Held in Bansko, Bulgaria, from October 21–29, 2024, the NextGen Media Watch project aimed to empower youth workers with the tools and knowledge to combat fake news. The program addressed the growing challenges of misinformation, particularly among young people heavily influenced by social media. This initiative emphasized fostering critical thinking and media literacy as essential skills in the digital age.
Program Goals and Activities
The project focused on equipping youth workers to:
- Identify and counter fake news using tools like the CARS checklist.
- Understand and teach key terms like trolling, deepfakes, and astroturfing.
- Integrate media literacy into youth education through innovative games and activities.
Key interactive activities included:
- Escape Room “You’ve Been Hacked”: A game teaching cybersecurity basics.
- The Fake News Game: A board game promoting critical thinking about information.
- Workshops and discussions on AI, online privacy, and misinformation.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.