How can young people be "immunized" against fake news on the internet? Learning how to critically evaluate internet sources and content is an important prerequisite. Thus, the research project is developing and testing two media literacy interventions aimed at sustainably increasing the digital literacy of young people. Both interventions will be integrated into the context of school. Using text-based information material as well as a serious game, students will learn to separate fake news from facts on the basis of various characteristics. A key feature is the planned web game: The participants will be trained as "fake news inspectors" by taking over the role as an undercover troublemaker on Telegram in order to learn the five most important strategies for recognizing fake news "from the inside". A follow-up workshop will see the students discuss the limits and opportunities of this game with their teachers. With this approach, the projects aims to contribute to digital literacy of Viennese students and provide new insights into the effects of passive as well as active inoculations strategies in young target groups.

The project application was part of the call "Democracy in progress" by the City of Vienna. The research team will be led by Anne Reinhardt (PI) and Claudia Wilhelm (Co-PI), with Sophie Mayen (predoc) and an additional student assistant offering further support. The start is scheduled for November 1, 2022, with the funding totaling to around € 70.000.

Der Fake News Kommissar geht um – Ein interaktiver Ansatz zur Stärkung der digitalen Media Literacy an Wiener Schulen

Funding organization: Stadt Wien (City of Vienna)
PI: Anne Reinhardt • Claudia Wilhelm (Co-PI)
Duration: 2022-2024
Funding: € 69.000