EU opens call for AI disinformation and deepfake campaigns

The European Commission published the open call DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-AWARENESS, which funds the construction of a joint research framework to combat manipulative AI content. The call is part of the operationalization of the European Democratic Shield, a communication from November 2025.

What does the DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-AWARENESS call cover?

The call targets the “rapid evolution of manipulative tactics in online spaces” — generative AI producing disinformation, deepfake videos, fake influencers, fake websites, and algorithmic amplification of harmful narratives. The Commission explicitly recognizes that tools for manipulating public debate have advanced faster than detection tools. The goal of the framework is to unify the technological infrastructure for information integrity research, connect fragmented research efforts across disciplines and borders, and expand research capacity through targeted funding. The call also opens space for sharing knowledge about regulatory tools (DSA, AI Act) used to study the ecosystem. The keyword is “online space transparency” — the ability of independent researchers to actually see how content spreads, who amplifies it, and what the reach of AI-generated material is.

Who applies and under what conditions?

The Commission has set a 6 million euro gross budget for one winning proposal, with a 100% funding rate and project duration of 24 to 30 months. Targeted are consortia of research institutions, civil society, fact-checkers, technology service providers, and other stakeholders. An interesting specificity of the call is the “financial support to third parties” clause — a minimum of 60% of the total budget must be redistributed to third parties (smaller research groups, NGOs, local fact-checking organizations). This logic aims to decentralize knowledge and prevent all the money from ending up with a few large consortia. The application deadline is October 1, 2026, and an online information session is being held on April 28, 2026. The Commission thus combines an ambitious mandate with resource distribution, which suits the multidisciplinary nature of the problem.

How does this fit into the broader European strategy?

DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-AWARENESS is not an isolated call — it directly delivers the goals of the European Democratic Shield from November 2025, which sets the overall framework for the EU’s response to electoral manipulation and disinformation. The Shield foresees a combination of regulatory tools (DSA, Digital Services Act), transparency of algorithmic systems, and proactive research working in real time. This call covers the research foundation — methodologies, shared measurement standards, shared infrastructure for analysis. This responds to the criticism that the European fact-checking ecosystem operates in isolation, often with different definitions and tools, and so cannot effectively respond to cross-border campaigns. If the project succeeds, Europe gains a permanent capillary network that can detect, document, and publicly expose AI-generated manipulative content before it significantly affects democratic processes. For the AI field, this is a milestone because it acknowledges that regulation (AI Act) must have an operational research system behind it.