Since 2021, CEDMO has been focusing on activities concerning digital transformation and information disruptions primarily in Central Europe. An expert team of both technical and humanities-oriented scientists, researchers, journalists, fact-checkers and media experts identify and investigate the main sources of undesirable information phenomena and disruptions, offering recommendations that will enable civil society, public institutions and the private sector to better respond to declining trust in key institutions and better resist these growing, corrosive influences.
The Consortium currently consists of 13 members working together to strengthen key parts of the project’s long-term focus.
Experienced professionals from the international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), as well as the Czech Demagog.cz, the Slovak Demagog.sk and the Polish Demagog.pl are responsible for responding quickly to disinformation narratives and verifying facts on an ongoing basis. Their activities are complemented by the Dutch group Bellingcat, which focuses on the verification of information using publicly available sources (OSINT).
Researchers from the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies (KInIT) (Slovakia) and the Czech Technical University (CTU), who have extensive experience with generative artificial intelligence, NLP and machine learning, are developing methods and tools to make fact-checkers’ work more efficient and quick, detect deepfakes, assess compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) and strengthen media literacy.
The main disinformation narratives as well as their impact on society and the democratic functioning of Central European countries are being researched by the Polish University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS) together with experts from Charles University. Slovak GLOBSEC focuses on activities related to increasing state resilience to disinformation and strengthening media literacy through educational workshops. Together with other partners, such as AFP, Czech Demagog.cz, Slovak Demagog.sk and Polish Demagog.pl, it also focuses on regulatory activities. Strengthening and improving media literacy activities is the responsibility of the Polish research institute NASK with the help of the Slovak PR agency Seesame, which is also involved in the project’s communication activities. The technical infrastructure is provided by the Athens Technology Center (ATC) from Greece within the consortium.
CEDMO is managed by three main bodies:
The Advisory Board is composed of senior experts from different sectors. It gives its opinion on the overall direction of the hub, provides insight into the latest developments in various fields and ensures that the work of the Strategy and Project Executive Boards is in line with the project rules and principles.
The Strategy Board is responsible for the strategic direction of the project, guiding and coordinating the research to achieve the expected quality of outputs, and ensuring that the stated project objectives are met, including compliance with all ethical, legal and financial obligations.
The Project Executive Board ensures the implementation of the project deliverables and consists of representatives from each partner institution. It ensures that all expected project deliverables are completed and delivered. It also acts as a liaison between CEDMO and EDMO members.