European Union Funds New Initiative to Combat Youth Disinformation

A new research collaboration set to launch next month at the Monash University Prato campus in Italy aims to strengthen young people’s ability to recognize and resist disinformation across Europe. The initiative, named Supporting European Youth Engagement against Disinformation (SEED), will bring together partners from Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, along with researchers from Monash University’s International Campus Network.

The two-year project, funded under the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, responds to growing concerns about misinformation’s impact on democratic participation. SEED will engage educators, youth workers, and local authorities to deliver practical tools, training programs, and youth-designed civic engagement activities supporting critical thinking and digital resilience among young Europeans.

At the heart of this partnership is the Monash University European Research Foundation (MUERF), which will lead all SEED activities in Prato. Working closely with the Municipality of Prato, local schools, and community groups, the team will map how disinformation circulates in local communities and co-develop initiatives to help young people build trustworthy information networks.

The seeds for this project were planted during a 2024 workshop titled “Disinformation in Cities,” hosted at the Prato campus by Associate Professor Matteo Bonotti from the Faculty of Arts. Supported by MUERF, the event gathered colleagues from Monash University Indonesia, Italy’s Institute for International Economic Cooperation (ICEI), and representatives from city councils in Jakarta, Milan, and Reggio Emilia.

“The workshop highlighted the urgent need to move beyond purely academic work on disinformation and collaborate with key stakeholders on the ground,” said Associate Professor Bonotti. “We decided to focus on cities because they are the level of government most accessible to the people. Cities are particularly vulnerable to disinformation and its consequences but also offer unique opportunities for designing policy interventions.”

The workshop proved catalytic in strengthening Monash’s relationships with European organizations working on democratic resilience. It led to participation in the STAND project (Strengthening Towns’ Activation for new Narratives on Diversity) and ultimately created the trusted partnerships that produced the successful SEED application.

Dr. Matteo Dutto, Senior Manager, Research and Research Fellow at MUERF, and a Chief Investigator on the project, sees SEED as an exemplary case of Monash’s international campus network working as intended.

“Part of Monash’s appeal in Europe is our connections across the Indo-Pacific, through our campuses and other research and educational collaborations,” he explained. “They provide a bridge to the world’s fastest-growing and most consequential region. These global networks are vital to successfully tackling shared global challenges like disinformation in societies.”

The project brings together researchers with complementary expertise that reflects the complex nature of the disinformation challenge, including Associate Professor Matteo Bonotti (Politics & International Relations), Dr. Matteo Dutto (MUERF), Associate Professor Zareh Ghazarian (Politics & International Relations), Associate Professor Ika Idris (Public Policy), and Dr. Nazirul Hazim A. Khalim (Malaysia School of Business).

MUERF continues to play a pivotal role in opening European opportunities for Monash researchers. As an Italian legal entity, it enables full participation in programs such as CERV and Horizon Europe, something few Australian institutions can access directly. Beyond eligibility, MUERF helps researchers establish partnerships, build consortia, navigate the complexities of EU project development and delivery, and serve as an active research partner.

The project will officially launch on March 10-11, 2026, at a meeting hosted at the Monash Prato campus. Following the kick-off, MUERF will establish Prato-based working groups involving educators, youth workers, and municipal representatives, using the city as a testing ground for innovative, community-driven responses to disinformation.

The SEED initiative comes at a critical time when disinformation continues to challenge democratic institutions worldwide. According to recent studies, young people are particularly vulnerable to misleading information online, especially on social media platforms where algorithmic distribution can amplify false narratives.

As digital literacy becomes increasingly essential for civic participation, projects like SEED represent important investments in democratic resilience across Europe. By focusing on youth engagement and local government involvement, the initiative adopts a grassroots approach to a global problem.

The project also highlights the growing importance of international academic collaboration in addressing complex societal challenges that transcend national boundaries. With Monash exploring upcoming European calls and expanding its networks, SEED illustrates what becomes possible when global academic institutions collaborate across continents.