Imagine scrolling through your social media feed in the morning. Between videos from friends, music clips, and funny memes, there are posts from news accounts, opinions from strangers, and increasingly, content that looks real but isn’t. There are deepfakes, AI-generated images, and stories designed to provoke anger or fear. For many young Europeans, this is the daily reality of being online. It is exhausting, confusing, and sometimes genuinely hard to know what to trust. This is exactly the world that ENTR Next Generation, or ENTR-NG, is stepping into. ENTR-NG is the next phase of ENTR, a European social media project built specifically for young audiences. Since 2021, ENTR has been working to connect with younger Europeans through content that feels native to the platforms they actually use. Now, with ENTR-NG, the project is entering a bold new chapter. It will focus on disinformation, media literacy, and the powerful role that creators and influencers play in shaping how young people understand the world. The project is supported by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, which launched a Europe-wide call for proposals on disinformation and youth engagement. Two consortia were chosen for funding, and ENTR-NG was one of them. Running from September 1, 2026, to February 29, 2028, the project is led by Deutsche Welle, in partnership with France Médias Monde and a consortium of media organizations, civil society actors, and academic institutions from ten EU countries. It is an ambitious, collaborative effort to help a generation navigate a digital world that is becoming more fragmented, more automated, and more difficult to read.
The problem ENTR-NG wants to address is not abstract. Young people aged 15 to 30 are not just casually using social media; they are living in it. They get their news from Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. They discuss politics in comment sections and private chats. They follow influencers who talk about everything from fashion to foreign affairs. But in these spaces, information does not arrive in neat, labeled packages. It arrives as a stream of mixed messages: a credible news report followed by a conspiracy theory, a fact-check followed by a manipulated video, a thoughtful explainer followed by a sponsored post that looks like journalism. According to the people behind ENTR-NG, this mixing of opinions, false or misleading information, and AI-generated content makes it increasingly difficult for young Europeans to distinguish trustworthy sources from simple errors, deliberate disinformation, and manipulation. The consequences are serious. When people cannot tell what is real, they may lose trust in reliable institutions, in science, in democratic processes, and even in one another. They may become cynical or, at the other extreme, too easily persuaded by whoever speaks with the most confidence. ENTR-NG does not pretend that the solution is simple. Instead, it starts from a practical, human-centered question: how do we give young people the tools they need to think critically, without lecturing them or pulling them away from the platforms they love? The answer, the project believes, lies in meeting young people where they are, speaking their language, and working with the people they already listen to.
At the heart of ENTR-NG is a commitment to producing social media content in 16 languages for audiences across Europe. That is no small feat. It means creating videos, posts, and interactive formats that are not just translated, but culturally adapted, so that a young person in Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, or Germany feels that the content speaks to their own reality. The themes will revolve around disinformation awareness and media literacy, but the tone will not be academic or preachy. The goal is to make critical thinking feel relevant, accessible, and even entertaining. The project will also focus on influencers and content creators, because they are the new gatekeepers of information for many young people. A teenager might not watch the evening news, but they will watch a creator they admire break down a viral claim. ENTR-NG plans to train creators and influencers, helping them understand how disinformation works, how to verify sources, and how to talk about these issues with their audiences in honest and engaging ways. This is a recognition that influence comes with responsibility, but also that creators themselves are often navigating a complex and fast-moving environment without much support. By providing training, resources, and a network of experts, ENTR-NG hopes to empower creators to become allies in the fight for information integrity. Alongside content production and training, the project includes ongoing knowledge exchange among journalists, media literacy experts, disinformation researchers, and educators. The idea is to learn from each other, test new approaches, and share what works across borders.
Patrick Leusch, the Project Director of ENTR-NG, puts it clearly: “More and more young Europeans encounter overwhelming amounts of information in their social media feeds – opinions, false or misleading information and AI generated content, all mixed up. For them it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish trustworthy sources from simply wrong information, disinformation and manipulation. With ENTR Next Generation, we are bringing together journalists, creators, media literacy experts and disinformation researchers to help both young content creators and users across Europe to develop the skills they need to navigate today’s online information environment with critical thinking and confidence.” That quote captures the spirit of the entire initiative. It is not about telling young people what to think. It is about helping them learn how to think, how to ask questions, how to check what they see, and how to feel confident in their own judgment. It is also about supporting the people who shape their online experience. The emphasis on confidence is important. In a digital world designed to make people feel uncertain, anxious, and reactive, confidence is a form of resilience. ENTR-NG wants young Europeans to feel empowered rather than overwhelmed. That means giving them practical skills, but also showing them that they are not alone. There is a whole network of organizations across Europe working on their behalf, not to control information, but to protect the space where information can be trusted and shared.
What makes ENTR-NG particularly exciting is the arrival of new partners who bring fresh expertise to the consortium. Debunk, based in Lithuania, is known for its work in disinformation analysis and information integrity. They understand how false narratives spread, who creates them, and how to expose them. Debunk will lead training activities, sharing their knowledge with creators, journalists, and young audiences. Voice4You, from Sweden, brings a powerful educational methodology called Mobile Stories Newsroom, which encourages young people to become creators of their own media, rather than just passive consumers. This hands-on approach to media and information literacy helps young people learn by doing: interviewing, filming, editing, and publishing their own stories, all while learning to respect journalistic standards. It turns media literacy from a dry subject into an active, creative process. NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands adds another layer of expertise, focusing on creator engagement, education, and participation. They have developed initiatives like the European Influencers Academy and Swipe Up Week, which explore the relationship between social media creators and their audiences. These programs look at how influencers can be educated, supported, and held accountable, while also recognizing the positive roles they can play. Together, these three new partners complement the existing ENTR network, which already includes major broadcasters, digital platforms, and civil society organizations. The combination of hands-on journalism, academic research, and grassroots media literacy work creates a rich ecosystem of knowledge and experience. It also reflects a broader understanding that there is no single solution to disinformation. It takes many different approaches, many different voices, and many different kinds of expertise to make a real difference.
The full ENTR-NG consortium reads like a map of European media and civic innovation. It is coordinated by Deutsche Welle from Germany, with the Bonn Institute also on board. France Médias Monde represents French public media, while RFI Romania brings local expertise and reach. Rádio e Televisão de Portugal adds the perspective of a national public broadcaster, and Ringier Axel Springer Polska brings experience from one of Europe’s largest digital publishing groups. G4Media, from Romania, is a media freedom and democracy organization, while Are We Europe, based in the Netherlands, focuses on storytelling across borders. Dir.bg represents Bulgaria’s digital media landscape, and Central Médiacsoport brings a Hungarian perspective. Debunk EU, Voice4You, and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences complete the partnership, each contributing their own specialized skills. These organizations come from different countries, different media traditions, and different parts of the digital ecosystem, but they share a common purpose: to help young Europeans navigate the online world with clarity, curiosity, and critical thinking. ENTR-NG is not just a project about fighting disinformation. It is about building a more informed, more connected, and more resilient generation. It is about making sure that young people in Europe do not feel lost in the noise, but instead feel equipped to find their way. In a time when technology is changing faster than ever, and when the lines between reality and fabrication are blurring, that mission feels more urgent than ever. ENTR-NG is a reminder that media literacy is not a luxury or a niche concern. It is a fundamental skill for participating in society, protecting democracy, and understanding the world. And with this next generation of the ENTR project, that skill is being placed directly into the hands of the people who need it most.