More information
Description
The proposed project responds to increasing hate speech and disinformation spread online. It is based not only on
the widely acknowledged facts, but also on our own experience. We perceive education and awareness in the field of
media literacy as a way to better orientation in public space, while the project also aims at increasing tolerance to
„otherness“. Combination of educational / awareness raising activities in regions incl. rural areas follows a model we
successfully implemented in 2014 - 2017 in the Istanbul Convention projects.
Summary of project results
According to a survey conducted this year by the Foundation for Independent Journalism (https://www.nfnz.cz/aktuality/tiskova-zprava-dezinformacni-weby-a-zpravodajstvi-v-cr/), more than a quarter of Czechs over the age of 15 think that "illegal migration of Muslim people to Europe is actually organized by the EU." And nearly one in five respondents over 55 believe that demonstrations against governments in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are paid for by George Soros." There has been more research on this topic in recent years, but what was more important for the project promoter was that he had been dealing with the consequences of disinformation campaigns and the limited ability of some of the recipients of information to work with the information and also to verify it consistently for several years in his organisation. It started with the so-called migration crisis, when the Chairwoman of the CSJ received several times a week pleas from members or even former members to take a stand against the advancing Islamisation of the country. Other negative effects were also caused by propaganda actions against the so-called Istanbul Convention, when, for example, several basic organisations in the Highlands were closed down because "we support the disruption of families" (!), or at best, there were and still are questioning emails about how it actually is. A separate chapter is the perception of the so-called inadaptables, especially the Roma. Roma or "benefit abusers" in general. These are not widespread expressions of intolerance, but those that are voiced individually during discussions (often depending on the region) tend to be harsh. Open discussion helps (and is much appreciated, even if the exchanges are sharp), but it is not enough by itself, because the reach is limited. The organization receiving the grant felt an intense need to grasp the problem more systematically and supplement it with education of its members in media literacy, which is absent and the consequences are seen by everyone on a daily basis.
The aim of the project is to contribute to a more favorable attitude towards democracy and human rights (for all) and to tolerance in the CS through the development of the ability to receive, verify and evaluate information and also through the opportunity to better know "the others" towards whom hatred is directed (or they are used for the purposes of spreading disinformation abuse).
1) training (courses) for leaders
2) creation of a course syllabus for leaders who will continue their educational activities even after the end of the projects
3) discussions and lectures for the wider public
4) publication activity - Publication (book) "The power of the word - disinformation and hate speech must be faced"; Member Newsletter Woman of the Third Millennium; social media campaign
4) implementation of the topic in the further activities of the organization and expansion of the so-called Program Orientation for the next period (2023-2028) with a commitment to increase media literacy among female members and actively fight against expressions of hatred, xenophobia, racism/intolerance.
5) Evaluation – data collection and evaluation of the impact of activities
Our project was designed to respond to increasing hate speech and disinformation spread online through increasing media literacy among the project primary target group:
members of our association - often senior women living and acting as community agents in rural regions.
Although the project implementation was negatively affected by Covid-19 pandemic and related measures that made on-site events, on which the project was based
given the target group’s needs and limitations, very difficult to impossible, we still managed to reach main project goals. We provided training and informal education
through lectures, talks and debates on disinformation, fake news, hate speech and their real-life impact to 477 participants of 16 on-site events and provided them with
tailor-made training materials developed throughout the project. Through our project we directly provided information and capacity building to 725 persons in total.
To assess the actual impact of the core project activities, we ran an on-going evaluation and feedback collection to learn that up to 77% of the participants gained better
understanidng of the issue and would use the information/materials provided in their community work and/or for personal / family purpose. Interest in the topic also increased,
and in result of the project our association extended our formal Programme Document for years 2023 – 2027 with a new topic: media literacy. For that purpose we will make
use of training materials developed during the project implementation as well as of established or strengthened cooperation with other civic associations and experts active
in this field.
Beside the „internal“ training materials we also published a collection of texts: „The power of Words – Disinformation and Hate Speech must be Countered“
(Síla slova – dezinformacím a nenávistným projevům je třeba čelit) - ISBN: 978-80-87227-06-0. In printed format the publication was distributed to all the major libraries in
the Czech Republic and it is also made available online for download free of charge.