Earlier in September 2024, some members of the MeVer team at CERTH-ITI set up shop (better: a stand) at the Thessaloniki International Fair. They used the opportunity to present and showcase work on synthetic media detection that is coming out of the vera.ai project. Researchers welcomed the audience and demonstrated tools for detecting synthetic images and deepfake videos at pavilion 7 of the Fair.
In the course of the event, the Minister of Development visited the MeVer / CERTH-ITI pavilion and watched presentations of the exhibits. Additionally, the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation and many others showed interest in all exhibits of the research centre.
During the week, the Fair featured daily afternoon sessions, and full-day events on weekends. Throughout the event, MeVer team researchers presented the center's work to the public who visited the booth.
One insight: although synthetic content is of interest to most people, many were not familiar with its use in real case disinformation.
That is why the team made every effort to inform the audience about this type of disinformation and to raise awareness about the tools that are being developed to assist journalists in combating disinformation.
Author: Olga Papadopoulou (CERTH)
Editor: Jochen Spangenberg (DW)