The bidt is part of the Bavarian Alliance against Disinformation

Misinformation spreads particularly quickly on the internet. There is an urgent need for action because information and dialogue on political issues is increasingly shifting to social media platforms, messenger services and other digital platforms. The Bavarian Alliance against Disinformation wants to counter this development with concrete measures. To this end, the alliance is initially combining three fields of action: The aim is to sensitise citizens to fake news and manipulation and to strengthen quality media and media diversity in the state. However, technological solutions such as verification and flagging also play an important role.

The alliance is already working together with the seven tech companies Microsoft, IBM, Google, Meta, Adobe, Siemens and Telefónica. On the established media side, the alliance is cooperating with the Association of Bavarian Newspaper Publishers, the Association of Bavarian Broadcasters and Bayerischer Rundfunk, among others. The bidt has also been a member of the alliance since the beginning: with its focus on digitalisation, the institute will provide scientific support for the initiative.

We managed to get the tech companies which operate the large platforms on board and now, for the first time, we have a close alliance between the tech companies on one hand and politicians and representatives of the media on the other. In other words, a concerted effort by society as a whole in Bavaria to defend democracy in the digital space.

State Minister of Digital Affairs Dr. Fabian Mehring, MdL