ENTR Next Generation (ENTR-NG)
Young Europeans are increasingly exposed to disinformation, AI-generated content and manipulation on social media, making it harder to distinguish reliable information from misleading narratives. ENTR Next Generation (ENTR-NG) is a Europe-wide initiative bringing together journalists, content creators, media literacy experts and researchers to strengthen young people’s resilience to online information risks. Through accessible, engaging and trustworthy news content, the project promotes informed public debate, critical thinking and greater awareness of European issues among young audiences across Europe.
Background
Since 2021, ENTR has been producing multilingual social media content for young Europeans. ENTR-NG builds on that foundation in response to the rapid spread of disinformation across digital platforms. Following a Europe-wide call by the European Commission’s DG CNECT, ENTR-NG was selected as one of two funded projects addressing disinformation and youth engagement. NHL Stenden joins the consortium as a new partner, contributing expertise through its Organisations and Social Media Professorship.
Young people aged 15–30 increasingly consume news on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. In these fragmented environments, they encounter vast volumes of opinions, false or misleading information and AI-generated content, making it difficult to distinguish trustworthy from unreliable sources. This poses real risks to informed civic participation across Europe. Existing media literacy efforts have not kept pace with the speed and scale of platform-driven information flows among audiences who rely primarily on social media rather than traditional news.
Who is the project team?
NHL Stenden’s contribution to ENTR-NG draws on expertise and research across the key areas of the project. Dr. Deike Schulz, professor UAS in OSM, participates in the ethics working group. Anna Kalman, organisational manager and organiser of the Swipe Up Weeks (SUWs), is involved in content strategy. Petra Hujber, student assistant and intern, contributes to campaign strategy. Alina, student assistant, supports influencer relations development. The broader team of the professorship will be involved in the SUWs, either by providing workshops to the influencers or participating in the interactive sessions. The project on behalf of NHL Stenden is led by Irina Dragomir and Giacinto Bottone.
Project approach
ENTR-NG combines content production, influencer training and knowledge exchange to promote reliable information among young Europeans. Social media content is produced in 16 languages across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, with Debunk EU leading training in disinformation analysis and Voice4You contributing its Mobile Stories Newsroom methodology for media and information literacy.
NHL Stenden’s contribution runs through the Organisations and Social Media Professorship and its flagship initiative, the European Influencers Academy (EIA), developed under the supervision of Dr. Deike Schulz. Within the EIA, the recurring Swipe Up Week (SUW) is the central event: for ENTR-NG, we exclusively focus on news influencers who travel to our campus in Leeuwarden to explore topics on disinformation, media literacy and responsible influencing. Alongside this, we organise interactive sessions with diverse audiences, including table talks and panel talks, bringing together journalists, media professionals, researchers and students.
What are the main (or preliminary) results?
ENTR-NG produces multilingual social media content, reaching young audiences across Europe on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Through the project, a network of influencers and content creators across Europe is trained and equipped with media literacy and disinformation awareness skills. The consortium also generates and shares new knowledge on effective approaches to youth engagement in the digital information environment.
We will organise 3 SUWs, engaging at least 45 news influencers. Additionally, journalists, media professionals, researchers and students are involved during interactive sessions. We publish content on important topics for influencers related to disinformation via EIA’s Instagram and YouTube, and contribute to ENTR-NG through active involvement in campaign strategy, content strategy, influencer relations development and the ethical working group.
Project Partners
The ENTR-NG consortium consists of Deutsche Welle (Germany, coordinator), Bonn Institute (Germany), France Médias Monde (France), RFI Romania (Romania), Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (Portugal), Ringier Axel Springer Polska (Poland), Group 4 Media Freedom and Democracy / G4Media (Romania), Are We Europe (Netherlands), Dir.bg (Bulgaria), Central Médiacsoport (Hungary), Debunk EU (Lithuania), Voice4You (Sweden) and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands).
