Online fake news and disinformation: recognize and verify

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

For the physical part of the course, the students are expected in Bucharest, between 2-6 December 2024. There, they will have:

• face-to-face class discussions on regulations and legislative approach to disinformation (2h on 2 Dec);
• face-to-face lecture and class discussions about fake news hits (2h on 2 Dec.);
• face-to-face lecture and class discussions on digital footprint, personal data, data protection and cyber security for journalists and discussions about the "Cambridge Analytica" and "Schrems vs Facebook" case studies and about a documentary related to the topic: "The Social Dilemma", "The Great Hack" or another (4h on 3 Dec.);
• face-to-face lecture and class discussions on the pre-publishing/ broadcasting (ex-ante) and post-publishing/ broadcasting (ex-post) information verification techniques and presentations of The International Fact-Checking Network and The European Fact-Checking Standards Network and, also, of the international, European and national fact-checking platforms (2h on 3 Dec.);
• face-to-face lecture, practical activities and evaluation of fact-checking activities (8h on 4 Dec.);
• field visit to a fact-checking service newsroom (4h on 5 Dec.);
• visit to The Romanian Palace of the Parliament (3h) and The Cotroceni Palace - the official residence of the President of Romania (3h - 6 Dec.). 

Virtual part

The virtual part of the programme will be held between 10 October - 19 December and will include:

• online lecture and class discussions about online disinformation and important related concepts and, also, about the gatekeeping and gatewatching paradigms from the perspective of selecting and publishing journalistic information and the impact of disinformation and fake news in recent scientific research; the political-economy of disinformation and fact-checking, an overview of the producers of disinformations and their motivations, and of the funding and organisation of fact-checking (4h - 10 oct., 17 oct.);
• online lecture and class discussions about the influence of cognitive biases on the credibility of disinformation and fake news (2h - 24 oct.); 
• online lecture and class discussions about the instrumentalization of emotions in fake news and critical discourse and, also, how emotions work in discourses and how we can use them to fight against the disinformation (2h - 31 oct.);
• online lecture and class discussions about manipulation techniques in the digital environment (The "Lund" Model) (2h - 7 nov.); 
• online lecture and class discussions about disinformation and hate speech in international organisations, models of regulation among "Digital Empires" (2h - 14 nov.);
• online lecture, class discussions and practical activities using the "Three Step" Fact-Checking Method for text, photo and video (4h - 21 nov., 28 nov.).

Requirements

This course is open to Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD students at CIVIS member universities, with background-related fields in media and communication.

As for the pedagogical objectives - the students are expected:

• to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to critically analyse and evaluate media content (news stories, broadcasts, social media posts, other communication content etc.), in order to identify disinformation elements and to detect techniques of manipulation and propaganda (analyse, evaluate, create);
• to demonstrate the ability to identify and debunk disinformation in the media and social media and to carry out post-publishing/ broadcast information verification activities, ex-post (fact-checking), for text, photo and video (analyse, evaluate, create);
• to prove the concern for the rigorous verification of the pre-publishing/ broadcasting information verification, ex-ante, and for the accuracy of the media content they produce as journalists, communication professionals, but also as simple content creators (evaluate);
• to effectively navigate and comprehend the concepts of persuasion, disinformation, and manipulation (remember, apply);
• to understand the ethical issues that misleading communication entails and to apply high standards of deontology as journalists, communication professionals and content creators by critical analysis and by evaluating professional situations from an ethical perspective (understand, analyse, evaluate);
• to understand and critically analyse the psychological mechanisms behind the consumption of media, in general, and digital media, in particular, and the biases that influence media consumption (analyse, evaluate);
• to understand the legal implications of disinformation and manipulation (analyse, evaluate);
• to demonstrate a good understanding of the need for continuous professional training for journalists in order to adapt to the constantly evolving technological work environment (understand, evaluate). 

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Students from CIVIS’ strategic partner universities in Africa cannot apply for participation in this course.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 28 April 2024. Don't forget to also include a Motivation Letter. 

All applications will be evaluatedd based on:

• relevant knowledge of media and communication;
• relevant background on the topic of disinformation;
• relevant digital skills;
• coherence of the thematic argumentation.

Apply now

Assessment

Students will have to prove that they have acquired the skills to use online information verification tools and to demonstrate a good understanding of how online disinformation works, the psychological mechanisms that make us vulnerable to disinformation and how they can protect themselves and those around them, as journalists and public communication specialists, against disinformation.

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

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