European projects and media literacy in the face of disinformation Strategies for knowledge transfer in the Horizon 2020 Program

Main Article Content

Beatriz Molina Lomba
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0309-1165
Jordi Rodríguez Virgili
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7952-5664
Jorge Miguel Rodríguez Rodríguez
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9077-6416

Abstract

This study examines whether Horizon 2020 projects have successfully transformed their research outputs into effective digital tools to strengthen critical thinking in society through media and information literacy. It also identifies the barriers that have hindered this process and proposes recommendations for expanding their social impact and optimizing future European programs. The article employs a mixed-method approach, combining a content analysis of the dissemination plans of twelve H2020 projects on disinformation and a qualitative analysis based on nine interviews with researchers from these projects and fact-checking specialists. The results highlight the lack of uniform strategies and the limited effectiveness of dissemination actions, despite efforts in social media, events, and collaborations. Furthermore, many technological tools are aimed at journalists and educators, leaving the general public in the background. Despite their contributions to academia, knowledge transfer remains a challenge that limits progress toward the H2020 Program's goal of combating disinformation.


 

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Article Details

Section

ST3. TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES OF MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY

Author Biographies

Beatriz Molina Lomba, University of Navarra

Current Affiliation: University of Navarra (UNAV)

Biographical Summary:
Beatriz Molina Lomba is a doctoral candidate and researcher affiliated with the research group Journalism, Political Communication, and Democracy (PerComPolDem), housed within the Department of Public Communication at the School of Communication (FCOM), University of Navarra (UNAV).

Address: Calle Universitario, 31009 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
Email: bmolinalomb@alumni.unav.es

Research Interests:

  • Theoretical exploration of pre-political concepts underlying the practice of journalism

  • Public opinion and media effects

  • Disinformation and its implications for democratic systems

  • Political polarization and the fragmentation of the public sphere

  • The ethical mission and normative foundations of journalism

  • Freedom of expression and citizenship, including the challenges of hate speech

  • Political communication and electoral processes

Jordi Rodríguez Virgili, University of Navarra

Full Professor of Political Communication at the University of Navarra (UNAV) and Principal Investigator of the research group “Journalism, Political Communication and Democracy” (PerComPolDe). He is also a researcher on the projects Resilient Media for Democracy in the Digital Age (ReMeD), a Horizon project funded by the European Commission, and the Complutense Observatory on Disinformation (Dir-Politics), reference PID2022-137245OB-I00. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University. In 2016, he received the Award of Merit for Excellence in Political Communication Teaching at the Victory Awards (The Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.).

Jorge Miguel Rodríguez Rodríguez, Universidad San Jorge

Jorge Miguel Rodríguez is Associate Professor of Journalism and Vice-Dean of Research at the Faculty of Communication and Social Sciences of the Universidad San Jorge (Spain).

Villanueva de Gállego University Campus

A-23 Zaragoza-Huesca Highway Km. 299

50.830 - Villanueva de Gállego (Zaragoza- Spain)

E-mail: jmrodriguez@usj.es

His lines of research are: Journalistic Genres, Disinformation, Digital Journalism, Journalism and Literature, Fact Checking, Slow Journalism, Alternative Discourses in Youtube.

She is a member of the Reference Research Group Communication, Journalism, Politics and Citizenship (Code S101), recognized by the Government of Aragon and funded by the European Social Fund for Regional Development ERDF “Building Europe from Aragon”.

How to Cite

Molina Lomba, B., Rodríguez Virgili, J., & Rodríguez Rodríguez, J. M. (2025). European projects and media literacy in the face of disinformation: Strategies for knowledge transfer in the Horizon 2020 Program. Journal ICONO 14, 23(1), e2247. https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v23i1.2247

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