Disinformation and influence operations: Which countermeasures actually work?

Information systems researcher Vera Schmitt leads new Horizon Europe project FIMI-RESIST at Mainz University, bringing together ten partners from nine countries

Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz

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FIMI-RESIST project kickoff at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

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Credit: photo/©: Raphael Fischer / JGU

Under the leadership of Professor Vera Schmitt, the XplaiNLP Research Group at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is coordinating the new EU research project FIMI-RESIST. Over the next 30 months, ten partners from research and technology, media and civil society across nine countries will examine which existing European tools designed to counter foreign information manipulation and interference perform effectively under real-world conditions. XplaiNLP combines natural language processing with explainable AI and robust information processing, providing the scientific foundation for a joint assessment of Europe's existing anti-disinformation tools. Horizon Europe, the European Union's flagship funding program for research and innovation, is supporting the project with approximately EUR 3.5 million.

From stand-alone projects to comparable solutions

Technological change is reshaping the disinformation landscape. Generative AI lowers the barriers to producing synthetic content, manipulated media can be scaled rapidly, and the AI systems people increasingly use to find and assess information are themselves becoming targets. At the same time, the European Union has funded a broad range of research projects and tools to detect and mitigate disinformation. What has been missing is a common framework for systematically evaluating their effectiveness and comparing their performance.

FIMI-RESIST addresses precisely this gap. Rather than developing another stand-alone tool, the project will establish a shared evaluation and harmonization framework for existing European solutions. Twenty previously EU-funded tools will be assessed using common criteria and shared benchmarks. The objective is to generate more robust evidence about which approaches are best suited to specific users, operational settings, and threat scenarios.

Real-world testing with media, fact checkers, and security stakeholders

One central focus of the project is practical application. Working with journalists, fact checkers, security stakeholders, and civil society organizations, the consortium will assess how effectively existing tools can be integrated into day-to-day workflows and where gaps remain as AI-driven threats evolve. The project will also establish a help desk, a European hub, and training offerings to ensure that validated methods and project results remain accessible beyond the funding period.

The findings are also intended to inform the European debate on the regulatory and institutional response to disinformation, including in the context of the Digital Services Act, the AI Act, and the European Media Freedom Act.

A consortium of ten European partners

The consortium comprises

• XplaiNLP Group, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany (Professor Vera Schmitt)
• Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies (KInIT), Slovakia (Dr. Jakub Šimko)
• Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Greece (Dr. Symeon Papadopoulos)
• University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Professor Richard Rogers)
• Logically/INSIKT, the United Kingdom and Spain
• Factiverse, Norway
• Exorde Labs, France
• Cyfluence Research Center, Germany
• Deutsche Welle, Germany
• VoxUkraine, Ukraine

Gretchen AI, Germany, is an associated partner in the consortium. The project is also supported by Alexandra Geese, Member of the European Parliament.

The kickoff also included contributions from Saman Nazari (Alliance4Europe), Sandra Fiene (European Commission), and policy and project officers Ilona von Bethlenfalvy and Alberto Domini.

 

Related links:

• https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101285890 – CORDIS project information on "FIMI-RESIST: Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference – Robust European Safeguards and Innovative Systems against Threats"
• https://xplainlp.github.io/ – XplaiNLP Research Group at JGU
• https://wiwi.uni-mainz.de/ – Department of Business and Economics at JGU

  

Personality traits influence level of lasting distress during a crisis, USC-led study finds

National study finds neuroticism was associated with greater and more persistent mental distress during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

University of Southern California

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An individual’s personality, especially how strongly they react to uncertainty, may help indicate how vulnerable they are to prolonged mental distress during a major crisis, according to a new USC-led study.

An analysis of several years of nationally representative U.S. data found that people scoring higher in neuroticism experienced larger and more persistent increases in anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic than people scoring lower in the trait, said lead author Marco Angrisani, senior economist at the USC Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) and associate professor (research) of economics at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

“There is a wide variety of mental health responses to large-scale societal stressors,” Angrisani said. “Our study shows that personality traits, and neuroticism in particular, play a role in shaping heterogeneous responses in a major crisis across individuals and could therefore inform better targeted interventions.”

The study appeared in PLOS ONE on Oct. 7, 2026.

The ‘Big 5’ personality traits

The researchers followed 4,030 U.S. adults using data from the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative internet panel managed by CESR. The analysis included more than 100,000 survey responses collected from 2019 through early 2024, allowing researchers to compare mental health before, during and after the pandemic.

The study examined five broad personality characteristics:

• Neuroticism: A tendency to experience worry, emotional sensitivity and stronger reactions to stress or uncertainty.
• Extraversion: A tendency to be outgoing, energetic and motivated by social interaction.
• Openness: Curiosity about new ideas and experiences, along with a willingness to consider change.
• Agreeableness: A tendency to be cooperative, trusting and concerned about social harmony.
• Conscientiousness: A tendency to be organized, dependable, self-disciplined and goal-oriented.

These characteristics occur on a continuum. Everyone has some degree of each, and a high or low score does not constitute a disorder.

Distress not equally distributed

In the study, mental distress was measured with the PHQ-4, a brief questionnaire assessing symptoms of anxiety and depression. A score of six or higher indicates moderate-to-severe symptoms, though it is not itself a clinical diagnosis.

During the pandemic, increases in the probability of moderate or severe distress were approximately 11 to 20 percentage points greater among participants who scored in the highest 25% for neuroticism versus those in the lowest quarter. The association persisted across young, middle-aged and older adults and remained evident into the post-pandemic observation period.

Participants higher in neuroticism also perceived greater health and financial risks, adopted more protective behaviors and reported exercising and relaxing less frequently while consuming more alcohol. Measurements of extraversion, openness and agreeableness showed weaker or inconsistent associations, while conscientiousness appeared modestly protective, particularly among adults aged 60 and older.

Predicting mental health needs in a crisis

The findings could help clinicians and emergency planners recognize who may need closer follow-up after disasters, public-health emergencies or other prolonged disruptions. Public information campaigns could also be tested to ensure they inform people without unnecessarily increasing distress among those who are more vulnerable to it. Importantly, personality should be just one part of a broader risk assessment, alongside symptoms, previous mental-health conditions, and social circumstances, not a label or an automatic trigger for treatment, Angrisani explained.

However, neuroticism is a risk factor, not a diagnosis or a determinant of an individual’s mental health status. In the paper, the authors advocate for monitoring and stepped care: following people over time and offering treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy or emotion-regulation training when significant, persistent symptoms emerge, rather than treating people solely because of a personality score.

Because the study was observational, it identifies associations and cannot prove that personality, especially neuroticism, caused distress. All personality and mental distress measures were self-reported, and the findings may not generalize beyond the United States, Angrisani cautioned. Still, the results suggest that crisis communication emphasizing practical, controllable actions — combined with accessible mental-health support — could help protect psychologically vulnerable groups, he said.

About the study

Angrisani’s co-authors include Wändi Bruine de Bruin, Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science at the USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service as well as Vincenzo Atella of the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Joanna Kopinska of Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging (grant U01AG077280 to Angrisani).

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0358371

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

How personality traits shape susceptibility to mental distress in times of crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Article Publication Date

7-Oct-2026

How neurotic people struggled more in the COVID-19 pandemic: they perceived the risk as higher, exercised less, and drank more alcohol

PLOS

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How neurotic people struggled more in the COVID-19 pandemic: they perceived the risk as higher, exercised less, and drank more alcohol

Article URL: https://plos.io/4rqvtN3

Article title: How personality traits shape susceptibility to mental distress in times of crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Author countries: USA, Italy.

Funding: Marco Angrisani received funding from the National Institute on Aging under grant U01AG077280. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional external funding received for this study by any of the authors.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0358371

Article Title

How personality traits shape susceptibility to mental distress in times of crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Article Publication Date

7-Oct-2026

 

1 in 20 pet cats in North America might have Giardia infection, with young, male, unneutered cats especially at risk, per analysis of more than 150,000 feline stool samples

PLOS

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Map of Giardia duodenalis detected in cats from United States.

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Credit: Wingerd et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

1 in 20 pet cats in North America might have Giardia infection, with young, male, unneutered cats especially at risk, per analysis of more than 150,000 feline stool samples

Article URL: https://plos.io/4hjS21j

Article title: Giardia duodenalis in domestic cats from the US and Canada: Prevalence and zoonotic potential

Author countries: USA, Colombia.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0358546

Article Title

Giardia duodenalis in domestic cats from the US and Canada: Prevalence and zoonotic potential

Article Publication Date

7-Oct-2026

 

Ancient spotted bat samples help researchers understand present-day population dynamics

Researchers analyzed Euderma maculatum genetic variation across thousands of years

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

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Photo of a spotted bat flying.

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Credit: Faith M. Walker, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Understanding changes in North American bat populations is critical to measuring risk of extinction from emerging threats such as habitat loss, climate change, white nose syndrome and other disturbances. A study published October 7, 2026, in the open access journal PLOS One by Faith M. Walker at Northern Arizona University, USA, and colleagues describes an innovative research design involving the genetic analysis of ancient, modern, and contemporary biological samples from North American spotted bats.

Globally, bats comprise one-fifth of mammalian diversity, but their elusive behavior can hinder scientific observation. For example, spotted bats (Euderma maculatum) are nocturnal, agile fliers who roost solitarily. In order to better understand spotted bats’ population genetic diversity and structure, researchers obtained samples from 121 individual bats from across three separate timeframes across the species range in western North America. These samples included live, captured bats, historical specimens from museum collections collected between 1904 and 1991, contemporary specimens collected between 1994 and 2025, and ancient remains recovered from a northern Arizona cave, radiocarbon dated to 120–2,100 years before present (BP).

The researchers were able to describe the genetic structure, genetic variation and genetic relatedness of spotted bats and identify genetic differences between the northern and southern populations. The study had a few limitations, such as a sample bias – many of the modern specimens originated from a single cave. Future studies are needed to better understand the impacts of specific anthropogenic disturbances on population dispersal and dynamics.

According to the authors, “Our integrative approach across temporal scales highlights the conservation importance of preserving genetically diverse core populations, vulnerable leading-edge populations, and isolated relict lineages. Further knowledge of population structure and genetic diversity across the species’ range will promote conservation and management actions for spotted bats”.

Faith M. Walker adds: “One of the most important findings of our study is that spotted bats in the southwestern United States harbor the greatest genetic diversity across the species' range, making this region a critical reservoir of evolutionary potential for the species. In contrast, northern populations appear to have lower genetic diversity and may be more vulnerable to future environmental change.” 

“Rare and elusive species like the spotted bat can be extremely difficult to study using conventional methods. Genetics allows us to see patterns of connectivity, isolation, and long-term persistence that would otherwise remain hidden, providing information that can directly inform conservation planning.”

"One of the most rewarding aspects of this project was bringing together samples collected over more than a century, from museum specimens and ancient cave remains to bats captured in the field today. Each sample represented a small piece of the species' history, and together they allowed us to reconstruct a much broader picture of how spotted bat populations have changed through time."

"Spotted bats are among North America's most mysterious mammals. By combining DNA from ancient, historical, and modern specimens, we were able to trace their evolutionary history across space and time and identify the populations that may be most important to conserve for the future."

 

 

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/4718NKd

Citation: Walker FM, Sanchez DE, Campana MG, Fleischer RC, Foster JT, Sobek CJ, et al. (2026) Conservation genetics of the spotted bat: Insights from ancient, historical, and modern samples. PLoS One 21(10): e0358330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358330

Author countries: USA.

Funding: Funding was provided by the State of Arizona Technology and Research Initiative Fund.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0358330

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Conservation genetics of the spotted bat: Insights from ancient, historical, and modern samples

Article Publication Date

7-Oct-2026

Photo of a spotted bat in a hand; the bat was netted so that we could take a genetic swab sample.

Photo of author Faith Walker with three spotted bats. Although these bats are rarely netted, sometimes we get lucky.

Credit

Faith M. Walker, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)