About DETECTOR

The rise of synthetic media has made it increasingly difficult to distinguish real from fake. This threatens the work of law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, and courts.

DETECTOR responds to this challenge with a comprehensive research programme.

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See the European Comission's video about this topic.

Objectives

Through collaboration with law enforcement agencies, forensic institutions, researchers, and policymakers, DETECTOR will contribute to Europe’s collective response to the challenges of manipulated media.

Enhancing forensic tools for detecting manipulated media.

Developing diverse, multilingual datasets to improve detection methods.

Delivering training and capacity-building for practitioners.

Evaluating tools with end-users to ensure operational relevance.

Supporting policy dialogue on the use of AI-driven forensic tools.

Who Benefits from DETECTOR?

DETECTOR empowers its audiences by translating cutting-edge research into real-world value:

For Law Enforcement

Practical tools and training that make investigative work more efficient and resilient.

For Researchers

Access to unique datasets and new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

For Policymakers

Reliable, evidence-based findings to inform European and national AI and security policies.

For Industry

Early engagement with innovation, standards, and future markets.

For Citizens

A clearer understanding of how Europe protects the integrity of information and public trust.

How DETECTOR Delivers

A coordinated set of core workstreams takes DETECTOR from requirements and data to reliable tools, validated for real-world forensic use.

Project management & coordination

Coordinate delivery across the consortium, track progress, and ensure quality throughout the project. This also includes administrative and financial management, with strong attention to privacy compliance.

Legal, ethical & user requirements

Guide the development and use of DETECTOR’s tools in line with applicable legal and ethical frameworks. User and technical requirements are defined together with end-users to ensure solutions reflect operational needs.

Multilingual datasets & annotation

Create realistic datasets across audio, image/video and text to support synthetic media detection. Each dataset is carefully annotated and documented with standardised metadata to enable transparent and reliable use.

Detection algorithms

Develop methods to detect manipulated and synthetic content across modalities, focusing on robustness and transferability– prioritising transparency and meaningful human oversight for varied forensic and legal contexts.

Tools, integration & evaluation

Integrate the project outputs into secure, scalable detection tools designed for operational settings. Performance and readiness are evaluated through systematic testing and real-world validation scenarios.

Impact, training & sustainability

Support uptake through communication, stakeholder engagement and practical training for forensic professionals and law enforcement. Long-term impact is supported through sustainability planning and alignment with European initiatives.