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Fake News Hunt

2022-1-DE04-KA152-YOU-0000700312022Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: DE|TR|CY|PL|ES|IT|BG · Grant: €36,947
Digital safetyDigital skills and competencesMedia literacy and tackling disinformation

Objectives

The role of information and digitalisation in the everyday life becomes increasingly large. This in turn, requires from the members of the society to be capable to harvest the offered benefits in a knowledgeable manner and protect oneself from the explicit as well as hidden risks. Among other threats, disinformation in media is prevalent and it is not limited to a specific group but rather may have a deteriorating impact on every layer of society (EC, 2021). The impact of lacking problem awareness and resistance tools on individual level can lead to consequences on the higher scale. This is especially true for the open, democratic societies, where a range of players are involved in shaping the public opinion. Hence the aim of the project was to take practical actions in strengthening the social immunity in line with EU strategies. In particular the project has widely rested upon guidance and approaches found in “Action Plan against Disinformation” [TEN/687-EESC-2018] and “Code of Practice on Disinformation” [INT/955-EESC-2021]. In this context the project focus was on the youth who is potentially more affected by the disinformation and misinformation occasions especially in the social media. By means of the “Fake News Hunt” youth exchange project an attempt was made to enhance the tolerance of young members of society against this phenomenon. To this end the objective of the project was to level-up the media literacy as well as digital competences of participants and stimulate their critical and analytical thinking. As a result, the project contributed to the overall awareness rising through continuous exploration and of systematic study of the key aspects of the topic. This includes breaking down the main concepts, understanding the common purposes and strategies of disinformation and misinformation, its major channels of influence, etc. The project has also equipped the participants with valuable skills that enable them to identify and counteract the instances of disinformation. More specifically the project pursued to: - Deliver fundamental knowledge about the disinformation as a global phenomenon, - Expose the main channels and main types of disinformation, - Explain the possible strategies of avoidance and defence, - Deliver a powerful toolset necessary for identification and active counteraction of disinformation, - Induce behavioural changes among participants by training critical and analytical thinking, - Improve media literacy of participants and introduce key practices of digital hygiene, - Enhance digital skills of participants by demonstration and practical use of various digital tools and technologies, - Promote sustainable, environmentally friendly practices, - Encourage participants’ involvement in social dialog, youth activism and decision-making processes, - Familiarise participants with the European project, by explaining and promoting European values and principles. Apart from the thematical component, a strong emphasis was also put on the environmental and cultural aspects. The project was aiming to give representatives of different nationalities an opportunity to learn something new from their peers, to get involved in active exchange of culture traditions, mindset, and approaches. This has also induced the internal debate for each young individual, thus widening and altering boundaries of personal values and vision of the reality. The common European values were expected to be shared by participants leading them through the path of dynamic adaptation. This helped to eradicate or at least significantly reduce the intolerance and disrespect towards others. Likewise, the promotion of active pro-environmental lifestyle was among the main aims of the project. Besides the direct information delivery on environmental topics both the project design and daily activities should have imparted “green habits” to the participants. By added little nuances to the routine and setting clear rules the young people had a chance to not only have the theoretical understanding of eco-friendly practices but also start applying them personally.

Project partners (7)