What will Idmo, the anti-fake news Observatory, do, who is part of it and how much money will the EU have
Everything (or almost) on IDMO (Italian Digital Media Observatory)
Fight relentlessly against disinformation. This is the goal of IDMO (Italian Digital Media Observatory) of the European Union, the observatory set up by the European Commission for the analysis and fight against disinformation. IDMO is part of the European Digital Media Observatory , a network of eight national hubs on social media analysis created by the European Commission. The head of IDMO is Gianni Riotta , director of the Luiss DataLab and of the Master in Journalism and Multimedia Communication. The spread, now epidemic, of fake news has stimulated the birth of this observatory.
From the European Union 11 million euros for national hubs
The European Union has allocated, in this start-up phase, eleven million euros, funds disbursed through the Connecting Europe Facility . The eight anti-disinformation hubs will study the impact of fake news in order to spread positive practices in the use of digital media through e-literacy and fact-checking. EDMO and its regional hubs are independent from any national or community public authority.
The eight national hubs
The eight national hubs established by the EU are: Ireland HUB, EDMO BE / NL, Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO), IBERIFIER, NORDIS – NORdic observatory for digital media and information DISorders, Belgium-Luxembourg Research Hub on Digital Media and Disinformation (EDMO BELUX), DE FACTO Observatory of Information and IDMO (Italian Digital Media Observatory). The eight hubs will monitor the spread of fake news through members in Ireland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Norway.
How EDMO works
EDMO, through national hubs, addresses and counteracts harmful disinformation campaigns at national level. Each hub contributes to the creation of a multidisciplinary community by bringing together academic researchers, fact-checkers, media professionals and other specialized partners. The work of EDMO professionals will lead to the creation of a network capable of detecting and analyzing disinformation campaigns, producing content to support traditional media , organizing media literacy activities at national or multinational level and providing support to national authorities for monitoring the policies of online platforms and the digital media ecosystem.
IDMO partners, from Luiss to Rai
The Italian hub, IDMO, will be created thanks to the collaboration between Luiss Guido Carli University together with RAI, TIM, GEDI La Repubblica Group , Tor Vergata University, T6 Ecosystems, Newsguard, Pagella Politics and with the collaboration of Alliance of Democracies Foundation, Corriere della Sera , Enel Foundation, Reporters Sans Frontières, The European House Ambrosetti.
The power of truth in the time of disinformation
The European project was presented during the conference "The power of truth at the time of disinformation" at the Hall of Columns at the Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome in recent days. The event was attended by Paola Severino, Luiss Vice President, Carlo Fuortes, Rai CEO, Giuseppe Moles, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Stefania Aloia, Deputy Director of La Repubblica Gedi Group, Giuseppe Abbamonte, Media & Data Directorate European Commission and Luigi Gubitosi, TIM CEO and, with a video message, Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Gianni Riotta: "Disinformation in Italy has increased by 500%"
"We will work to teach to distinguish the true from the false – declared the coordinator of the event Gianni Riotta – and if someone thinks that the problem is not widespread, just think that 20% of American citizens do not believe in science , 50% of citizens Brits don't believe the press along with 48% of Americans and 42% of Brits think the government is lying. In recent months , disinformation has increased by 500% in our country . This is enough to understand the extent of the problem we have to face ”. The director then reported the words of the European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, who was unable to attend the event. “Disinformation increases divisions in our societies and undermines the foundations of normal democratic debate – said director Riotta – the pandemic has also highlighted the terrible impact of disinformation on people's health.
The role of artificial intelligence
The analysis will use tools based on artificial intelligence to identify the target audiences most subject to disinformation, identify the mechanisms that lead to their sharing and those functional to prevent and counteract their impact. “Fake news is not only a false news but also the denial of the real news – said the CEO of TIM Luigi Gubitosi during his speech -. In this process, artificial intelligence will be important. We already have a data room where we check what happens on the network by monitoring which news is spreading the most and we have seen the spread of trolls. To date, it is not conceivable that those who earn, even with significant revenues, on a platform have no responsibility . If someone makes billions on a platform, it's not wrong to ask them to be accountable. This does not mean carrying out a form of censorship but applying the same legislation envisaged for the editors of newspapers ”.
Luigi Di Maio: "Fake news undermines the right to information"
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio spoke with a recorded video message. “The wave of disinformation and fake news that we have witnessed in recent years in Europe and in the world risks undermining the right to correct information which is the basis of our democracy – said Minister Di Maio -. We must look at these dynamics not only from the side of the main problems but also of the opportunities, democracy will be able to focus on new tools to become more resilient towards possible future disinformation campaigns ”.
Carlo Fuortes: "Rai must participate in IDMO"
Carlo Fuortes, CEO of Rai, recalled the role of Rai in the field of " mass scientific and digital literacy ". The RAI executive also ensured Rai's collaboration in the project. “For Rai it is a pleasure to actively participate in this hub, I would even say that it is a duty for the public radio and television service – explained Fuortes -. Our collaboration will be maximum in this consortium, and Rai will promote the results of the Observatory ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-fara-chi-fa-parte-e-quanti-soldi-ue-avra-idmo-losservatorio-anti-fake-news/ on Sat, 25 Sep 2021 04:13:33 +0000.