Łukasiewicz – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, as the leader of an international consortium, has received a grant under the Horizon Europe program to develop new methods for countering information manipulation. The funding allocated for the project amounts to EUR 3 million.
The consortium led by Łukasiewicz – PORT, composed of academic, technology, and analytical organizations from Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Poland, has signed a grant agreement with the European Union worth EUR 3 million to implement the SAUFEX research project. The project is dedicated to detecting, analyzing, and counteracting foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). The grant will be implemented under the Horizon Europe program in support of defending democracy. The work will begin on February 1, 2024, and will continue for three years.
The coordinator of the SAUFEX (Secure Automated Unified Framework for Exchange) project is Amb. (ret.) Tomasz Chłoń from the Population Diagnostics Center at Łukasiewicz – PORT. Consortium partners include national institutions: the University of Warsaw and the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, as well as international organizations: Debunk.org – an independent Lithuanian technology think tank; DROG – a Netherlands-based organization focused on combating disinformation, promoting media literacy, and supporting a more informed and engaged global society; and Faktabaari, a Finnish non-profit organization promoting fact-checking and media literacy.
Łukasiewicz – PORT will provide the specialized expertise necessary to develop advanced AI-based solutions through a partnership with Ukrainian machine learning and software development experts from OSavul, a company developing software to counter disinformation related to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The harmful effects of disinformation were clearly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Disinformation about vaccines led to alarmingly low vaccination rates in some regions of the world due to widespread mistrust fueled by conspiracy theories. False claims – ranging from vaccines made from human fetuses to microchips for mind control being introduced through vaccination – undermined trust in both medical knowledge and public institutions. The SAUFEX project will contribute, among other things, to the development of models for countering disinformation that poses a threat to public health.
More broadly, disinformation significantly contributes to the spread of hate speech and propaganda online. This trend fuels social divisions while simultaneously eroding public trust in institutions – a fundamental pillar of any functioning democracy. This demonstrates how important it is for democratic societies to actively combat disinformation – not only in the name of truth, but also to safeguard democratic values.
Horizon Europe is the European Union’s key funding program for research and innovation. It facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting, and implementing EU policies while addressing global challenges. It supports the creation and wider dissemination of knowledge and technologies. Łukasiewicz – PORT is currently involved in three Horizon Europe projects, coordinating one of them, which concerns a standardized approach to modeling and studying neuropsychiatric disorders.
For more information, please contact the project coordinator: Amb. (ret.) Tomasz Chłoń, tomasz.chlon@port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl.
