Fake News Recognition and Education for Elderly Digital Outreach Mission
Partners
- Le Tre Ghinee (Italy, coordinator)
- KAINOTOMIA (Greece)
- SOLUTION : Solidarité & Inclusion
What is the project about?
According to data from the 2018 Eurobarometer ‘Fake news and disinformation online‘ in all European countries involved in the interview, more than 50 per cent of respondents said they encounter at least one fake news story per week. According to the same statistic, 85 per cent of people surveyed think that the existence of fake news is a problem in their country, at least to some extent, and a similar percentage (83 per cent) say it is a problem for democracy in general.
According to Eurostat’s survey on the use of technology in households and by individuals in 2021, 47% of all people aged 16-74 in the EU have seen false or dubious information on news websites or social media in the 3 months prior to the survey. However, only about a quarter (23%) of people verified the veracity of the information or content.
And the latest Ital Communications-Censis report, “Disinformazione e fake news in Italia. Il sistema dell’informazione alla prova dell’Intelligenza Artificiale” (Disinformation and fake news in Italy. The information system to the test of Artificial Intelligence), notes that for 76.5% of the population, fake news is increasingly sophisticated and difficult to unmask, 20.2% believe they do not have the skills to recognise it, and 61.1% believe they have only some of them. There is therefore an urgent need to increase digital skills and the conscious use of the media, particularly for people with little digital literacy and more frightened by the rapid advancement of technology, such as the over 65s.
Project’s objectives
The project aims to achieve two main objectives: firstly, to increase the level of digital literacy of elderly people in Europe, in particular of the over-65 target group; secondly, to provide them with the necessary tools to recognise fake news and make informed decisions.
Resources
To achieve these goals, we will create workshops, modules and teaching materials addressing topics such as digital safety, active ageing, media literacy and combating fake news as follows:
- Local activities and hands-on workshops on web surfing, the importance of fact chasing and resources put in place by the EU to simplify the recognition of fake news.
- A multilingual online platform with inbuilt video tutorials and resources for combating fake news.
- Easy-to-follow video tutorials that will help users recognise fake news and do fact-checking. These videos should also be accessible via mobile devices, so as to reach as many people as possible.
- A handbook, available as an eBook, so that it can be disseminated more widely, containing advice on how to choose reliable reliable news sites, distinguish real from fake news and do fact-checking. This guide will also provide information on why it is so important to recognise fake news and combat it.
