About

Project Background

The ECLIPSE project aims to prevent and counter hate speech and mis/disinformation both online and offline across Europe. By integrating advanced technologies with insights from social, behavioural, criminological, and legal sciences, the project collaborates with Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and international organisations to analyse harmful and false content online. It deploys counter-narratives via Natural Language Processing (NLP),Social Network Analysis (SNA), and Natural Language Generation (NLG) technologies to support practical interventions in real-world contexts.

ECLIPSE also employs AR/XR gamification for training, addressing societal impacts, enhancing security, and delivering policy recommendations. Its ultimate goal is to raise awareness among European citizens and promote the adoption and scalability of its solutions at national, EU, and international levels.

Project Objectives

EQUIP

LEAs, CSOs, and international organisations with modern and validated digital and non‑digital tools, methods, and curricula to effectively address hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline.

DEVELOP

standardised European approaches for LEAs, CSOs, and international organisations to collect data on hate speech and fake news, analyse risks, and implement counter‑narratives and security measures.

ENHANCE

citizens’ security perceptions and prevent hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline through training materials, workshops, and events using digital storytelling, gamification, and AR/XR.

PROVIDE

targeted recommendations and communicate key outcomes through policy briefs for European and national policymakers to effectively counter hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline.

RAISE

awareness among key stakeholders through innovative tools and training methods, and communicate project outcomes through effective communication and dissemination activities.

Project Facts

Duration

09/2025 to 08/2028

Programme

Horizon Europe

HORIZON-CL3-2024-FCT-01-05

HORIZON Innovation Actions

Grant ID

101225823

Coordinator

FONDAZIONE BRUNO KESSLER

Project Methodology

ECLIPSE adopts a multidisciplinary and multiagency approach, combining advanced technologies like NLP, SNA, NLG, gamification, digital storytelling, and AR/XR with insights from social, behavioural, criminological, and legal sciences to combat hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline. Its tools will advance high-TRL assets from previous EU and national projects that will be tested by end-users (LEAs, CSOs, and international organisations) in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, and the UK, with Spain and Türkiye as followers.

The ECLIPSE project aims to combat hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline through a cooperative and sustainable approach. It employs innovative technological and SSH strategies, each targeting key objectives for impactful solutions. The methodology forms a comprehensive framework to be validated in four pilot countries and two follower countries across Europe, ensuring specificity, replicability, and sustainability.

Project Impacts

IMPACT 1

STRENGTHENED ability to combat crime and terrorism in the EU by reducing hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline through innovative tools and training methods.

IMPACT 2

ENHANCED engagement, addressing hatred and fake news trends across Europe through the integration of gamification, digital storytelling, and AR/XR for immersive training.

IMPACT 3

BOOSTED capabilities to detect and counter hate speech and mis/disinformation, enhancing the effectiveness of preventive measures through advanced tools and training methods.

IMPACT 4

INCREASED citizen’s security perception and hate speech prevention by developing education and training materials on cultural and societal impacts of hate speech and hate crime.

IMPACT 5

IMPROVED decision-making and awareness through monitoring, analysis, and counteractions against harmful behaviour, supporting prevention, preparedness, and effective responses.

Project Structure

WP1

Coordination & Management

The main objective of WP1 is to ensure the timely and high-quality delivery of project outcomes through effective coordination, management, and adherence to agreed structures and procedures. It also focuses on establishing robust processes for quality assurance, ethics and data management, and risk mitigation, ensuring compliance with guidelines and effective handling of risks.

WP2

Comprehension & Methodology

The main objective of WP2 is to establish the concepts, methodologies, and socio-technical requirements for ECLIPSE. Through interdisciplinary research, data collection, and policy analysis, it will develop strategies to combat hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline. The output includes socio-technical requirements and methodologies to steer the co-design, development, and validation of advanced technological tools within the ECLIPSE Toolbox and training framework.

WP3

ECLIPSE Toolbox

The main objective of WP3 is to develop advanced NLP, SNA, and NLG components for the ECLIPSE Toolbox's Perceptions, Networks, and Counteraction Tools, including the Gamification, Digital Storytelling, and AR/XR Tool for training and awareness. This will enable comprehensive monitoring, analysis, response, and training on hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline to be validated first in four pilot countries (Belgium, Germany/Austria, Italy, and the UK) and two additional follower countries (Spain and Türkiye).

WP4

Interoperability, Front-end & User Experience

The main objective of WP4 is to develop a user-friendly front-end interface for the ECLIPSE Toolbox, ensuring compatibility with existing systems. It focuses on improving user experience through responsive design and feedback from pilot countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, UK) and LEA followers (Spain, Türkiye). The goal is to make the Toolbox sustainable, facilitating the future adoption of this output and the tools developed in WP3 as well as the potential upscaling at national, EU, and international levels (WP8).

WP5

Piloting & Evaluation

The main objective of WP5 is to run two pilot iterations to assess the effectiveness of the ECLIPSE Toolbox in combating hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline. Conducted in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, and the UK, the pilots will gather feedback from key end-users (LEAs, CSOs, and international organisations), who are central to tackling these issues. Feedback, including insights from Spanish and Turkish Follower LEAs, will refine the Toolbox and its tools (WP3, WP4), ensuring the final version meets the target groups’ needs (WP8).

WP6

Education, Training & Policy Recommendations

The main objective of WP6 is to strengthen the capacity of LEAs, CSOs, and international organisations to address hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline through tailored training, gamified workshops, and evaluations. Promotion of peer-to-peer learning and community-driven solutions ensures target groups build sustainable networks. WP6 will also produce policy briefs to inform evidence-based policymaking, supporting multiagency cooperation.

WP7

Ethics, Data Protection Law & Security

The main objective of WP7 is to assess the ethical, legal, and fundamental rights implications of the ECLIPSE project, focusing on the Toolbox and training methods. It ensures compliance with EU regulations like GDPR, DSA, and the AI Act to build trust and reduce risks in addressing hate speech and fake news. Key goals include: 1) developing an Ethics Management Plan (EMP) for transparent research, 2) defining legal and ethical principles for the Toolbox, 3) ensuring data security, and 4) conducting a Legal, Ethical, and Security Impact Assessment (LESIA) with ongoing updates.

WP8

Dissemination, Communication & Exploitation

The main objective of WP8 is to disseminate and communicate ECLIPSE's progress and outcomes to stakeholders through conferences, events, and various channels. It will raise awareness of hate speech and mis/disinformation online and offline, promote collaboration with related projects, and build a stakeholder community. WP8 will also create an exploitation plan for the exploitation and sustainability of outcomes, including marketing strategies and business plans.

Project Deliverables

  • D2.1 Definitions and Methodologies
  • D2.2 Data and Policy Analysis
  • D2.3 Repository of Good Practices
  • D2.4 Socio-Technical Requirements and Methodology
  • D4.1 ECLIPSE Toolbox Specifications
  • D5.1 Pilot Implementation Plan
  • D5.2 First Pilot Phase Report
  • D5.3 Second Pilot Phase Report
  • D5.4 Evaluation and Sustainability Strategy
  • D6.1 Educational and Learning Materials
  • D6.2 Methodology and Outcomes of Gamified Training
  • D6.3 Evaluation of Training Activities
  • D6.4 Policy Briefs
  • D7.3 LESIA Report v1
  • D7.8 LESIA Report v2
  • D7.9 LESIA Report v3