As deepfakes, biased algorithms, and AI-generated content proliferate, the fight against online disinformation has become more urgent than ever. A recent episode of the CORDIScovery podcast dives into this growing digital threat, highlighting how researchers across Europe are developing innovative strategies to detect and counter cyber disinformation with the help of EU-funded research.
The episode features Owen Conlan, professor at Trinity College Dublin and co-director of the Trinity Centre for Digital Humanities as well as an ADAPT academic. Prof. Conlan discusses his work on the VIGILANT project, which is developing cutting-edge tools to detect and analyse disinformation linked to criminal activity on major online platforms.
Joining him are Joana Gonçalves-Sá, a researcher from the Nova Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics and the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics in Lisbon, and Marián Šimko, an expert from Slovakia’s Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies. They examine the growing challenge of cyber disinformation, from the rapid spread of false narratives to the lack of tools available to law enforcement agencies across Europe.
The conversation also sheds light on a critical issue: the vulnerability of low-resource languages in the age of AI. As machine learning systems rely heavily on data, languages with fewer digital footprints are often left behind, creating blind spots in the fight against disinformation.
From the dangers of manipulated content that can incite violence to the technical hurdles of training multilingual AI, the podcast explores how EU research is stepping up to protect democratic values in a digital age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.The full episode is available now on the CORDIScovery podcast platform here.
