About CEDMO
The Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO), as an independent non-partisan multidisciplinary hub, aims to identify, research and prioritise the most critical sources and causes of information disorders in Central Europe (mainly the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland). This international consortium was created to propose a set of short and longer-term actions, as well as recommendations to help civil society, public institutions and the private sector respond to the declining trust in key institutions and help society to resist the effect of increasing exposure to mis- and disinformation.
By interacting and coordinating with European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) and other regional EDMO hubs in EU, CEDMO will contribute to curbing threats posed by information disorders, including disenchantment with the democratic processes, and discord in civil society in Europe, and to building community and nation-wide resilience while protecting information ecosystems.
About CEDMO
The Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO), as an independent non-partisan multidisciplinary hub, aims to identify, research and prioritise the most critical sources and causes of information disorders in Central Europe (mainly the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland). This international consortium was created to propose a set of short and longer-term actions, as well as recommendations to help civil society, public institutions and the private sector respond to the declining trust in key institutions and help society to resist the effect of increasing exposure to mis- and disinformation.
Our Partners
About CEDMO
The Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO), as an independent non-partisan multidisciplinary hub, aims to identify, research and prioritise the most critical sources and causes of information disorders in Central Europe (mainly the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland). This international consortium was created to propose a set of short and longer-term actions, as well as recommendations to help civil society, public institutions and the private sector respond to the declining trust in key institutions and help society to resist the effect of increasing exposure to mis- and disinformation.
Our Partners
“Nearly all Covid-19 patients who died in hospital during the early phase of the pandemic were killed as a direct result of being put on a ventilator,” claims an article published May 13, 2023 by The People’s Voice, a website formerly known as News Punch, which AFP has fact-checked numerous times for sharing misinformation.
“According to WHO’s own data, more than 5,000,000 people are suspected to have been harmed by the COVID vaccines. The exact number today is 5,026,245 people, including tens of thousands of deaths,” said Tess Lawrie in an April 29, 2023 tweet.
“BREAKING: COVID-19 Vaccine Can Cause Blindness,” says the title of a May 5, 2023 tweet.
“Russia’s KFC changed its name to SFC (literal translation: Siberian Fried Chicken) to stay in business,” reads a simplified-Chinese tweetposted on March 14.
The claim was shared in a lengthy Facebook post published on April 1, 2024.
“The Great Barrier Reef has died again. 75 percent bleached apparently,” says Australian geophysicist Peter Ridd in an April 9, 2024 clip on Facebook.
“We are in a CO2 famine,” reads the title of a chart shared on Facebook on February 20, 2024. It appears to show decreasing levels of atmospheric CO2 — measured in parts per million (ppm) — throughout the planet’s history.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several false or misleading claims as US lawmakers grilled him over his decisions to fire scientists and overhaul the nation’s vaccine policies during three hours of testimony before the Senate Finance Committee.
“The Media laughed and said Ivermectin was ONLY for horses and cows? THEY KNEW it was made for people since 1987,” begins a May 7, 2025 Facebook post.
“BREAKING NEWS: TRUMP STRIKES BACK — DEATH PENALTY FOR mRNA CRIMES NOW ON THE TABLE”, reads the headline of a lengthy Facebook post published on February 26, 2025.
After thousands of anti-immigration protesters took to the streets in Australian cities, a video was misleadingly shared in social media posts claiming it showed young Muslim men intimidating Germans at a Christmas market. The footage, filmed in December 2024, in fact shows people passing through a Christmas market in Essen, Germany, as they celebrated the toppling of the former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad — a demonstration the local police and the city’s tourism department told AFP were peaceful.
Danish farmers have raised concerns about the health of their herds following a mandate to lower methane emissions through diet alterations and video testimonies are spreading in social media posts claiming the feed additive Bovaer is killing cows. Denmark’s regulatory agencies opened an investigation, but there is currently no evidence the compound — which is used on a voluntary basis across 70 countries — causes cattle deaths.
New scientific research claims ocean currents are “stable,” states Anthony Watts in a February 28, 2025 article on his website.
In his latest push to undo environmental goals established by the Biden-Harris Administration since returning to the White House, Trump signed an executive order (archived here) pushing for a return to plastic drinking straws, saying their impact on marine life was limited.
“RFK Jr. is correct about Lyme disease being created as a bioweapon in a lab on Plum Island, just off Connecticut’s coast,” says a January 29, 2025 X post from an account called “Shadow of Ezra,” which AFP previously fact-checked.
After thousands of anti-immigration protesters took to the streets in Australian cities, a video was misleadingly shared in social media posts claiming it showed young Muslim men intimidating Germans at a Christmas market. The footage, filmed in December 2024, in fact shows people passing through a Christmas market in Essen, Germany, as they celebrated the toppling of the former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad — a demonstration the local police and the city’s tourism department told AFP were peaceful.
Danish farmers have raised concerns about the health of their herds following a mandate to lower methane emissions through diet alterations and video testimonies are spreading in social media posts claiming the feed additive Bovaer is killing cows. Denmark’s regulatory agencies opened an investigation, but there is currently no evidence the compound — which is used on a voluntary basis across 70 countries — causes cattle deaths.
Croatia has been affected by African swine fever (ASF) since 2023, with hundreds of cases confirmed in wild boars. To control the outbreak, the government announced a series of measures in October 2025 including culling, restrictions on animal movement and the establishment of biosecurity zones. Social media users responded by falsely claiming that there were no infected wild boars in Croatia and that the measures lack scientific and legal justification. However, experts and international organisations have confirmed the presence of ASF in Croatia, and AFP found that the measures are in line with European regulations and backed by science.
“BOMBSHELL TUCKER RELEASED AN VIDEO (sic) FROM ZELENSKY BEING CAPTURED… HE IS BEING TRANSFERRED TO BLACK DOLPHIN PRISON (RUSSIA) WITH HIGH SECURITY,” says the April 8, 2024 post.
“The son of a Ukrainian prosecutor, together with a nurse, is in a hurry to get into a tuned Kirpi in order to get to Avdiivka from Europe in time for the evening fight,” reads the caption to a video shared on social media platform X by a New Zealand-based user on January 12, 2024.
“I remember feeling nauseous when tRump posted this photo because I knew he’d done it…he had betrayed America,” says a March 24, 2024 post on X, where disinformation has accelerated since billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform in 2022.
“Yemen bombed the Israeli cargo ship ‘Unity Explorer’ American military ships and other Western bases came to Djibouti trying to rescue the Israeli cargo ship Unity Explorer, which has now sunk in the Red Sea,” says a December 3, 2023 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The image appearing to show a child trapped under concrete blocks was posted here on Facebook on October 19, 2023, and has since been shared more than 4,000 times.
“USA today They send support to Israel,” says text over the November 7, 2023 post from @myus.hamed5, a TikTok user who has previously misrepresented visuals amid the Israel-Hamas war.
