BOOKLET FOR YOUTH

WORKERS IN MEDIA LITERACY

BOOKLET FOR YOUTH WORKERS MEDIA LITERACY, FACTCHECKING, HOAX AND PROPAGANDA

ThisbookletwascreatedbyparticipantsofTC“CzechtheFactsOut”whichtookplaceinŠirokýDůl,CzechRepublic,between5.-15.6.2017.

INTRODUCTION

Tryingtounderstandthemediaanditsroleinsocietyisabitliketryingtocapturefoginabox.Theprojectiscoveringtheactualtopicofmedialiteracyintoday's"post-truth"era.

Theeraofdisinformation,uncertainty in the sourcesof information,eraofhoaxes.Era in

whichtheloudestvoiceofshockinginformationwithoutsource,voiceofemotionusingour

deepestfearsoftenmattersmorethanthequiet,calmvoiceoffacts,statistics,factcheckedquotesandlogic.

Programoftheprojectisdesignedtohelpedusunderstand,thatweallliveinmediareality,whichisaffectingouropinion,ourdecisionmaking.

This booklet contains information acquired in practicalworkshopswithexpertsfromthefield,helpingustoorientatein

complexmedia world, feedback and outcomes of the trainingcourse.

CZECHOUTOURPROJECT!

www.facts.brnoforyou.cz

Brnoforyouwww.facebook.com/brnoforyou

CzechtheFactsOuthttps://www.facebook.com/564984443679

BrnoforyouSpolek

DAY3:THEPOSTOFFICE

Durationtime:3h

No.ofplayers:20-30

Levelofcomplexity:5/5

Topics:manipulation,mediareality,roleplay

Participantsweredividedeveryoneofthemhadtheirownspecial

roleinthe„society“createdbythem.Theymadegroupsaccording

theircharacteristicsandactivitiesconnectedtotheirrole.There

werepoliticalparties,journalists(freelancers,paidjournalists,

tabloid)andnormalcitizens.Importantroleswerealsoobserversof

theactivities,behaviorandsituationsofothersplayingparticipants.

Theyshouldobserveandbe„theeyesintheshadows“toreportmore

complexscenarioofallthegame(theywrotedowntheimportantstuff

andcommunicatedtogethertogetthebetterpictureaboutsituationin

thegame).Thepointwastounderstandtheimportanceofthe

beinginformedbasedoninformationfromdifferentsourceswhichcan

bethencheckedandcompared.Thethesituationcanbemorereadable

andtheopinionsbasedontruthfulinfo.

DAY6:EXPERTBLOCK–HOAXwithBE

INTERANTIONAL

We analyzed hoaxes thanks tomethod ofProblem treeanalysis.

Hoax is hacking important evolutionary features ofhumanpsyche,suchas:familyfeeling,beingsuspicious,

empathyandothers

Itisenteringsocialmediaandspreadveryquicklythanks

to accumulation of shares, shocking title and “easy-

explained truth”. It created the illusion, that moral

breakdownisattackingfromWesternsocieties.

So,howdoesProblemTreeanalysiswork?

Theproblem,objectiveandstrategytreeanalysisisone

participatorytoolofmappingoutmainproblems,along

withtheircausesandeffects,supportingprojectplannersto

identifyclearandmanageablegoalsandthestrategyofhowtoachieve

them.

1.Thefirststepindevelopingtheproblemtreeistoidentifytheproblemthattheprojectseeksto

overcome.Thecoreproblemiswrittendowninthemiddleofthepaper,oronasticky-notethatis

placedinthemiddleofawall.Thingstohelpdefinethecoreproblemincludelessonsfromprevious

projects,thestakeholderanalysis,andotherresearch.Ifthereseemstobemorethanonecore

problem,itmaybebesttodevelopaproblemtreeforeachone.

2.Oncethecoreproblemhasbeenidentified,participantsshouldconsider

whatthedirectcausesandeffectsoftheproblemare.Eachcausestatement

needstobewritteninnegativeterms.Thereareacoupleofwaystoundertakethis.Participantscaneithercollectivelybrainstormallthenegative

statementsabouttheproblemathand,andafacilitatorwriteseachnegative

statementdownonapieceofpaper.

3.Asolution(alsocalledobjectives)treeisdevelopedbyreversingthenegativestatementsthatformtheproblemtreeintopositiveones.For

example,acause(problemtree)suchas“lackofknowledge”wouldbecomeameanssuchas

“increasedknowledge”.Theobjectivestreedemonstratesthemeans-endrelationshipbetween

objectives.

DAY5:PROPAGANDATHENANDNOW

Durationtime:2,5–3h

No.ofplayers:20-30

Levelofcomplexity:4/5

Topics:history,countrypresentation

Participantsaredividedintonationalteams.

Theypresenthistoricalposterofanykindpropagandaoftheir

countryandtheylinkitwithbasicelementsofhistoricalpropaganda:moreofanargumentoverideology,conflictof

ideologies-communismvs.capitalism,socialismvsliberalism.

Theaimwastoconvincethepeopleofthe"Truth"/"therightway"

Now,informationisusedasasatoolforcreatingchaos,conflicts.Nomatterwhatkindofstoryisproducedmainistospreadenough

informationsothatpeoplecannolongerorientate.

DAY5:PSYCHOLOGICALBIASESANDME

Time:1h.

Topics:psychology,information,biases

Levelofcomplexity:4/5

Groupsize:5pax

Mainidea:Participantsaredividedintosmallteamsbyenergizer.Theyarepresentedthemain20

Cognitivebiasesthataffectourdecision(anchoringbias,cognitivebias,bandwagoneffect,etc.).

Discussionabouteachbiaswillfollow-inwhatsituationsthisbiasaffectus?Howtopreventit?isit

alwaysnegative?

Howcanthisbeusedformanipulatingus?

DAY7:EXPERTBLOCK–FACTCHECKINGbyDEMAGOG.CZ

“Thehungerfortruthremainsauniversalhumandesire,andthat'swhatgivesfactcheckingitspower.“AngieHolan,PolitiFacteditor

Process to make sure that facts are correct, especially in something that is

published.Processtocheckthatallthefactinapieceofwriting,anewsarticle,

aspeech,etc.arecorrect.Statementistrue<=itrelayscorrectinformationin

appropriate context; false <= it relays incorrect information;misleading <=correctinformationispresentedininappropriatekontext.

“Istheclimatechanging?”

“Globaltemperaturesaresteadilyrising.”

“Globaltemperaturesarestable.”

“Itisfivedegreescolderthanyesterday.”

DAY8:NONFORMALEDUCATIONBLOCK-LIMIT20

-“Limit20 isagame,thatopenedmyeyesandchangedmyperceptionofour

societyforever.”Tereza,CzechRepublic

Limit 20 is an activity to help participants explore manipulation, discrimination andexclusion,inequalityoflifechances,witnessinjusticeandunfaircompetition.

Durationtime:2,5–3h

No.ofplayers:20-30

Levelofcomplexity:5/5

Topics:manipulation,unequalchances

Thegamesgivesparticipantsanillusion,that’sagameaboutfun,friendshipandcompetition.

In reality, they are being manipulated whole time and revealing is a real eye-opener.Simulation of social injustice is arranged by various activities with unequal conditions for

discriminated group. Discussion after the reveal of the true topic of the activity was

spontaneous. Participants saw the analogywith real social or political injustice. Just as in

media,wherethelevelofinjusticeinthemediadifferfrocountrytocountry.Noteveryone

hasthesamestartinglineanditcanbealsoappliedtothemedialiteracy.

Thegamehasverycomplexrulesandwedividedparticipantsintothreeteams.Wecreated

theillusionofthatthegameisaboutfunandcompetition.Truthis,thatitwasmanipulatedfromthebeginninganditleadparticipantstorealizehoweasilyonecandiscriminateothersbecauseheisthefortunateone,hedoesn’tseeotherssituation.Thegameitselftook3hours

and we played all stages (6 in total) where the gap between winning and last team

(discriminatedone)isgettingbiggerandbigger.

During evaluation, all participants agreed that this was the best activity of the day. This

roleplayhadverystrongimpactonthe

participants, because they acted

naturally since theydidn’t knowabout

theyareactuallyplayingtheroleplay.

The game is used from Education Pack “alldifferent - all equal” and can be find onhttp://www.eycb.coe.int/edupack/42.html

DAY9:FOLLOW-UP

HOWTODISSEMINATE?

/TRAVELLINGPOSTEREXHIBITION/Postersaresentbytheposttopartnerorganizations.Theseorganizationsmakeashortpop-up

exhibitionswiththepostersintheiryouthcenters.Thisisthewayweensurethedissemination,we

sharethepossibilitiesoftheErasmus+programmeandwehelptheidea

ofmedialiteracytoliveon!

Postersarereadytobe

packedandsent!

FEELTHEVIBE(clickonthevideo!)

DOYOUWANTTOEXPERIENCEERASMUS+?

CheckNGOsinyourcountryworkingwithErasmus+programme.Maybethereisoneevenin

yourcity!Youcanattendyouthexchangesandasayouthworker,alsotrainingcourses.You

can find them on www.salto-youth.net and Facebook groups: Erasmus+ projects, Youth

projects.Andofcourse,onthewebpagesofNGOsfromyourcountryworkingandsending

thankstoErasmus+programme.

Youdonothave tohavea statusof the

student or big amount of money:

Erasmus+coverstravel,accommodation,

food and programmeof a project. After

you choose your project, carefully read

the infopack for more detailed

information.

WHOORGANIZEDTHETC

NGO Brno for you, z.s.

www.brnoforyou.cz