Workshop Fake News

During our Fake News workshop students take on the role of a fake news reporter and learn how Fake News is made and spread. Once they understand the mechanisms of the trap, they are less likely to fall into it themselves.

In this workshop we train students to resist the ever-rising tide of fake news and disinformation using the methods and philosophies of our partner DROG. The students learn about the phenomenon by looking at why it is made, how it is made, and how to recognise it. In order to do this the students will write fake news articles themselves and post them on our website, let’s see who manages to lure the most people to their fake article.

DROG’s method is based on the inoculation theory: the idea that people can be ‘vaccinated’ against the spread of false information by allowing them to dabble in a controlled and watered-down experience of being the source. Together with the University of Cambridge, DROG has researched the effectiveness of this approach. It concluded that there was a significant improvement visible in the test subjects in recognizing fake news.

Programme

• Introduction to fake news
• Editorial and writing fake news
• Trolling and sharing fake news
• Conclusion and discussion