We aimed to empower older adults and seniors who has low digital skills with skills and knowledge about media literacy and critical thinking, especially when it comes to evaluation of information about socially and politically important issues. We also aim to give them knowledge about safety on internet and digital communication tools, so they can freely and safely move in the virtual space.
While people of all ages fall victim to fake news, studies have shown that older adults are more vulnerable to fake news and digital misinformation. One study showed that Facebook users age 65 and older posted seven times as many articles from fake news websites than adults age 29 and younger. Seniors are more likely to share and believe fake news because they did not grow up using the internet and computers. That is why we aimed to address this issue as such a spread of fake news is a significant threat to democratic life and European values.