According to recent Eurobarometer data requested by the EC, only 26% of EU citizens think information received via social networks is reliable and 85% consider fake news to be a real problem in their country and a threat to democracy. This project is primarily based on fieldwork experience and a review of literature, regulatory and voluntary reference standards conducted by the Consortium with the aim of establishing a tool of indicators and protocols, based on the GRI indicator model, that can be used in the field of higher education and adapted to non-formal education, to measure the veracity and transparency of information content. The objectives of the project are, 1.The development of innovative practices and the creation of new teaching tools (SCAI) designed for the digital age, with the overall objective to strengthen the quality of European higher education in the field of information. 2. Enhancing cooperation between European higher education institutions, by means of quality-centered training on audiovisual information. 3. Crafting new high-quality skills and competencies in the field of communication and analysis of information 4. Fostering collaboration between higher formal education institutions and non-formal education in the fight against fake news. 5. Using media literacy to help information professionals, as well as youth and society in general, to counter the phenomenon of fake news (new problems, new tools). This project presents 5 types of key participants: 1. Experts and researchers who will participate in the tool’s development and validation. 2. Selected experts of the sector, who will develop part 1 and 2 of the questionnaire. 3. Expert evaluators to use the protocol for analyzing television news. 4. Those who will take part in the different planned dissemination activities. 5. Those who will take part in the planned training teaching and learning activities. The project will include a total of 28 disadvantaged participants. This project is geared on the basis of three Main types of activities (1. Intellectual output (SCAI), 2. Multiplier events and 3. Intensive learning courses) and two types of Complementary activities (1. Project and implementation management 2. Transnational meetings) designed for full and effective achievement of the objectives and expected results. The research and educational methodologies to be applied during the project activities will include, among others: the Delphi Method, Collective Intelligence, Cooperative Work and Design Thinking. The expected qualitative results after the completion of the project are: 1. General awareness of the higher education sector of the need to counter the phenomenon of fake news at the academic level. 2. General awareness of the benefits stemming from cooperative work and collaboration between formal education and non-formal education to counter fake news. 3. Support for innovation and creativity in the higher education sector, through the creation of a strong partnership between the academic institutions involved in the project. Such cooperative framework could pave the way for future projects. 4. Social awareness with a special emphasis on youth, and as regards the need for greater media literacy efforts in order to ensure awareness and informed consumer decision making. The expected quantitative results upon completion of the project are: 1. The creation of an SCAI, a tool to facilitate the recognition and validation of knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired through the formal education pathway of professionals and experts on information from the higher education sector, the non-formal education sector, and the professional praxis. 2. The creation of a youth-oriented Practical Ideas Toolkit on how to use the SCAI to counter fake news. The Toolkit users would be youth workers and experts in informal learning and teaching methodologies. 3. The creation of a new Consortium for the development of a European SCAI. The expected overall impact is: 1. Enhancing quality in higher education information field through tools (SCAI), designed to empower information professionals to counter the fake news phenomenon. Central to this process will be the development of skills and abilities to inform and work for the development of a truthful, independent and high-quality information society. 2. The real involvement of educators, information professionals, industry, policy-makers and more widely youth and society in the fight against fake news by means of information quality analysis and verification tools.
As general objectives: 1. The generation of innovative practices and the creation of a tool for education in the digital era, strengthening in this way the quality of European higher education in the information sector. 2. Strengthen the cooperation between European higher education institutions stimulating the quality of formation in audiovisual information. 3. Development of new abilities and competencies of high quality in the fields of communication and information evaluation. These three objectives are materialized through another especific objective: The creation of a tool to measure the quality and truthfulness of televised information contents that allows the study and combat of disinformation with quality preparation of professionals and future professionals of higher education in the communication sector. 4. Encourage the cooperation between formal and non formal education (through another especific objective: adapting the SCAI tool to the field of non formal education in the correct use of Social Media and combating of fake news). 5. The positive promotion of the search for quality and veracity, basic concepts in responsible content creation of information, as an essential value. 6. Combating fake news with media literacy, both to professionals of communication as well as to the youth and society in general. Objectives 5 and 6 are materialized through the following especific objectives: 1. Incentivation of the relevant stakeholders responsible of the creation, production and dissemination processes of information contents to search for responsibility and transparency standards when carrying out their activity, cooperating in this manner in general legal compliance and current norms on the audiovisual information sector. 2. Contributing to the goal that the media provide with clarity and transparency the necessary information sothat the audience can be objectively considered informed.
In the current context of the information sector, and following the data extracted from the Eurobarometer, there exists a low trust from citizens when consuming information through social media, and there exists a wide mayority (85%) that consider fake news as a real problem for their countries and for democracy. In this situation, the Consortium deemed it necessary to form new actions that would work directly with information experts from different countries to generate a tool useful for profesionals and users, as well as to power critical thinking to identify truthful and quality information. The project had as base a field study where it had been detected clearly how the media, knowing the impact they had in society and in a situation of distrust of the information shared through social media and instant messages, had developed and assumed models of social corporate responsibility to improve and strengthen their relationship with their target groups, and therefor, their own reputations. The project, based on tools that measure social corporate responsibility of communication companies, aimed at the establishment of a protocol of indicators that could be used in higher education institutions and could be adapted to non formal education.