Recap: BENEDMO Annual Report Year 2
We are pleased to publish our second annual report, describing the activities, project results, and impacts of BENEDMO between July 2025 and June 2026. Over the past year, our Flemish-Dutch hub has further consolidated its position in monitoring, studying, and countering disinformation in the Dutch-language region, while actively contributing to the pan-European EDMO network.
Key Highlights from Year 2:
-
Network & Capacity Building: We engaged journalists, researchers, media literacy experts, and policymakers through interactive knowledge exchange sessions. Highlights included a workshop on finding and evaluating open data (OSINT), a Bellingcat coding training for digital investigations, and a cross-sector knowledge session on LGBTQIA+-related disinformation.
-
Fact-Checking & Investigative Campaigns: Beyond day-to-day fact-checking, we carried out collaborative campaigns. This included a campaign monitoring disinformation around the NATO summit using pre-bunking and online marathon formats, exposing fake news networks in Vietnam (Vietspam) targeting Flemish and Dutch audiences for ad revenue, and investigating anti-LGBTQIA+ narratives.
-
Academic Research & Policy: Our researchers published whitepapers examining the role of AI in the disinformation landscape, structural indicators under the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, and the Dutch fact-checking landscape. Research was also launched to study the relationship between fact-checkers and Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
-
Media Literacy Initiatives: We published a LessonUp module on Media Literacy & AI for schools, developed educational resources on online (toxic) influences, and created two conversational media literacy tools (Nieuws in beeld and Digitale praat) specifically tailored for adults with low literacy skills and multilingual backgrounds.
-
Participation in EDMO: We maintained 100% participation in EDMO events, contributed monthly to EDMO’s Best of Fact-checking map, provided input for training series on topics like migration and identity-based disinformation, and submitted quarterly activity updates.
Read the Full Report
We invite you to explore the full report for detailed descriptions of our activities and impact, and view our annual outreach factsheet for a visual summary of our Year 2 results.