers can easily utilize them in class.
Positive interim result in spite of challenges
After the first financing duration, the GADMO group can report a favorable interim outcome. It is, nevertheless, concerned about present developments, particularly at large tech business such as Meta, as the termination of the fact-checking program in the US might possibly have an effect on Europe also. “In the shape of GADMO, we have actually successfully produced several outputs to neutralize disinformation campaigns– a site with many fact checks, media literacy products and research results with a strong practical focus. We are particularly pleased about the numerous synergies we have actually had the ability to harness in cooperation with our partners. At the exact same time, fact checkers are currently under incredible pressure and exposed to attacks– something we discover extremely worrying,” states Professor Christina Elmer from the Institute of Journalism, the coordinator of the GADMO project. “In research study, too, we still face major obstacles– for instance, when it refers accessing and examining platform information. This makes it even more important for us to be able to continue with GADMO and carry on marketing together for fact-based social discourse in the digital space.”
The GADMO group was particularly active around the time of elections. In 2024, the “super election year” that saw the European elections and elections in three of Germany’s federal states, a GADMO Report critically examined how large platform operators, who had actually signed a statement of commitment as part of the Code of Practice, managed politically encouraged disinformation. In spite of the measures revealed, specifically in view of the elections, there was proof of politically encouraged deepfakes and canvassing that was not labeled as such. Prior to Germany’s federal elections in February, GADMO published a weekly newsletter on the flow of fake news, which reached around 4,000 subscribers and highlighted, to name a few problems, repeating narratives such as allegations of election rigging.
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