• Priority Area Boosting Fact-checking Activities in Europe
• Funding Round / Action Types 11th Funding Round – Urgent Actions
• Year 2025, 2026
• Country Germany
• Project Status Ongoing

The project From Federal to Local: Prebunking Disinformation in German Elections, funded by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF), aims to counter the spread of disinformation during regional and local elections in Germany. It targets young people, many of them first-time voters, who often consume political content through platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where misinformation is widespread.

Led by the fact-checking team of dpa, Germany’s largest news agency, in collaboration with the youth media organization Medienebene from the Rheinland-Pfalz region and the GüntherHolland-Journalistenschule (GHJS) in Bavaria, the project shifts from reactive fact-checking to proactive prebunking: the production of short, engaging videos that pre-emptively debunk manipulative narratives before they gain traction.
dpa will develop a “Narrative Blueprint” analyzing key misinformation patterns, train local partners in fact-checking and mobile-first content production and supervise the creation of 15 prebunking videos tailored to young audiences.

The added value lies in its scalable approach and close cooperation between national experts and local youth voices – making complex information accessible, regionally relevant, and highly shareable.

The project combines research, capacity-building, and media literacy workshops to strengthen democratic resilience from the ground up. All results, including the final Blueprint, will be shared openly to serve as a model for similar efforts in Europe.