This year, up to 400 million citizens will participate in the European Parliamentary Elections. At a time when access to quality information is crucial, Google and YouTube ajoined forces with the European University Institute and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to champion the European Media and Information Fund which aims to address key topics such as media literacy, civic engagement, and the challenges posed by mis- and disinformation in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
Strengthening Election Integrity with AI and Security Tools
Earlier this year, Google announced initiatives to support the European Parliamentary Elections by promoting high-quality information, protecting its platforms, and providing campaigns with advanced security tools and training. These efforts include leveraging AI to combat abuse at scale. Today, Google is sharing updates on their collaboration with the broader ecosystem to fight mis- and disinformation, support media literacy, and provide insights into relevant Search trends.
Countering Misinformation: From Debunking to Prebunking
Fact-checkers are vital in debunking misinformation and supporting quality information. Google announced a €1.5 million contribution to the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN). This newly created association, representing European fact-checking organizations, will launch Elections24Check, a coalition of over 40 news and fact-checking organizations across Europe. Elections24Check will create the first open database of election-related disinformation, supporting global research and fact-checking efforts.
Carlos Hernández-Echevarría, Chair of the EFCSN Governance Body, emphasized, “Elections24Check will offer an early detection system of online misinformation for the entire continent. Participating fact-checking organizations cover almost the entire EU and neighboring European countries, which is crucial as misinformation often crosses borders, especially around elections.”
The coalition members will have access to new beta features in Fact Check Explorer, allowing them to search fact checks by image as well as text. This capability is increasingly important with the rise of generative AI imagery. Training will also be provided on tracing the provenance and history of images across the web.
Prebunking Campaigns to Enhance Media Literacy
Prebunking teaches audiences to recognize manipulation techniques, helping them identify mis- and disinformation online. Ahead of the European Parliamentary Elections, Google announced a prebunking campaign to bolster media literacy. The campaign, starting this spring, will focus on techniques like decontextualization, scapegoating, and discrediting. Short video ads will run on social media in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Poland, with translations available in all EU languages as well as Arabic, Russian, and Turkish.
New Journalist Resources to Combat Disinformation
In the lead-up to the European elections, AFP will provide resources to help journalists raise awareness of disinformation and tackle it effectively. The global news agency will release a series of short videos on their YouTube playlist, “AFP Fact Check: How to verify information online,” in at least eight European languages. Additionally, a three-part online course in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese will address disinformation during elections. These resources are supported by the Google News Initiative.
Empowering Young Voters
With some European countries lowering the voting age to 16, more young people can now participate in the democratic process. To support these young voters, Google.org is awarding a $1 million grant to ThinkYoung, a Belgian think tank. The grant will fund youth-led hackathons across Europe, empowering young voters to combat disinformation and develop solutions, particularly in underserved communities. This initiative builds on Google.org’s longstanding commitment to youth media literacy and online safety.
Providing Insights Through Search Trends
To offer insights into the issues and topics voters are interested in, Google is launching a Google Trends Elections Hub for the European Parliamentary Elections. The hub will feature EU-wide Search Trends and country-level data for Germany, France, Poland, and Spain. Real-time charts will provide an overview of evolving Search interest in parties, candidates, and political topics.
Additionally, a Google Trends Elections Newsletter will be launched in the coming weeks, providing EU-wide analysis of Search Trends related to parties, candidates, and political topics. The newsletter will offer in-depth insights, comparisons with previous election cycles, and highlight top-searched election and voting questions as the election approaches. Interested individuals can sign up for the newsletter on the Trends hub.
Commitment to Reducing Misinformation
As the election year progresses, Google and YouTube remain committed to reducing the threat of misinformation and promoting trustworthy information. They look forward to continued collaboration with government, industry, and civil society to advance these goals.
Jigsaw is a unit within Google that explores threats to open societies, and builds technology that inspires scalable solutions. Find out more here. https://prebunking.withgoogle.com
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