VIGINUM-Inria Science Prize: supporting European research in the fight against information manipulation

Heightened scientific and strategic challenges

Faced with the intensification of information manipulation in the digital sphere, Viginum and Inria are stepping up their cooperation, bringing together scientific excellence and operational expertise.

This collaboration aims to combine:

• Inria's expertise in artificial intelligence, data analysis, modelling and understanding information behaviour;
• Viginum's expertise in detecting, characterising and analysing foreign digital interference.

The aim is to support scientific advances that will provide a better understanding of these phenomena, develop new detection tools and strengthen society's resilience in the face of information threats.

Eligible work and topics covered

The Viginum-Inria Prize is open to scientists from across the European Union and honours: 

• articles published or accepted in the last three years;
• in a recognised national or international scientific journal or conference.

The work submitted must contribute to detecting, analysing or countering foreign digital interference, particularly in the following scientific fields (non-exhaustive list):

• Data science and artificial intelligence:
  • Data mining;
  • Machine learning;
  • Big data;
  • Coordinated behaviour detection.
• Computational social science:
  • Functioning of algorithms on online platforms (content recommendation);
  • Influence and cognitive manipulation (bias, framing);
  • Dissemination of manipulated content and impact;
  • Construction and manipulation of mental representations.
• Signal processing:
  • Information filtering and extraction;
  • Audio and video compression;
  • Denormalisation and amplification of weak signals.
• Computer science (algorithms):
  • Sorting, search and indexing algorithms;
  • Structured manipulation of graphs and networks;
  • Format compression and transformation.

Governance and selection process

The Viginum-Inria Prize is based on a structured and transparent system, based on a partnership agreement between the two institutions, which defines its co-funding and shared governance.

Two jury panels are involved in the process:

• a selection panel, made up of representatives from Inria and Viginum, responsible for examining all the eligible applications and selecting the finalists;
• an award panel, made up of institutional representatives and qualified scientists.

The official awards ceremony will be held in spring 2026.

A shared commitment to strengthening information resilience

For Anne-Sophie Dhiver, Deputy Director of Viginum: 

In the face of the challenges posed by foreign digital interference, government and research bodies must work together to ensure that knowledge and action converge. The aim of this science prize, which we are proud to launch with Inria, is to support research to accelerate our collective capacity to make practical use of innovation, and AI in particular, to develop effective, operational tools for public action and civil society. 

For Frédérique Segond, Director of Inria Defence & Security: 

Information manipulation is now a major vector of influence in contemporary conflict dynamics, mobilising the power of digital environments to target and alter the cognitive processes of individuals. Responding to these challenges requires close collaboration between scientific expertise, advanced behavioural analysis and proven operational capabilities. The Viginum-Inria Prize reflects our shared commitment to supporting cutting-edge research, which is essential for characterising, detecting and analysing information manipulation in depth, in order to create hybrid strategies to strengthen information vigilance, now a pillar of collective security and democracies..