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Description
Studies show that, although youth are the main users of internet and social media, they have difficulties appreciating the credibility of information shared online.At the same time, exposure to fake news, misinformation, disinformation or conspiracy theories leads to a change in perception and erroneous decisions. More than that, fake news distorts the social fabric and ethos of liberal democracies.
Another major channel for the propagation of fake news is represented by the audio-visual, which, in Romania, is currently not regulated specifically against fake news. The actions to combat fake news in Romania are few and disparate. Youth represent a vulnerable group because they are in a stage where they learn critical thinking; in school critical thinking is taught in association with didactic purposes (school achievement), but isolated from the aims and goals of real world; fakes news is rarely a topic in school activities. Youth are not interested in democratic processes and involvement/participation to such processes (electoral, for taking community decisions etc.), attitudes which are strengthened by fake news campaigns.
That`s why the project aims to create mechanisms for combating fake news through information and development of abilities for youth aged 15-30, the coagulation of the civil society and of other relevant stakeholders for combating fake news and, improvement of practices and legal framework which discourage fake news in the audio-visual.
The 3 partners – Alternative SocialeRomanian, the Journalists International Alliance Association and Iași County Center for Educational Resources and Assistance - will develop training curricula and support content (guides) for teachers, pilot activities for pre-university students (2000 students), organize 8 conferences for university students (400 youth) and create a coalition of organizations aiming to combat fake news.