Read Twice webinar will arm the public against disinformation

The digital event will start the new year off on the right footing by fostering higher media literacy

“Beyond the Headlines: Tools and Skills to Detect Disinfo in the News”. This is the name of a practice-oriented and free webinar that will seek to promote the role and use of digital tools to differentiate fact from falsehood.

The webinar, organized by Euro Advance Association as part of the pan-European Read Twice (R2) project, will take place on 12 January 2024, 9:00-14:30 CET. It will be free to access, with prior registration here.

AI: the elephant in the digital room

Read Twice has invited frontline experts working in the tech and media spheres who will explain the complex developments of our age and bring attention to the way things are headed in the digital world.

Case in point: Artificial Intelligence generative models were the buzzwords of 2023, and they are likely to become even more relevant next year, which is why the first part of the webinar will be entirely dedicated to all things AI.

Dr Federica Russo, Full Professor in Philosophy and Ethics of Techno-Science, at Utrecht University, will speak about the ethics of deepfakes and AI-generated content, while Andrey Stoycheff, Director of NTC Centre, will delve into the cognitive layers of disinformation. Things will take a more practical turn when Dr Kari Kivinen, from Factbar, will present how Finnish society is coping with disinformation.

The anti-social noise on social media

Later in the morning, the webinar will put the lens on a topic that is dear and personal to nearly anyone who uses the Internet – social media.

Lana Banté, an influencer and content creator with over 800 k followers, will show you how to make your posts more popular on social media, whereas the experts from DISARM Foundation will reveal the other side of the coin by demonstrating the way algorithms are used to spread falsehoods.

Dr Keith Peter Kiely, Researcher at the GATE Institute, will put the spotlight on the way disinformation has formed particular narratives in Bulgarian society.

Stories from the disinfo war front

After the lunch break, it will be time for journalists to take the stage. You will see presentations by experts from Deutsche Welle and Publico explaining what the fact-checking process of a prominent and respected news outlet looks on the inside, step by step. Participants will be able to ask questions at the end of the webinar’s panel discussions.

About Read Twice

Read Twice is a project, which has evolved over the past year to underscore the urgency and enhance the skills of young people to withstand the onslaught of digital disinformation and propaganda that now form an integral part of the social media experience.

The partnership involves Euro Advance Association (Bulgaria), as coordinator, Udruga Echo (Croatia) and Se Poate (Romania) associations as well as CICANT Research centre (Lusofona University, Portugal) and Alliance4Europe (Germany) as expert partners.

The project’s activities included capacity-building sessions in Germany and Portugal for media-savvy Eastern European youth. These youngsters then conducted peer-to-peer lectures and workshops back in their countries with the aim of engaging a wider youth group when it comes to more responsible and smarter digital media consumption.

Now, Read Twice opens the scope even further by giving you a unique chance to gain some insight and useful skills that are sure to change the way you read the news and perceive social media content going forward.