Spotting manipulation in data-based arguments: New webinar on open data, academia, and ethics
Join our data.europa.eu academy webinar to learn how to foster trust through data-based reasoning
Understanding how data shapes research conclusions is becoming increasingly important in an academic landscape influenced by digital technologies and AI-supported methods. On Friday, 27 March 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 CET, the data.europa academy will host the first episode of its new webinar series, ‘Open data, academia, and ethics: fostering trust through data-based reasoning’. This session introduces the foundations of academic integrity in a data-driven environment and explores why transparency alone is not enough to ensure trustworthy research.
The webinar will feature insights from Elfia Bezou Vrakatseli, researcher in AI and argumentation at Inria, who will demonstrate how data-based arguments can be constructed in ways that mislead or manipulate. She will indicate that even high-quality open data can lead to weak or incorrect reasoning when assumptions and connections are not made explicit. Joining her is Ameer Saadat-Yazdi, researcher in natural language reasoning and argumentation at Inria, who will explain the differences between human and computer reasoning, why these matter for data interpretation, and how aligning computational models with human thought processes can support more reliable research.
Open data plays a central role in this discussion, as the session highlights how data forms only the starting point of an argument. Understanding how data is interpreted, linked and used to support claims is key to maintaining research integrity. This webinar shows how open data contributes to transparency whilst also revealing the limits of data availability alone in ensuring reliability and ethical responsibility.
Register now to secure your place and become an expert at spotting manipulations in data-based arguments. For more learning experiences, explore the data.europa academy learning paths to become an open data expert!
For more news and events, follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to our newsletter. You can also connect with other users through our collaboration channel.