The consumption of news has known a considerable shift in the past years with the evolution of social media. People are sharing information with a speed that was never reached before and learn about every part of the world instantly. If this could be seen as progress, it could also lead to the spread of misinformation, a considerable danger for society. In order to find a solution to counter Fake News, EUNOMIA was created. The open-source platform uses blockchain technology that protects users’ data and gives them the tools to self-verify the trustworthiness of the content they see via an “info hygiene routine.”

To know more about this project, Blasting News’ editorial team spoke with four EUNOMIA members.

From George Loukas - coordinator of EUNOMIA and professor at Greenwich University - to Sorin Adam Matei - professor of communication at Purdue University, in the United States - four experts present, in an exclusive series of interviews, this international consortium funded by the European Commission, who proposes a decentralized and open-source social media platform to give the power to social media users rather than to bigger institutions. Blasting News is part of the consortium that is developing EUNOMIA.

George Loukas on fighting misinformation: ‘Do not share something unless you’ve read it’

George Loukas, coordinator of EUNOMIA and professor at Greenwich University, tells us more about the project, a user-oriented and open-source platform assisting social media users to fight misinformation, and how journalists can and should help.

He “doesn't like being told what to believe” and that is why he believes that EUNOMIA which “lets the user think what is misinformation or what is not” is the tool to use in order to fight fake news on social media.

Sorin Adam Matei: with EUNOMIA we are building an independent net of social media

“Most social media that we use nowadays are premised on the idea that engagement is to be driven by emotional responses to the content,” says Sorin Adam Matei, professor in Purdue University's Brian Lamb School of Communication, in the United States.

“We propose a different process by which we invite the users to reflect first.”

Matei talks about how the EUNOMIA project develops a decentralised and open-source social media platform that assists users in determining the trustworthiness of information.

Pinelopi Troullinou on fighting misinformation: I would like social media users to be more empowered

“EUNOMIA aims to give people the skills to assess the trustworthiness of the content, even when it comes from people that they trust.

When you start questioning trustworthiness, then you go a step further to search for the truth,” says Pinelopi Troullinou, Research Analyst at Trilateral Research.

Troullinou explains how the EUNOMIA project is encouraging social media users to identify the risks they are exposed to, and acknowledge the power they have on their lives but also those of others in the use of social media. Troullinou describes how EUNOMIA puts social media users at the heart of its project, to raise awareness on our everyday consumption of news, and to “hopefully make a better digital world.”

Klitos Christodoulou: the next evolution of social media platforms will be governed by people

“We would like to propose a new paradigm.” That’s how Klitos Christodoulou, professor of Computer Science at the Department of Management and MIS – Digital Currency at the University of Nicosia (UNIC), in Cyprus, summarizes the bold ambitions of the EUNOMIA project.

Christodoulou explains how EUNOMIA is using blockchain technology to create a platform that protects users’ data and give them the tools to self-verify the trustworthiness of the content they see.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED