Maldita.es is part of the FactCRICIS consortium, a project in which more than 20 European fact-checking organizations will collaborate to detect and fight climate disinformation

The project will include the development of a practical resource package – which will combine Artificial Intelligence tools with the knowledge and materials of climate experts – designed to strengthen the preparedness of European fact-checkers when responding to climate disinformation. and encourage cross-border collaboration. 

As a result, a public and collaborative database will be created, fed by verifiers, where citizens will be able to access information on disinformation content related to climate, as well as their respective verifications. Initially, the database will be used by verification organizations that are part of EFCSN in a pilot program to test and improve the database. The public will be able to access the database through a public website.

Who is part of the FactCRICIS consortium?

For this project, Maldita.es will be part of a consortium together with the EFCSN , the TU Dortmund university (Germany), the fact-checking and technological development organizations Newtral (Spain) and Science Feedback (France), and the AI ​​organization and Ontotext data management (Bulgaria). In addition, 21 other organizations that are part of the EFCSN network will also participate as collaborators.

What will Maldita.es do ?

Maldita.es will be in charge of the design and harmonization of the data provided by the European verification organizations that are part of this project. To do this, the Maldita.es team will create an adapted guide that determines how to standardize them during the project and how to define common formats in order to guarantee data compatibility. You will also develop a WordPress plugin that will allow organizations to easily submit their data to the project database in a standardized way.

Maldita.es will implement and evaluate a pilot program that will contain different tools designed to strengthen the capabilities of European fact-checkers to identify, monitor and combat climate disinformation.

In addition, it will also contribute with its articles and verifications to feed the database, like the rest of the verification organizations that are part of the project.

If you are interested in this or other projects promoted by European verifiers, you can subscribe to the EFCSN newsletter . You will also be up to date on the main disinformation trends detected and the verifications carried out by network members.

How much will Maldita.es receive to carry out the project?

Maldita.es will receive €45,689.00. The total budget of the project is €849,258.89 and the project will last 18 months, until October 31, 2025.

Who finances the project? 

The project is co-financed by the European Union (LC-02869427).

You can read more about the project at the following link: efcsn.com/factcricis