HOME OF FREEDOM THOUGHTS
4. Meeting parallel
The turkish students visited 9 Eylül newspaper and made interviews on media ethics, media and democracy, freedom of the press.
Danish students met with Vincent Hendricks, Ph.D and professor from Copenhagen University and founder and leader of the Danish Centre of Information and Bubble Studies. We had a lecture and discussion with Henricks about the attention economy and how the tech industry profits from our behaviour and interactions on social media. Also we discussed how the social media platforms could and should take actions in fighting and limiting the spread of fake news and the power of individuals on their platforms. As well we discussed our role as users and producers of social media content and the role of EU, especially Margrethe Vestager, Danish vice-president of the European Commision and Commissioner of Competition.
The online session had as a guest Virginia Piccolillo, journalist of “CORRIERE DELLA SERA” Italian newspaper, who has a long experience in judicial journalistic investigations. She took part in the discussion with her reflections as a professional in the field of information and by witnessing a real case of disinformation without fact-checking, which heavily cost the credibility of an Italian newspaper.
Case studies
IN THE JUNE ONLINE SESSION, students are asked to present their reflections on the results of the survey and to consider one case study out of a range of 5, proposed by the European Commission as part of a program dedicated to the dissemination of specific skill called MEDIA LITERACY , available on special sheets, created for educational activities.
The case studies include the sites that deal with fact-checking in Europe: specifically, in Italy, Pagella politica, La Voce, Eurispes and Facta. From their activity we will draw inspiration for a further reflection on the need to access the truth of the facts.
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The case studies proposed are:
1. THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF “Q” - (What do former US President Barack Obama, former US Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron, singer Lady Gaga, Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington D.C., Microsoft founder Bill Gates and actor Tom Hanks?). An anonymous online character using the alias "Q" claims to be a senior US government official with a top-level security clearance that allows him access to classified information.
2. “DIVIDE ET IMPERA” – by reading a passage from the Sixth Book of The Art of War (1675) by Niccolò Machiavelli, the questions arise: How could false information be useful in times of war? How can the uncertainty of the opponent turn into an advantage? Is it ethical to lie in wartime? Is it ethical to lie in peacetime?
3. PHARMACEUTICAL SCAMS CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH - Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat from Missouri, member of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging. In 2015, McCaskill sent letters to 15 retailers asking about their policies and procedures for marketing supplements after learning of a supplement called Brain Armor advertised as a "shield" against Alzheimer's, dementia and stroke.
4. POPE URBANO'S SERMON AND THE CRUSADES - In 1094 or 1095 Alexius, the Greek emperor, appealed to Pope Urban II asking for help from the West against the Turks who had conquered almost all of Asia Minor. At the Council of Clermont, Urban addresses a large crowd and exhorts all to lend aid to the Greeks and to subtract Palestine from Muslim rule.
5. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE'S TRUST TO SPREAD FAKE INFORMATION – Some considerations on the questions: Why is it possible to deceive people? What are the main reasons? Lack of alternative information, lack of sources, lack of critical thinking. How can education help people fight lies?
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Link: Spot and fight disinformation - European Union (europa.eu)