It is common sense that countering disinformation in all its shapes is most effective with united forces. Therefore, it is one designated aim of vera.ai to create a network of related EU-funded projects and beyond. If you see an opportunity for collaboration or cooperation, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Look no further to discover how technology (ChatGPT) can be used to summarize a long and complex scientific paper about technology, namely generative language models. Put differently: ChatGPT produced a summarization text about the applied technology's underlying potential risks and benefits. Supported by some manual edits and a review by the article's author. 

Here's another project that was carried out during the 2023 Winter School organised by the University of Amsterdam’s Digital Methods Initiative (DMI). The work of this team, coordinated by the hosts themselves, among other tested a "detection method” that is to allow fact-checkers for faster detection of “post-truth spaces” and verification of actors that spread (in this case pro-Kremlin) propaganda on social networks.

During the 2023 Winter School organised by the University of Amsterdam’s Digital Methods Initiative, a Uni URB team, led by by Fabio Giglietto, carried out a project that dealt with (mis)information dynamics in online networks in the context of the war in Ukraine. Here’s what they found.

Journalists, investigators and researchers who have to analyze and verify digital content often encounter highly disturbing and  potentially traumatizing material, e.g. when reporting from war or conflict. In this article, we look at ways to protect investigators from secondary trauma and give some tips and advice designed to limit negative consequences. All this is to support mental well-being when dealing with gruesome material online.

In June 2023, you are invited to the Workshop on Multimedia AI against Disinformation (MAD'23). It is co-hosted with the ACM International Conference on Multimedia Retrieval and brought to you by AI4Media and vera.ai. Join us in June in Thessaloniki, Greece. 

On 17 January 2023 from 2-3 pm the EBU is hosting a webinar in which vera.ai will be introduced and community views will be canvassed. We present how user needs of newsroom professionals and fact-checkers are to be included in the project, and which role you can play in all this.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has been going on since late February 2022. Access to the region, especially combat zones, by independent reporters is still limited. To assess the situation on the ground partially depends on content posted in social networks. A key challenge: gaining access to relevant material, verifying and archiving it before it’s gone.

We wish you - all our friends, followers, business partners, associates,  and whoever else you are -  reading these lines - a lovely holiday period.