On 26 - 27 March 2026, students will gather in Warsaw for a series of workshops as part of the Information Wars: Disinformation and Manipulation in the 21st Century initiative, a project supported by the CIVICA Student Engagement Fund (SEF). The programme will focus on political information, the use of AI in disinformation, and the role of emotions in online manipulation. A follow-up conference will take place on 7 May 2026, bringing together journalists, researchers, and policymakers to discuss the impact of AI on the digital public sphere. Check out the event details on our Events page.
Organised by The European Union Society at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, in collaboration with Politeia Bocconi Students and Bocconi Students for Diplomacy and International Cooperation (BOSDIC), the initiative brings together students from across CIVICA to explore how disinformation spreads online and how it can be addressed through policy, journalism, and civic engagement.
Ahead of the events, CIVICA spoke with members of the organising team about their motivations for launching the initiative, why it is important for students across Europe to engage with the challenges of disinformation, and what participants can expect from the workshops and conference.
What inspired your team to organise the Information Wars initiative?
The inspiration was mostly derived from the public discussion we have witnessed in recent years since AI was introduced. However, even before AI, our generation was the one that experienced the internet effect on public debate the most. We witnessed how the internet influenced, for example, the no-vax campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was before AI, and the message was still very powerful. Now, with AI, everything is amplified. We do not simply want to explain this phenomenon; we want to help people face this new reality.
Why do you think it’s important right now for students across Europe to engage with the challenges of disinformation and misinformation?
Too often, we find ourselves questioning whether a video we’re watching online is real or AI-generated. It also happens that we read a piece of news, believe it to be true, and only later realise that it was misleading. These situations are becoming increasingly common, and anyone, regardless of age or education, can fall victim to disinformation. The impact is real and affects thousands of people every day, especially in the context of current conflicts, fake news and manipulated images are spreading rapidly and often without control. As students, and as a generation that grew up in the digital era, we feel it’s particular responsibility to protect ourselves and help others who may be less used to navigating online, by informing and guarding them against disinformation. Only by reaching as many people as possible we can really see change in how informations are processed and received.
What do you hope participants will take away from the workshops, conferences, and media initiatives you are organising?
What will you take away? First, a clear-eyed view of how AI and digital platforms are actually changing the way political communication works across Europe, not just the theory, but what this means for your newsfeed, your conversations, and your vote. You'll hear directly from people on the frontlines: journalists chasing down disinformation, policymakers trying to regulate it, and academics studying how it spreads. More precisely, you'll walk away with practical ways to verify what you're seeing online and spot manipulation before it tricks you. But we're not stopping at awareness. The real goal is giving you confidence to push back, whether that's correcting misinformation among friends, supporting better journalism, or just being more thoughtful about what you share. Ultimately, this event seeks to empower young Europeans to defend truth while navigating an increasingly complex, AI-driven media landscape.
The initiative brings together multiple CIVICA universities - how does this cross-campus collaboration strengthen your efforts and amplify the impact of your work?
Honestly, teaming up with students from another country changes everything. By bringing together student associations from SGH and Bocconi, we're stepping out of our local bubbles. Disinformation doesn't stop at borders, so our response shouldn't either. Working across our two campuses means we get to compare how fake news affects our societies differently and share diverse perspectives.
Is there anything in particular you are excited about and would like to highlight?
We’re excited about our joint social media campaign. It’s one thing to sit in a lecture hall at SGH or Bocconi, but it’s completely different when Polish and Italian students team up to run an Instagram account together. We’re taking heavy topics like AI manipulation and turning them into street interviews and real vs fake reels. But what makes it even better is that we plan to involve student organizations from other CIVICA universities too. Getting more campuses on board will make the whole campaign truly pan-European.
Find more on the events here.
