Be Smart Campaign

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Be Smart Campaign

EDMO Launches ‘Be Election Smart’ Campaign ahead of 2024 European Parliament Elections 

As the 2024 European Parliament elections approach, millions of Europeans will play a crucial role in shaping the future of European democracy by voting. At the same time, widespread disinformation campaigns intended to undermine the electoral process have been detected across the EU. 

In response to this pressing challenge, EDMO and the EDMO Hubs launch an online campaign titled “Be Election Smart” on Monday April 29. This campaign will run for six weeks, aiming to support and empower European citizens in navigating the information landscape surrounding the European Parliament elections. Each Monday will see a new “Be Election Smart” message published along with practical tips to encourage citizens to discern whether the information they find is accurate and reliable. These messages and tips will be disseminated extensively across EDMO’s networks and translated by local EDMO Hub experts into the different EU languages, ensuring accessibility and relevance to local contexts, nuances, and cultural references. 

The “Be Election Smart” campaign hopes to serve as a beacon of guidance and empowerment, enabling European citizens to make informed decisions and to help safeguard the integrity of the democratic process. 

Be Smart Campaign Tips & Messages

Read more than the headline
Life is complicated, and so is politics. Headlines are designed to catch your eye, but a headline can’t give the full story, and neither can a short social media post. If it sounds unbelievable, it probably is. So, read the whole story, not just the headline. #BeElectionSmart
Read more than the headline
Clickbait-style headlines and posts can be deliberately misleading, designed to promote strong emotions that encourage sharing.
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Look for the whole picture
It only takes a few clicks to change or enhance content to create entirely different meanings and narratives. If you see a video or hear a recording of a public figure saying something sensational, be aware that it might be fake.  #BeElectionSmart
Look for the whole picture
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can create images or videos that look like real people but are completely fake. This includes “deepfake” videos. Audio-only deepfakes are especially hard to verify. View pictures and recordings online with a critical eye – especially if they trigger strong emotional reactions. 
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Just because it’s viral, doesn’t mean it’s true
Disinformation often provokes a strong emotional reaction and prompts sharing in a moment of outrage, excitement or disbelief - don’t believe something just because it’s going viral. Bots/fake accounts can exploit algorithms to amplify content online. #BeElectionSmart
Just because it’s viral, doesn’t mean it’s true
Social media and messaging applications make it really easy to share information quickly to large groups of people. In addition, AI-powered technology can also be used to create fake profiles and promote false or inaccurate content, making it go viral with very little authentic sharing.
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Get your information from more than one source
If a piece of information is only being reported from one source or one media type, it might not be the whole story. Ask yourself who produced it, why, and how it has reached you? #BeElectionSmart
Get your information from more than one source
Different editorial rules apply across different types of media. In general, there are more checks and balances required for information that is broadcast or published in print, compared to some information online.
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Get your info about voting from reliable sources
Seek out reliable information on how, when and where to vote in the elections from official sources. Check this out 👉 https://loom.ly/T1NG9yk and be wary of any content that suggests fraud is taking place. #BeElectionSmart
Get your info about voting from reliable sources
Disinformation around the electoral process often spreads before and after elections, aiming to delegitimise elections through unfounded claims of voter fraud, foreign influences and unfair practices 💡https://loom.ly/3FgML1E.
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If in doubt, ask an expert
If you have doubts about a story or post you have read, you can ask an expert and flag it if it seems inauthentic. [link to local EDMO Hub fact-checkers - EDMO could link to the Map of fact-checking organisations in the EU: https://edmo.eu/resources/repositories/fact-checking-organisations-in-the-eu/ ]. Independent fact-checkers review content published online and assess its accuracy
If in doubt, ask an expert
The EDMO Elections Task Force is publishing daily updates about disinformation circulating about the elections 🛎️ https://loom.ly/pyUTNU4 and the European Fact-Checking Standards Network has a database of fact-checked election information▶️
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The Mediterranean Digital Media Observatory (MedDMO) is an alliance of fact-checkers, media literacy experts and scientists taking a coordinated approach to combating disinformation and misinformation.

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This project has received funding from the European Union under Grant Agreement number 101083756. This website reflects the views only of the independent Consortium, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein.