Antigone
From antagonism to agonism in digital ecosystems
ANTIGONE is a European research project exploring how democratic societies can navigate conflicts between different forms of legitimacy, recognition and democratic voice. Inspired by Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, the project examines how online platforms can be designed to host disagreement constructively — distinguishing between harmful disinformation and legitimate disagreement, and between exclusion and meaningful democratic contestation.
It aims to develop a conceptual framework and practical tools to support constructive democratic contestation, particularly in contexts characterised by public mistrust, unclear platform rules and contested meanings. This work will result in a range of outputs, including research methodologies, Human-AI tools, datasets, legal and policy recommendations, frameworks for media and platforms, and new approaches to supporting open and pluralistic civic discourse.
The project brings together organisations from across Europe, combining expertise in social sciences, law, media studies, artificial intelligence and computational sciences, and civic advocacy. This multidisciplinary approach enables ANTIGONE to examine information manipulation from different perspectives — from the way narratives emerge and spread online to the technological, legal and societal conditions that shape digital public discourse.
The project will work closely with policy-makers, journalists, fact-checkers, law enforcement officers, researchers, civil society organisations (Civil rights defenders, media literacy practitioners), creators, influencers) and other relevant stakeholders throughout its three-year duration, ensuring that its research reflects real-world needs and that its findings can be translated into practical action.
ANTIGONE is coordinated by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and brings together EU DisinfoLab (EUDL), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), the University of Sheffield (USFD), the Centre for Research & Technology, Hellas (CERTH), the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), Agence France-Presse (AFP), the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Institute For Strategic Dialogue (ISD Germany) as project partners, and MediaConnect
Funded by the European Union in the HORIZON EUROPE framework under grant agreement Project 101287848 - ANTIGONE.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
ANTIGONE is a European research project exploring how democratic societies can navigate conflicts between different forms of legitimacy, recognition and democratic voice. Inspired by Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, the project examines how online platforms can be designed to host disagreement constructively — distinguishing between harmful disinformation and legitimate disagreement, and between exclusion and meaningful democratic contestation.
It aims to develop a conceptual framework and practical tools to support constructive democratic contestation, particularly in contexts characterised by public mistrust, unclear platform rules and contested meanings. This work will result in a range of outputs, including research methodologies, Human-AI tools, datasets, legal and policy recommendations, frameworks for media and platforms, and new approaches to supporting open and pluralistic civic discourse.
The project brings together organisations from across Europe, combining expertise in social sciences, law, media studies, artificial intelligence and computational sciences, and civic advocacy. This multidisciplinary approach enables ANTIGONE to examine information manipulation from different perspectives — from the way narratives emerge and spread online to the technological, legal and societal conditions that shape digital public discourse.
The project will work closely with policy-makers, journalists, fact-checkers, law enforcement officers, researchers, civil society organisations (Civil rights defenders, media literacy practitioners), creators, influencers) and other relevant stakeholders throughout its three-year duration, ensuring that its research reflects real-world needs and that its findings can be translated into practical action.
ANTIGONE is coordinated by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and brings together EU DisinfoLab (EUDL), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), the University of Sheffield (USFD), the Centre for Research & Technology, Hellas (CERTH), the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), Agence France-Presse (AFP), the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Institute For Strategic Dialogue (ISD Germany) as project partners, and MediaConnect
Funded by the European Union in the HORIZON EUROPE framework under grant agreement Project 101287848 - ANTIGONE.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
