Looking for something interesting to read, listen to or explore this summer? MedDMO partners have put together a selection of recommendations covering disinformation, fact-checking, AI, news consumption and the wider information environment. From books and research reports to podcasts, articles and online learning modules, the list offers different ways to better understand the issues shaping today’s public debate.
Centre for Research and Technology Hellas
CERTH recommends three useful reads on today’s information environment. The recently published Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 looks at how people access news and at the growing role of social media, video platforms and AI chatbots. Max Fisher’s The Chaos Machine explains how social media platforms can contribute to polarisation and the spread of conspiracy theories and disinformation. Finally, The Science of Fake News by Lazer et al., remains an important paper for understanding why false information spreads online and what can be done to limit its impact.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
AUTH suggests including the BBC World Service podcast The Fifth Floor, which shares unique global stories and in-depth reporting from journalists across the BBC’s international language services. The episode The Disinformation Wars focuses specifically on the spread of disinformation and efforts to combat it. It is an engaging and accessible podcast that is both educational and enjoyable for the summer.
University of Cyprus
UCY suggests The End of Reality as We Knew It: Disinformation, Artificial Intelligence and the New Era of Fact-Checking, developed from the 2nd European Congress on Disinformation and Fact-Checking. Bringing together 43 chapters by more than 70 contributors, the book examines disinformation, AI, truth distortion and fact-checking from philosophical, political, technological and practical perspectives.
Athens Technology Center
ATC suggests the 4th EEAS Annual Report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Threats, which offers a useful introduction to FIMI and explains how foreign actors use information manipulation to influence public debate, often without people realising it. It also recommends Sander van der Linden’s Foolproof, which explores the psychology behind misinformation and offers practical ways to become less vulnerable to misleading content. The third recommendation is the Digital Academy against Climate Change Disinformation, an online platform with short learning modules, fact-checks and resources that help readers recognise misleading climate narratives.
Cyprus University of Technology
CUT suggests Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization without Political Consequences by Anton Jäger. The book looks at how people appear more politically engaged than ever online, while this activity rarely leads to lasting political organisation or meaningful institutional change. It explores the shift from mass-party politics to social media activism, influencers, viral campaigns and constant public debate. The book is particularly relevant for understanding the political and digital environment in which disinformation spreads and why emotionally engaging content has become so influential.
Ellinika Hoaxes
Ellinika Hoaxes suggests the article Narrative Monitoring and Argument-Checking: Enhancing Effectiveness in Countering Disinformation Beyond Fact-Checking. Authored by experts at Maldita.es, this piece explores how narrative monitoring and argument-checking can complement fact-checking, and shows how Maldita put the approach into practice during the October 2024 floods in eastern Spain.
Agence France-Presse
AFP suggests two recent reports on AI, news consumption and the wider information environment. The Pew Research Center article Key Findings about How Americans View Artificial Intelligence looks at public attitudes towards AI in the United States. The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 offers a broader overview of how people around the world access news, levels of trust, concerns about misinformation, and the growing role of social media, video platforms and AI chatbots.
Times of Malta
ToM recommends three books that helped shape the way they view and understand the complex issues of misinformation, disinformation and truth. The first is The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, which presents three short stories under the guise of a detective noir thriller. The protagonists in each of these stories set out to find what they believe to be an objective truth, but quickly find that things are more complex than they first believed. The second novel is The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, an almost satirical novel about the Vietnam war and how it is depicted in Western media. Throughout the book, Nguyen shows how soft power and influence work to shape narratives and communities’ collective memory, regardless of truth or accuracy. Finally, and perhaps a more traditional take, is We Are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins, which traces the birth of perhaps the most influential investigative media organisation working today.
University of Malta
The University of Malta finds it concerning to see that misinformation and disinformation have become almost synonymous with AI and other big tech. They have been turned into an abstract concept as a result: everything and nothing can be mis/disinformation. But lies and fakes are ultimately a human problem. Its recommendation is to look at old stories with a new eye. For a masterclass on how liars weave webs, it suggests revisiting Othello. To see how prejudices built on stereotypes affect actions, it recommends rereading To Kill a Mockingbird. We do need hard facts to fight disinformation – but we also need human stories.
Disinformation may not take a summer break, but that does not mean learning about it cannot fit into yours. Pick a book, press play on a podcast or explore an online module and enjoy the summer reading.
