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Raul Garcia Hemonnet
The phenomenon of misinformation goes far beyond Twitter trolls or fact-checking. The architects of these campaigns, which seek to make profound changes in the public opinions of the countries, use complex strategies and tools that cause the lines between lies and truth to become blurred.
For a week, on the Fuenlabrada campus, a student body of 30 people made up of teachers and students have faced a dense program of content that has tried to give the keys to misinformation and how to become an agent, on a small scale, of struggle. against it.
During the training, aspects such as 'fake news', 'bots', hybrid threats or new forms of propaganda, among many others, have been discussed.
According to Manuel Gértrudix, principal investigator of the DOMINOES project by the URJC, together with Professor Rubén Arcos, “the course has gone very well, we have been able to mix people with a certain experience in the field of disinformation, with teachers from different disciplines. "They have seen how to apply what they learned in the course and with students who provide the user experience."
The course has combined a large volume of content with practical sessions, often aimed at simulating the mechanics of disinformation by addressing practical cases. “In these practices, students assume different roles, some misinform and others detect these tactics and vice versa,” explains Manuel Gértrudix.
The students come from European countries (Spain, Malta and Romania), but, despite this common belonging, each of these states has their own concerns on which misinformation operates, something that has surprised the three student groups.
New sessions in Malta and Romania
The course will continue with the holding of the same training in a few weeks in Malta and Romania. A delegation of 10 people from the URJC (including teachers and students) will attend both courses in the coming weeks.
“The objective of these trainings is to be able to equip ourselves with a set of tools that make us more resilient to misinformation and see to what extent we can be part of the solution,” indicates the URJC professor.
Much of the course materials will serve as the basis for a MOOC (Free Massive Open Course) on disinformation that will be hosted on the URJCx open knowledge platform starting in November.
The DOMINOES project (Digital Competences Information Ecosystem) is a joint initiative between the Rey Juan Carlos University, the University of Malta, the 'Mihai Viteazul' National Intelligence Academy, from Romania and the 'New Strategy Center', also from the Eastern country. of Europe.