Open Evidence and RAND Europe have launched #EUalgorithms the official website of the project on Media Literacy and Online Empowerment issues raised by Algorithm-Driven Media Services conducted for the European Commission.
As the debate surrounding disinformation and accountability intensifies, algorithm-driven media services are being brought to the forefront of discussion. We are using state-of-the-art knowledge and data to identify the potential dangers of algorithm-driven media services and how to mitigate their impacts. The research will explore the play between the biases in algorithms and our own cognitive biases.
This multi-disciplinary study is a first step for EU media policy to analyse the underlying issues posed by algorithm-driven media services and explores the problem area in a structured way for the benefit of policy makers and stakeholders.
The overall objectives of the study are to:
1) Analyse the issues posed by algorithm-driven media services and explore problem areas in a holistic and cross-disciplinary way;
2) Identify gaps in understanding and research;
3) Identify best practices from a media literacy perspective;
4) Include a substantial stakeholder involvement;
5) Include a fundamental rights perspective (freedom of expression/media freedom and pluralism).
Besides disseminating the project and its outputs, the website is a means to map stakeholders and initiatives dealing with improving media literacy and algorithm awareness across Europe.