Newsrooms Countering Disinformation
This course looks at the particular challenges facing journalists in Georgia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Moldova.
The EU's Eastern Partnership region, as well as Central Asia, face increasing disinformation from both internal and external actors. This film informs young and aspiring journalists about the obstacles that they will face and how to overcome them.
Through real life examples, the film explores the methods currently used to mislead audiences and spread disinformation on media platforms.
It also explores how independent journalists are persecuted for their work and how media outlets struggle to collect reliable information in some of the most restricted working environments in the world.
The aim is to provide aspiring journalists with an effective overview of crucial issues around disinformation in their part of the world that they are likely to encounter in their careers.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
Countries in the European eastern flank are suffering from hostile foreign interference through disinformation and propaganda. Russia in particular plays a destabilising role both through hard and soft power. Independent media struggles to survive while oligarch-owned and government-associated media are thriving.
WHO CAN BENEFIT
Journalism students and trainers.
Media literacy and communications studies tutors and scholars.
Practicing editors and journalists.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Develop critical thinking.
Detect and counter disinformation.
Gain practical knowledge on existing toolsets and improve reporting.
OUTCOMES
Journalists are less vulnerable to manipulation and more critical in their reporting and media content production.
Communications and journalism educators can effectively contribute to better media literacy.
