The recognition of the truth (in news) is a basic requirement for proper (political) action. A greater danger comes from digitally distributed news whose authorship, if at all, is difficult to determine and whose reach is many times higher than that of the print media. Particularly explosive is the fact that especially young people get their information almost exclusively from the Internet. To recognize the truth becomes a central competence for the politically judging person. It is crucial for the functioning of democratic systems. In many places, the threat to the truth becomes visible: in a small sense, for example, when students researching to do schoolwork can no longer reliably decide which sources can be used and which statements are ideologically undecorated. On the whole, when heads of state explain inconvenient truths to "fake news" and at the same time declare untruths to alternative facts. Unfortunately, the above mentioned action field is only slowly entering the curricula of the schools. Media education is seen more as an accessory of the time-table, this probably also because the importance of misinformation from the Internet (for political decisions) has only recently received increased attention. To make matters worse, the technical equipment and facilities at some schools do not do justice to the problem. With students from all over Europe, this project wants to re-examine the concept of truth in the digital age, in order to work out materials for students, which are used in the evaluation of the truth content of information from the Internet, resp. the social networks. The composition of the partners is a prime example of "unity in diversity"; thus they geographically reach from the extreme west to the extreme east and from the extreme south to the extreme north of the EU. Even in terms of age, the span could hardly be larger. Thus, with the 2nd Primary School of Pefka, a school with very young students (6 to 12 years), while the Mosjøen videregående skole has comparatively old students (16 to 19 years). The partners hope for results that appeal equally to all nations and age groups. Unfortunately, due to a lack of space, the individual competencies can not be discussed in more detail here. The teacher teams of the partners and the involved students work continuously over 2 years on the results. Respective milestones in the work are five international meetings (transnational training, teaching and learning activities), on which results are evaluated and the conditions for further discussion of the topic are created. After a theoretical discussion about the concept of truth on the basis of national perspectives, the scientific concept of truth based on objective measurement / observation is discussed in an experimental event. Research tasks serve as the basis for the development of a search guide for students. The guide is the starting point for the investigation of "fake news". In a short play the students can express their experiences / opinions on this topic. A workshop in a newspaper editorial office should enable the students to write a guide to dealing with "fake news". All results are translated into English and into the language of all project participants. The project focuses on student orientation. The students should start with their (nationally special) experiences on the topic of truth to work on the topic. All results / presentations should come mainly from students; Of course, they will be assisted by the teacher teams. In support of Szkoła Podstawowa im. Janusza Korczaka w Łowinku all organizationally necessary steps and forms are logged. And the teacher teams will use this to compile a compendium of material to conduct international exchanges – also in their own interest. This will be available in the partner schools and online for other teachers. The most important results will be the research guide and the guide to dealing with "fake news". These will be printed and used as a support for students in the partner schools in the future, thus achieving a sustainable impact of the project. The online publication of these documents (with CC license) should also offer other schools the possibility to use. Further results include numerous presentations, which may be applicable in individual subjects and a short play, which can be performed at school ceremonies (e.g. the cultural mix evening of the Hellweg-Schule). Teacher teams are also working on material that will reduce the workload for international exchanges. This material should be made available to the teachers of the partner schools and online.
Recognising the truth (in the news) is an essential condition for conscious and just (political) action. Digitally distributed news, whose authorship is difficult to determine and whose reach is strikingly higher than that of print media, offer a high potential for misinformation and untruths. Since young people in particular obtain their information almost exclusively from the internet, they are most likely to pick up this misinformation and then spread it. Thus recognising facts or truths is an important competence for politically judging people as well as for democratic systems. The manipulation of the truth becomes visible in various places: to a lesser extent, when pupils, for instance, can no longer certainly determine which sources are credible and which statements are ideologically unedited while they are researching for school assignments. Or on a larger scale, for example, if state leaders declare uncomfortable facts to be "fake news". Problems relevant to us as a society like these are slowly finding their path into school’s curricula; since misinformation from the internet (influencing political decisions) has only recently gained increased attention, the educational topic of „dealing with media“ was rather regarded as less important. Furthermore, the lack of technical equipment in some schools complicates the possibilities to solve the presented problem. This project intended to question the concept of truth in the digital age with pupils from all over Europe and thus to develop sustainable materials that help assessing the authenticity of information from the internet, especially from social networks. In addition to the concept of truth respective the media, the message "Unity in Diversity" played a major role in the project. Taking the composition of the partners involved into consideration, which which are situated in the far west, the far east and the far south of the EU, emphasises the message described above. The range of the age groups among the pupils were similarly varying: The 2nd Primary School of Pefka, for instance, participated with quite young pupils (6 to 12 years), while the Hellweg School Bochum joined with comparatively older students (14 - 17 years). All participants achieved valuable competences during the project, which appeal to all nations and age groups equally. Due to the lack of space in this report, it is not possible to go further into detail about the individual competencies mentioned. Both the teachers as well as the pupils involved worked continuously on the results for over 3 years; the beforehand planned milestones were accomplished within four international meetings. Subsequent to a theoretical examination of the concept of truth, the participants discussed a more scientific concept of truth on the basis of national perspectives within an experimental event that focussed on objective observation / measurement. Research tasks purposely lead to the creation of a research guide for students. This guide was used to support the investigation of fake news. The pupils then reported on their personal experiences / opinions on this topic In short videos. All results related to the project have been translated into both English as well as the national language of all participants. The project focussed mainly on student orientation, which was particularly expressed by the pupils mutually developing their own experiences on the subject of "truth". Thus, all presentations were essentially realised by themselves, whereby the teachers’ teams merely supported them. The most important results are represented by the research guide and the videos with the instructions for dealing with fake news. These will be reused in the future by the partner schools and consequently they ensure a sustainable impact of the project. The publication of these documents is also meant to offer other schools the opportunity to utilise them. The numerous presentations and videos, which may equally be applied during various classes or which can be shown at school related festivals, are also considered important project results. Moreover, the teachers’ teams created relevant material, which should favour the future execution of international exchanges and which is now available both in the schools themselves and online.