News - Launching DEEP Stories: Understanding the Stories Behind Disinformation

We often assume that misinformation spreads because people lack information. But what if the real driver is something deeper: personal experiences, identity, frustration, or trust?

Project overview

🧠 DEEP (Unveiling Deep Stories and Boosting Emotional Intelligence to Empower Citizens Against Disinformation) goes beyond facts to explore the emotional layer behind beliefs and turns these insights into practical tools for young people across Europe. DEEP brings together NGOs, researchers, and educators to work directly with young people through research, experimentation, and real-life interventions.

About

📅 Duration: February 2026 – January 2028

🌍 Network: 6 partners across Europe:

Romania 🇷🇴

Germany 🇩🇪

Bulgaria 🇧🇬

Serbia 🇷🇸

Poland 🇵🇱

Italy 🇮🇹

Why DEEP is different

DEEP addresses the human side of disinformation: emotions, identity, and trust.
This makes it more realistic, more relatable, and more effective in the long term.

❌ Fact-checking only

❌ Surface media literacy

✅ Emotions & identity

1. Collecting deep stories

• Focus groups & in-depth interviews
• Diverse perspectives (social, political, cultural)
• Identifying emotional drivers: fear, distrust, frustration

👉 Output: European comparative report on emotions & disinformation

2. Designing interventions

Insight Walks format:

• 90-120 min guided city walks
• 6-12 interactive stops
• Audio, video, quizzes

• Real-life narratives & media examples
• Understanding emotional influence
• Recognizing manipulation techniques

3. Testing in real life

• 1–2 interventions per country
• 50–60 participants/country

~300
participants

6
countries

4. Measuring impact

• Pre & post surveys
• Cross-country data analysis
• Comparative results

👉 Focus: emotional awareness, disinformation detection, trust

5. Scaling results

• National events
• European conference
• Guidelines & policy recommendations

Our role

🇷🇴 In Romania

• Focus groups & interviews
• Insight Walk implementation
• National dissemination event

At European level

• Leads intervention phase (WP11)
• Coordinates implementation in all countries
• Ensures quality & consistency
• Develops key reports

GEYC is shaping how the project works in practice across Europe using non formal education methodology.

Get involved

Join DEEP and be part of a new approach to understanding and combating disinformation.

Opportunities will open for young people, facilitators, and community actors to test innovative formats and shape future tools.

Follow our updates

This project is funded by the European Union through the CERV programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), under the Citizens’ Engagement and Participation strand. Project ID: 101253717. 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 Commission’s CERV Programme. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.