By Dr. Brendan Spillane, Assistant Professor at University College Dublin and partner in the Horizon Europe ATHENA project, presented the consortium’s work at the 6th Annual Joint Research Centre (JRC) Disinfo Workshop, held under the theme “Defending European Democracy.”
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The workshop took place in the context of the European Commission’s forthcoming European Democracy Shield, a flagship initiative designed to strengthen societal resilience against disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). Organised by the JRC and DG Research & Innovation, the event brought together leading experts, policymakers, and representatives from EU-funded projects to exchange insights and showcase the latest innovations supporting the protection of Europe’s democratic institutions.
Dr. Spillane participated in Session 7: “Showcasing EU-Funded Projects Supporting European Democracy,” moderated by Alberto Domini, Policy Officer at DG Research & Innovation. His presentation introduced ATHENA’s research objectives and demonstrated progress on the ATHENA platform, which supports the detection, analysis, and monitoring of FIMI activities targeting the European information space. He also outlined the project’s collaboration with European Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and its integration of advanced AI-driven analytics with social science expertise to address emerging FIMI threats.
Other featured speakers included:
- Professor Kalina Bontcheva (University of Sheffield), who presented the vera.ai project (VERification Assisted by Artificial Intelligence),
- Dr. Riccardo Gallotti (Fondazione Bruno Kessler), who showcased AI4TRUST, a large-scale initiative focused on continuous online media monitoring to counter disinformation,
- Michal Trnka, CEO of Gerulata Technologies who demonstrated some of their AI platforms for information security and analaysis, and
- Dr. Lena Frischlich, Associate Professor, Digital Democracy Centre
ATHENA’s participation highlighted its role within the broader European research and innovation ecosystem dedicated to democratic resilience. The project contributes directly to EU policy goals by supporting evidence-based understanding of FIMI, fostering interagency cooperation, and developing technological and methodological tools to help protect democratic discourse across Europe.
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Posted by: Nayara Güércio (Trilateral Research)