Countering Disinformation and FIMI: How I Can Contribute to HORIZON-CL2-2025-DEMOCRACY-01
From networked manipulation to resilient democracies: applying systems thinking, social network science, and innovation policy to disinformation ecosystems.
Horizon Europe Call:
HORIZON-CL2-2025-DEMOCRACY-01: Evidence-based support for measures to prevent and counter disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)
Why This Call Matters
Hybrid threats such as disinformation and FIMI are increasingly eroding democratic trust, civic engagement, and institutional legitimacy. The EU’s commitment to countering these threats through evidence-based strategies, knowledge mobilisation, and systemic capacity-building requires a coordinated effort that links research to real-world decision-making.
As an academic working at the intersection of Network Science, Agent-Based Modeling, and Innovation Systems, I have long studied the spread of ideas, influence, and manipulation in socio-technical environments. My experience in longitudinal and multiplex analysis provides the methodological depth needed to help the EU move from fragmented research to actionable countermeasures.
What I Can Offer
1. Mapping Disinformation Ecosystems
Using advanced SNA and multiplex modeling, I can:
Analyze how disinformation campaigns propagate across platforms, geographies, and identity groups.
Detect “coordinated inauthentic behavior” using metrics like modularity, clustering, and triadic closure.
Map structural gaps in societal resilience networks.
Contribution Example: Lead a WP on mapping hybrid threat networks and co-develop indicators for early warning and resilience assessment.
2. Bridging Research Results to Practice
Drawing on my experience in knowledge valorisation and EU research coordination:
I can synthesize results from previous Horizon projects and translate them into practical toolkits, policy briefs, and training modules.
I can support uptake across sectors—education, media, governance—via stakeholder-specific adaptations.
Contribution Example: Develop an open-access decision support tool that aggregates Horizon project findings, aligned with DISARM and EDMO frameworks.
3. Modeling Impact of Interventions
My expertise in agent-based modeling enables me to:
Simulate responses to disinformation interventions under varying levels of trust, media literacy, and algorithmic exposure.
Explore how digital literacy programs, fact-checking networks, and regulatory mechanisms influence diffusion dynamics.
Note: The development of agent-based public policy decision support systems can serve as a testbed for decision-makers—offering insights into the potential effects of various interventions before they are implemented.
Contribution Example: Co-lead scenario modeling for policy stress-testing under future tech and political uncertainty (e.g., generative AI use in FIMI).
Why Me?
🧠 Systems expertise on disinformation spread, coordination, and countermeasures.
🔬 Methodological versatility in SNA, RSiena, ABM, and mixed methods.
🌍 EU project fluency: familiar with Horizon frameworks, SSH integration, and valorisation pathways.
🧭 Strategic perspective on how innovation and democratic resilience intersect.
If your consortium is preparing a proposal under this call, I’d be glad to contribute as a Work Package Leader, expert advisor, or strategy lead.