2025 was a remarkable and at times challenging year for our project work. We celebrated many major milestones, with the launch of several new projects, a focus on youth, innovation, and helping strengthen local media, among many other achievements. Here are some of our project highlights:
Combatting online HAte Speech by engaging online mEdia (CHASE) released the final version of its ICT tool for the identification and analysis of gender-based hate speech in online media environments. It’s now being deployed with media partners in Cyprus, France, Italy and Greece to integrate into moderation workflows and to inform evidence-based recommendations for strengthening newsroom responses to gendered online violence. It follows a two-month pilot testing phase, a free online session on how to utilise the tool, and a co-creation lab in July to present the ICT tool to stakeholders. The consortium has also organised Open Days across all partner countries to present the tool to journalists, policymakers, civil society organisations, and the public.
A pivotal Training of Trainers event took place in Cyprus in October where project partners received a two-day intensive programme to enable them to train national-level media professionals. Those national level trainings were rolled out in December in all partner countries, with media professionals trained on the tool’s functionalities and potential applications in editorial and moderation workflows. The training will continue into 2026.
CHASE was formally recognised as a ‘best practice’ by the European Commission in Cyprus, underscoring the project’s innovative contributions to combating online hate and strengthened its visibility and credibility across the European media landscape.
