We are surrounded by a lot of misinformation and disinformation, especially on the internet and social media. These two concepts are related but not the same. Misinformation is when the facts (or at least some of them) are wrong. Disinformation is when misinformation is not accidental, but intentional and has a hidden purpose. Detecting misinformation and disinformation, especially on sensitive topics like science and health, is a big challenge. As part of the GOLIAT project, Work Package 8 has developed a series of workshops on detecting fake news about radiation and other science-related topics. 

Workshop on disinformation conducted in Barcelona with secondary school students.

One of the workshops conducted in Barcelona with secondary school students.

In the workshop, students aged 12 to 17, learn to identify fake news through a practical and participatory methodology. Published news containing misinformation or disinformation about COVID-19, vaccines or radiation are examined. This approach helps to critically analyse information, determine whether it is false or not, and identify reliable sources. 

Why do we find it difficult to distinguish between facts and opinions?

The team conducting the workshops has observed that students often confuse opinions with facts. This is particularly dangerous in science, where facts need to be supported by verifiable data, not subjective perceptions. For example, when reading a news story, it is important to ask yourself: is this a personal opinion or a proven fact? 

On the other hand, many students believe that a news story is reliable just because it uses graphics or technical language, but this does not always guarantee that it is based on true facts. It is important to distinguish between a truly expert source and one who is just pretending to be. A simple example given in the sessions is: Messi is an authority on football, but not on vaccines; just as Ferran Adrià is an authority on cooking, but not on global health. Learning to identify the expert voices on each topic is key to avoiding being misled.

What were the most common difficulties in identifying fake news?

During the workshops, the GOLIAT team found that students had different difficulties in identifying whether something was false or not. Here are the main ones:

  • Lack of critical thinking skills: Not everyone has the tools to analyse the content of a message. For example, identifying false information mixed with real information, checking claims based on scientific evidence or identifying manipulative arguments are skills that need to be developed.
  • Ignorance of the scientific method: Without understanding how science works (hypotheses, experiments, peer review and publication of results), it is easy to believe information that just seems scientific.
  • Information saturation: We receive so much information, often contradictory, that it can be difficult to decide what and whom to believe. This makes it easy to spread fake news without thinking.
  • Difficulty in verifying sources: It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between real and fake content, and many students do not know how to check whether a source is trustworthy.

The Escolab workshops of the GOLIAT project are designed to improve critical thinking skills, to find out if a news item contains false information and to use this knowledge in the project itself. The workshops are held in a face-to-face mode in Barcelona. So far a total of 25 workshops have been offered and the number of participants is 750.

Workshop presentation

This is the presentation shown to the students during the workshop.

Presentation: How to detect scientific disinformation?