Background

European citizens are all exposed to an infodemic spreading increasingly which can severely impact their democratic participation and engagement. This may include disinformation, misinformation, fake news, and other types of interference on different issues related to public life. A pre-emptive approach needs to be taken to decrease the worsening impact, such as using vaccination against the spread of the pandemic.  

During IMMUNE 2 INFODEMIC we immunised EU citizens against disinformation and misinformation by empowering and equipping them with several easy-to-use tools. The project consortium co-produced 3 instruments (vaccines): digital literacy, media literacy, and critical thinking; and applied these instruments to 3 selected hot themes (boosters): elections, COVID-19 and migration.  

In IMMUNE 2 INFODEMIC 2, we will cover 3 new topics: AI-enabled disinformation, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), and environmental/climate change. We will immunize citizens against disinformation on these topics and increase general awareness on disinformation during events in Belgium, Finland, Germany and Netherlands, and through our e-learning platform. 

Vulnerable citizens/residents having limited/no knowledge about mis/disinformation activities but using social media extensively will be targeted for the injection in different forms of in-situ and online events with the support of multipliers including media professionals, social media influencers and civil society organisations.    

Aim and Scope 

The FIMI framework workshop aims to develop guidelines for selecting cases and formulating tools against dis/misinformation in terms of Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference. The workshop will focus on 3 pre-defined subtopics concerning FIMI. Each subtopic will shortly be presented by an expert, after which we will explore these topics more deeply during guided discussions within smaller groups.  

The workshop will bring field experts, researchers, practitioners, media and communication experts, decision/policy makers, etc. together.  

The participants will learn more about the priorities of the European Union, the project activities and will be able to exchange insights, knowledge, experiences and contribute to our democracy by making a difference via this EU project.