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04/09/2026 | Aktuell

ITeG involved in two new research projects on deepfakes: VAMPIR and DEEP-PRISMA

@ITeG

VAMPIR: Video use in adolescence - between influence and enlightenment

In April of this year, a new interdisciplinary research project on the topic of disinformation and deepfakes was launched, in which the ITeG Scientific Center at the University of Kassel is participating. The joint project, coordinated by the Fraunhofer SIT in Darmstadt, aims to investigate technical, social and legal measures to counteract video-based disinformation and deepfakes.

The core objectives of the project "Video Use in Adolescence: Manipulation, Propaganda, Information and Resilience (VAMPIR)" are the identification and analysis of disinformation strategies and the development of AI-supported methods for detecting deepfakes. Research will also be conducted into how visually conveyed disinformation differs psychologically from text-based disinformation and what effects it has on young people in particular. Finally, the legal framework for detecting and combating video-based disinformation and deepfakes will be examined. Based on the results, joint recommendations for action for legislators and platform operators will be developed, including strategies to strengthen the media literacy of young people.

Professor Dr. Gerrit Hornung from the ITeG Department of Public Law, IT Law and Environmental Law is in charge of the legal part of the project, withTahireh Panahi working as a research assistant. The project will run for three years and is being funded with 2.07 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).


DEEP-PRISMA: Protecting citizens' privacy and other rights from misuse by deepfakes

The overarching goal of this interdisciplinary research project "Protecting privacy and other rights of citizens from misuse by deepfakes (DEEP-PRISMA)" is to improve the conditions for exercising the right to informational self-determination and related rights in the context of deepfakes. To this end, it is first necessary to investigate the effects of abusive deepfakes and to subject both existing rights and regulations for the protection against abuse to a systematic effectiveness test with the help of multi-layered empirical surveys. Based on this, recommendations for action for the exercise and enforcement of rights are to be derived in an interdisciplinary exchange and proposals for reform considerations are to be developed.

Coordinator of the joint project is the Fraunhofer ISI in Karlsruhe. PD Dr. Christian Geminn is responsible for the legal part of the project at the ITeG. Leon Francis is responsible as a research assistant. The project will run for three years and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).