Welcome to the February newsletter.
AI Forensics’ groundbreaking work on Grok shows the expertise needed to expose Big Tech’s failings. It also shows the potential real world impact of this kind of research: with formal investigations now opened into X over Grok’s sexualised AI imagery, and the company introducing some – albeit inadequate – guardrails (see From the Frontline, below).
Today, we release a report which underlines why it’s so vital to support and properly fund civil society to have the capability and capacity to carry out this work.
Published in partnership with The European AI & Society Fund, ‘Why civil society needs tech skills to face Europe’s technology challenge’, demonstrates how long-term EU funding and philanthropy is essential to enable civil society to scrutinise and hold Big Tech to account.
Common purpose
In March, for the first time ever, our grantee and foundation partners will gather for three days to delve into the challenges facing European democracy and explore visions for overcoming them: sharing knowledge, ideas and inspiration.
The event – consisting of workshops, presentations and more – has been co-designed by the participants. The shape of the three days reflects their priorities, as well as Civitates’ position as an organisation which listens and learns from its partners. We want it to embody our core values of collaboration, solidarity, openness and innovation.
Our partners are doing incredible work against the odds, but can we – meaning the Civitates’ team, donors as well as grantees – find new ways to meet mounting challenges?
This forum is an exciting chance for us all to gather together with the purpose of trying to do so.
In solidarity,
ELISA PETER
Director, Civitates
What links tens of thousands of parents and carers falsely accused of fraud by Dutch tax authorities; a multinational food company unlawfully monitoring workers’ movements; and the AI tool enabling users to sexualise images of women and children?
From exposing algorithmic discrimination to uncovering unlawful surveillance and harmful AI tools, recent investigations show what’s possible when technologists work in the public interest. With technology increasingly part of every aspect of our lives, civil society’s role as a watchdog – ensuring that tech promotes informed, democratic societies rather than undermines them – is increasingly important.
As a new report published today by the European AI & Society Fund and Civitates makes abundantly clear, to be able to perform this task civil society needs the technical skills to do so. Read more and download the full report here.
Fundación Maldita.es’s recently published investigation is a textbook case in how Big Tech fosters polarisation. Tracking 550 TikTok accounts posting thousands of AI-generated videos, which gathered over 89 million views, they revealed how TikTok’s algorithm amplifies highly emotional political disinformation. A summary is here.
AI Forensics have followed up their globally reported study showing how a lack of guardrails around Grok’s AI image generation led to a large volume of sexualized imagery, primarily of women but also minors. Their updated analysis reveals that while some safeguards have been installed, problematic images remain on Grok’s app and website.
Giacomo Zandonini of FADA Collective, a group of Italian freelance reporters working across media and borders, partnered with Dutch media, De Correspondent, to produce Cuffed, caged, cast away: this is Europe’s ‘innovative solution’ for unwanted migrants. Their long-term investigation exposed the vast expense and rights’ violations flowing from Italy’s 2023 migration deal with Albania.
Romania’s ACCEPT Association and the Euro-regional Center for Public Initiatives (ECPI) held a series of meetings with representatives of Permanent Missions to the OECD regarding Romania’s ongoing accession process to the organisation. Discussions centred on the importance of implementing the European Courts’ final judgments.
Campaigning Austrian civil society organisation, #aufstehn, have launched a collaboration process to bring together initiatives that have started petitions aligning with demands included in Austria’s National Action Plan against Violence against Women.
The value of retreats in strengthening organisational strategies and providing opportunities for learning and reflection, are clearly laid out in the Bulgarian Fund for Women’s (BFW’s) case study detailing the two-stage retreats they held in 2025 (with support from Civitates Learning Initiative).
In January, Hope and Courage Collective appeared before Ireland’s national parliament’s Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport. They provided powerful evidence how social media algorithms are amplifying hate, disinformation, and real world harm in Ireland. National broadcaster RTE covered the event here.
As Hungary’s crucial parliamentary elections approach, the Civil College Foundation (CCF) and the ACT coalition have been holding Clean Voting Workshops: online election forums exploring electoral integrity and how to protect democracy. “These workshops prove that clean elections are not just a theory, but a shared responsibility. Together, we can protect democracy,” they say.
EU DisinfoLab’s report ‘Regulatory challenges & gaps in addressing systemic platform abuse‘ examines how electoral manipulation continues despite existing platform rules, revisiting twelve case studies through the lens of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The European Civic Forum (ECF) has launched their new Civic Space Watch website. The new platform has an Early Warning and Alert System, which acts as a hub to alert the EU, media and human rights bodies of emerging restrictions, among much else. It can be found here.
The state of civic space in Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania are detailed in new reports published as part of the Monitoring Action for Civic Space (MACS) project. The reports also outline civil society’s challenges and victories and provide fresh, country-level insights.
Civitates Forum
Between 9-12 March, Civitates’ grantee partners from all our Sub-Funds and our Foundation Partners will gather to take stock of the current state of democracy in Europe and its future over the next decade. This is an Invitation only event.
Civitates at DSA Conference
Civitates attended the second international conference on the DSA and Platform Regulation, which took place on 16-17 February at the Amsterdam Law School. The overall mood was a mix of impatience for delays to investigations and enforcement actions, concern for the pressure from Big Tech and the US administration and cautious optimism.
26/02/26 – Forced to quit: gendered disinformation, synthetic abuse, and political violence, 14.30 CET.
Location: online webinar.
Drawing on Forced to Quit, a crowdsourcing initiative documenting cases where women in politics, journalism, and activism were compelled to leave the public sphere, this webinar with Marília Gehrke of the University of Groningen highlights quitting as a meaningful and measurable outcome of gendered political violence. Register here.
10/03/26 – DSA: Unfolding the European Commission’s first decision against X
Location: online webinar, 14.20 – 15.30 CET.
Digital specialist Laureline Lemoine from law firm and consultancy AWO unpacks the legal reasoning behind the European Commission’s December 2025 decision under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to fine X €120 million – a major milestone. How did the process unfold and what does the decision mean for civil society organisations seeking to increase their impact under the DSA?
More details, including how to register, here.
09/04/26 – Civil society evidence under the DSA: lessons from AI Forensics
Location: Online webinar, 14:30-15:30 CET.
The Commission’s decision to fine X under the DSA was strongly supported by evidence produced by civil society. In this closed webinar, Marc Faddoul from AI Forensics shares how evidence was gathered and structured, what was learned from engaging with the Commission, and what risks emerged when protections failed. More details, including how to register, here.
Calls:
- The Journalism Science Alliance grants support collaborations between journalists and scientists to produce investigative journalism grounded in scientific evidence and focused on topics of public interest. The deadline for the 2026 call is March 23 at 17.00 CET. Details are here.
- EU Funding. Creative Europe Programme (CREA) has a call for proposals on Media Literacy. Support is available for collaborative projects with clearly defined objectives to advance media literacy. The deadline is March 11. Details are here.
- Following years of absence, the new cycle of the EEA Civil Society Fund in Hungary was launched in February. It will deliver nearly €23 million funding to Hungarian civil society up to 2031, and is managed by a consortium led by the Ökotárs-Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation, in partnership with the Autonómia Foundation and the Carpathian Foundation–Hungary. Three calls are now open for applications. Details are here.
Jobs & Opportunities:
- The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is offering 8 to 10 fellowships to journalists from Central and South Eastern Europe with compelling story ideas that require on-the-ground reporting, in-depth research, dedicated editorial support, and funding. The deadline is March 10. Details are here.
- Chief Operating Officer. Following a fundamental organisational restructure, the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) is seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO). The job is London-based. Details are here.
- Internship opportunities at EU DisinfoLab. Two Brussels-based internships are available for 2026, focusing on communications and community engagement, and on policy and advocacy work. They run for a minimum of three months. Details are here.
We Recommend:
- Our BBC: A blueprint for a more independent and future-proofed BBC. This paper by cross-party think tank Demos proposes routes to secure the BBC’s future.
- A practical toolkit for detecting, assessing, and responding to Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). EU DisinfoLab has developed a practical toolkit comprising three monitoring templates designed to support the identification of FIMI incidents.
- Between Nostalgia and New Horizons. How young Europeans imagine and shape the future. The Allianz Foundation Next Generations Study series examines how young Europeans imagine and shape the future. It is based on a representative survey of youth and young adults in selected European countries.
- Your report is important to us – please overcome some unnecessary barriers to submit it. A new blog by Katrīna Luīze Ašmane and Joe McNamee of EU DisinfoLab examines the malicious semi-compliance exercised by the platforms, apparently to avoid meaningful compliance with the law.
