DORIAN

False reports are used to influence public opinion or to deliberately incite hatred against specific individuals, and they spread rapidly across the internet. However, identifying fake news is often difficult and time-consuming. This is where DORIAN comes in. The interdisciplinary research project, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT, aims to uncover disinformation and combat it comprehensively.

How can you spot fake news?

Key challenges of the project include reliably and quickly identifying fake news, as well as designing and evaluating approaches to effectively combat it. In doing so, fundamental rights must be respected, such as the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press (freedom from censorship), as well as data protection considerations. The DORIAN team is developing a catalog of potential technical, political-normative, sociocultural, and organizational recommendations for combating disinformation on the internet. These recommendations are aimed at citizens, the media, policymakers, and the academic community. In addition to these recommendations, which relate to the further development of the legal framework, media education, and the need for further research, the researchers also aim to identify potential technical solutions for detecting and combating disinformation and opinion manipulation on the internet and to assess their potential impact on users and their acceptance.

Interdisciplinary Research Approach

Fraunhofer SIT (technology and law), Stuttgart Media University (journalism), the University of Duisburg-Essen (media psychology), and the University of Kassel (data protection) are collaborating in an interdisciplinary partnership.

As part of the project, Fraunhofer SIT is developing new technical approaches for the automated detection of fake news. Methodologically, the institute combines innovative methods of image and text forensics and graph analysis into a holistic framework for the automated detection, monitoring, and annotation of fake news.

A team of researchers from the University of Kassel is examining the legal requirements within the DORIAN project. They are investigating in which cases legal action can be taken against fake news and assessing whether the existing legal framework is sufficient for this purpose or should be expanded. In addition, the Kassel team is examining data protection aspects with the aim of ensuring that technical mechanisms for combating fake news can be designed in a way that complies with fundamental rights.

The research team at the University of Duisburg-Essen is contributing the latest findings from media psychology. They are examining opinion-forming processes on social media as well as mechanisms for sharing information on the internet. The media psychology team will conduct studies to examine how people perceive misinformation and react to warnings about fake news.

The Stuttgart Media University will collect the research material, i.e., compile a collection of fake news and evaluate reports using journalistic methods.

The DORIAN project—Uncovering and Combating Disinformation—has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research since August 1, 2017, and will run through 2019.