Teaching media literacy and fighting disinformation with eTwinning.
Date: 2021-09-20
Institutions: European Education and Culture Executive Agency
Subjects: EU programme, cloud computing, digital content, digital literacy, disinformation, teaching, teaching method

Teaching Media Literacy  
and fighting Disinformation  
with eTwinning 

#eTwinning

Erasmus+

Enriching lives, opening minds.

   School education

Erasmus+

SportJean MonnetYouthHigher educationVocational education and trainingAdult education3

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu).

Luxembourg : Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 

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TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGTEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNING 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNING

5

Contents

FOREWORD 

INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER 1 
Media Literacy – Exploring the concepts through European policy 

?

CHAPTER 2 
Disinformation and critical thinking

CHAPTER 3 
Youth and the media 

CHAPTER 4 
Media Literacy in eTwinning through project work 
4.1. Age 0-6
4.2. Age 7-11
4.3. Age 12-16
4.4. Age 16-19
4.5 Vocational Education & Training

CHAPTER 5 
Resources for teaching Media Literacy

CHAPTER 6 
Classroom activities for developing Media Literacy 

CONCLUSIONS 

APPENDIX 

6

10

14 

22

32 

40 

74

80 

88

90

1
2
3

4

CONTENTS

Foreword

Dear Reader,
We all live in extremely 
challenging and interesting 
times. On the one hand, the 
information flows freely from 
all directions and is readily 
available in a matter of seconds.

On the other hand, the easiness of 
access creates myriad of opportunities 
for disseminating incorrect messages, 
which may lead to manipulation. In fact, 
studies have shown that, paradoxically, 
the new information age has not 
increased the level of knowledge and 
understanding among the general 
population because we often seek only 
information that confirms our existing 
beliefs or because information (or 
disinformation) travels so quickly and 
widely in a globalised, digital world. This 
situation puts in danger the functioning 
of our democratic forms of governance 
and our efforts to tackle today’s global 
issues like climate change, sustainable 
development, and socio-economic 
inequality.

planet, it is imperative for us to provide 
educational systems across the EU 
with powerful tools that could help 
students to develop their critical thinking 
ability to distinguish fact from fiction 
and science from pseudo-science. The 
European Commission has already 
developed some reference documents 
that help Member States in their efforts 
to improve the critical thinking and 
media literacy skills among EU citizens 
in a lifelong learning perspective. 
Media literacy is included in the digital 
competence, which is described in 
the Council Recommendation on Key 
Competences as well as in the more 
detailed LifeComp: The European 
Framework for Personal, Social and 
Learning to Learn Key Competence.

7

personal limitations, while collecting 
valid and reliable information and ideas 
from diverse and reputable sources. The 
next level involves comparing, analysing, 
assessing, and synthesising information, 
ideas, and media messages in order 
to draw logical conclusions. Finally, 
students need to be ready to act. 
They should be empowered to develop 
creative ideas, synthesise and combine 
concepts and information from different 
sources in view of solving problems.  

This is a tall order of tasks, which 
requires the mobilisation of educators 
and teaching institutions, of media 
outlets and businesses. It is clear that 
teachers have a central role in leading 
their pupils on towards media literacy. 
They help their students develop 
critical thinking and online savviness. 
eTwinning has for many years provided 
valuable tools to support teachers in 
this effort. This year’s eTwinning theme 
“Teaching Media Literacy and fighting 
Disinformation with eTwinning” has 
helped to boost awareness, cooperation 
and tools to further help teachers to 
be equipped with solid digital and 

media literacy skills. Thanks to its 
very collaborative nature, eTwinning 
offers the perfect opportunity to 
explore innovative teaching methods 
and innovative pedagogical concepts. 
Moreover, the transnational component 
of eTwinning projects allows all 
participants to gain a multiplicity of 
perspectives – especially useful in 
breaking echo-chambers.

This book should help teachers in their 
classroom work with concrete examples 
of success stories, pedagogical 
strategies and activities, tools and 
resources.

Therefore,
its publication is a 
significant milestone in 
our journey
towards better media 
literacy for all.

Therefore, for the sake of the future 
generations and the future of the 

Students need to develop awareness 
of potential biases in the data and one’s 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/council-recommendation-on-key-competences-for-li-
felong-learning_en

2 https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC120911 

6

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGFOREWORDIntroduction

“Media Literacy – our capacity to 
access, have a critical understanding 
of, and interact with the media – 
has never been as important as it 
is today. It enables citizens of all 
ages to navigate the modern news 
environment and take informed 
decisions” (European Commission, 2019). 

Media Literacy can be defined as 
“the ability to access the media, to 
understand and critically evaluate 
different aspects of the media 
and media contexts and to create 
communications in a variety of 
contexts” 
(European Commission, 2007).

To be an independent and informed 
thinker in the digital world of the 21st 
century is a real challenge and, in reality, 
few people are prepared effectively to 
navigate the online environment. This 
deficit in Digital Media Literacy across 
the world has been identified as a 
critical factor explaining widespread 
belief in online false information, be it 
misinformation or disinformation, which 
has led to changes in education policy 

across Europe and the world, changes in 
the governance of personal data and the 
rethinking of the design of technology 
platforms.

This widespread belief in false 
information circulating online is a critical 
challenge for today’s societies. Indeed, 
this has become even more apparent 
in the last year during the pandemic. 
“The time is now,” tweeted the European 
Commission: “There has never been a 
more urgent need for an Internet free 
of false or misleading information than 
during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Media Literacy is crucial to being 
safe, positive and respectful online. 
Information can come from a wide 
range of sources and in a variety of 

8

9

formats online, from news websites to 
social media content to podcasts to 
content in videogames. Understanding 
how to navigate, select and critically 
evaluate information are skills that all 
online users should possess in order to 
manage the risks associated with issues 
such as disinformation, online scams, 
hate speech and managing online 
relationships.

With children and young people 
increasingly turning to social media 
or video sharing platforms to find 
news or information, critical reasoning 
skills have never been so important 
in enabling and empowering youth to 
be critical users of online content. 
The ability to distinguish fact from 
opinion and truth from falsehood has 
consequences not only for their own 
personal safety online, but also for their 
actions that may impact on the well-
being of other online users and of the 
whole society.

radio and TV broadcasts) they must 
understand how to successfully 
process information through other 
channels where fact-checking becomes 
more tricky – for example: following 
advice from their favourite vlogger, 
distinguishing between promoted posts 
(paid advertising) and regular posts on 
social media, recognising photoshopped 
or edited images and video, or 
encountering conspiracy theories or 
false information shared by family or 
friends.

Understanding the motivations behind 
why an online user may edit or omit 
key details, how they may blend facts 
and opinions in their messages, how 
they select an audience and what they 
wish that audience to do as a result 
of hearing their messages are all key 
Media Literacy skills that all people in 
general and young people in particular 
need in order to make positive choices 
online and offline.

The modern online lives of children 
and young people offer many 
opportunities to explore, learn, create 
and communicate. However, they 
also present a number of complex 
challenges that youth must be aware 
of in order to enjoy safe and positive 
online experiences. As young people 
do not encounter information purely 
from traditional news materials (such 
as newspapers, news websites, 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGINTRODUCTIONAlongside user behaviour, a young 
person’s online experiences include 
Internet and technology products 
that are increasingly driven by users’ 
personal data – the more a service, 
device or app knows about you as a 
consumer, the more it can adjust what 
you see and experience in order to better 
meet what it perceives to be your needs 
or interests. Media Literacy also plays 
a key role here – empowering youth to 
understand that what they see on social 
media feeds and in search engines 
results can differ from what others see, 
and that they can take control over how 
their data are collected and used online.

The role of technology in filtering, 
selecting and delivering the information 
we encounter online has given rise 
to concepts such as “filter bubbles” 
(where users encounter only information 
that conforms to and reinforces their 

own beliefs) and “echo chambers” 
(where like-minded users interact and 
reinforce a single viewpoint to the 
exclusion of alternatives, creating a 
false impression that an opinion is more 
widely held in society than it actually is).

Providing educational opportunities for 
children and young people to explore 
and discuss how to manage and 
evaluate online information in all its 
forms is fundamental to empowering 
youth to be positive and safe online.

eTwinning has been promoting Media 
Literacy for the last 16 years by focusing 
on the integration of digital tools in 
the everyday lives of teachers and 
students, with a special emphasis on 
the effect such tools have on our lives.

Media Literacy, in particular digital 
media literary, is crucial in today’s 
world and this book is designed 
to show how eTwinners approach 
this fundamental tenet of living 
in the digital age, teaching their 
pupils to take control and not be 
controlled by the digital world. We 
hope you enjoy reading it.

10

11

In this book, the topic of Media Literacy and how it can be 
used to combat disinformation forms the central topic, to help 
teachers work in classrooms with their pupils to address this 
challenge for their futures.

CHAPTER 1
Gives the European viewpoint, providing information on why the 
theme of Media Literacy has been chosen, what is the impact 
on the educational community and how it has been channelled 
through eTwinning. 

CHAPTER 2
Some of friends of eTwinning explain the concept of disinformation, 
through current and historical lenses, and exploring the power of 
algorithms in the creation of news. 

CHAPTER 3
Looks at how young people engage with the media, where they 
consume news and how they analyse information with the 
cooperation of the Better Internet for Kids initiative.

CHAPTER 4
Showcases outstanding eTwinning projects on Media Literacy and 
disinformation.

CHAPTER 5
Gives examples of tools and resources that are available to use in 
classroom work and eTwinning project.

CHAPTER 6
Proposes some classroom activities on the topic for each 
age group.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGINTRODUCTION13

1000110001001010
0100001111010100

CHAPTER 1 
Media
Literacy
Exploring the concepts through 
European policy

12

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 1Contributors

Marta MARKOWSKA European Commission, Directorate-General for 
Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Simona PETKOVA European Commission, Directorate-General for 
Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Lida POLITI European Commission, Directorate-General for 
Communication Networks, Content & Technology
Bronagh WALTON European Commission, Directorate-General for 
Communication Networks, Content & Technology

Education and training have a fundamental 
role to play in equipping citizens with 
the critical thinking required to exercise 
judgement in the online world, taking into 
consideration its rapidly evolving nature, the 
emergence of new technologies, the impact 
of algorithms and the unprecedented risks 
related to information bubbles and echo 
chambers.

 A rapidly changing media and 
information landscape, coupled with a 
plethora of online media platforms and 
sources of information, requires that 
people are not only confident but also 
knowledgeable, aware and critical users 
when navigating the media, particularly 
in the online world. 

Although Media Literacy has a long 
history in relation with the means 
of mass communication available, 
we focus on very recent policy 
developments. From the implementation 
of the Paris Declaration on Promoting 

citizenship and the common values 
of freedom, tolerance and non-
discrimination through education 
(adopted by the European Commission 
and EU Education Ministers in 
March 2015) to the newly adopted 
Digital Education Action Plan 2021-
2027, it is clear that teachers and 
educators continue to play a vital 
role in empowering young people to 
benefit from and contribute to online 
debate and discussion as part of the 
democratic process.

The Paris Declaration mobilised 

14

15

education to promote common EU 
values and acknowledged that the 
primary purpose of education is not 
only to develop knowledge, skills, 
competences and attitudes, but 
also to help young people – in close 
cooperation with parents and families 
– to become active, responsible and 
open-minded members of society. The 
Declaration highlighted the importance 
of enhancing Media Literacy and 
critical thinking skills, particularly in the 
use of the Internet and social media, so 
as to raise awareness of risks related 
to the reliability of information sources 
and to help exercise sound judgement 
in view of rising populism, xenophobia, 
radicalisation and the spread of 
disinformation.

The Strategic Framework for European 
Cooperation in Education and Training 
(ET 2020), which included a dedicated 
Working Group bringing together 
Member States and stakeholders 
and focused on promoting common 
values, inclusive education and 
the implementation of the Paris 
Declaration1.Furthermore, the European 
Council conclusions of May 2016 
on developing Media Literacy and 
critical thinking through education and 

training emphasised that education and 
training should provide learners with 
the competences and values required 
“to access, interpret, produce and use 
information and other media content, 
notably in the context of the Internet and 
social media, in a safe and responsible 
manner.” In a similar vein, the Council 
Recommendation on Common Values, 
Inclusive Education and the European 
Dimension of Teaching (22 May 
2018) underlined the need to continue 
promoting common values as vectors 
of cohesion and inclusion, favour the 
implementation of participatory learning 
environments at all levels of education, 
improve training for teachers on 
citizenship and diversity, and enhance 
the Media Literacy and critical thinking 
skills of all learners.

The importance of Media Literacy 
development is also strengthened in the 
reviewed European Framework of Key 
Competences for Lifelong Learning2 
(May 2018). Together with sustainability, 
European common values, openness to 
cultural diversity and innovation, Media 
Literacy is one of the five underlying 
concepts which underpin the eight 
key competences relevant for citizens 
of all ages. Also, the Commission’s 

1 The group published a Thematic Fiche on Uses and Abuses of Modern Media, available here:
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/cd9faea8-ba77-11ea-811c-01aa75ed71a1/
language-en/format-PDF/source-search

2 2018/C 189/01; https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/council-recommendation-on-key-
competences-for-lifelong-learning_en

3 COM (2020) 790 final

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 1Digital Competence Framework for 
Citizens identifies information and 
data literacy, online safety and digital 
content creation as part of the wide mix 
of digital competences needed by all 
learners today.

Moreover, the May 2020 Council 
Conclusions on Media Literacy in an 
Ever-Changing World stated that the 
exposure of citizens to a large amount 
of disinformation, especially in times 
of major global crisis, such as the 
COVID-19 pandemic, emphasises the 
importance of a systematic approach 
to the development of Media Literacy. 
According to the Council Conclusions, 
Media Literacy should not be limited to 
learning about tools and technologies 
but should also aim to equip citizens 
with the critical thinking skills required 
to exercise judgement, analyse complex 
realities and recognise the difference 
between opinion and fact. Likewise, 
the Council Conclusions stress the 
importance of developing and sharing 
Media Literacy teaching and training 
materials, and the development of a 
systematic approach for enhancing 
the competencies of professionals in 
different fields, including teachers, with 
a view to strengthening their role in 
developing citizens’ Media Literacy.

Building on the European Democracy 
Action Plan3 presented in December 
2020, the Commission has stepped 
up its efforts to combat the spread 
of misleading, inaccurate and 

potentially harmful information in the 
digital world. The profound impact 
of the disinformation phenomenon 
has become increasingly critical in 
view of the rapid emergence of new 
technologies and the outbreak of the 
COVID-19 pandemic. The so-called 
“infodemic”, namely the flood of false 
information around the virus, mainly 
through social media, emphasised the 
substantial role digital technologies can 
play in disseminating a plethora of (dis)
information and ultimately affecting the 
decisions of EU citizens, especially in 
periods of global crisis. The need for a 
more coordinated action was addressed 
in the Joint Communication on Tackling 
COVID-19 Disinformation4, published in 
June 2020.

At the centre of EU efforts to combat 
disinformation lies the Code of Practice 
on Disinformation. In force since 2018, 
the Code of Practice is a self-regulatory 
instrument bringing together major 
online platforms and other actors to 
step up the fight against disinformation. 
To address certain shortcomings 
of the Code, the Commission has 
recently issued guidance to strengthen 
its application and ensure a more 
transparent and trustworthy online 
ecosystem, while preserving freedom 
of expression, as enshrined in the 
Charter of Fundamental Rights. The 
strengthened Code will aim at creating 
a bridge with the proposed Digital 
Services Act (DSA)5.

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Education has a key role to play in the 
fight against disinformation. Equipping 
teachers, educational staff, students 
and parents, as well as lifelong learners, 
with solid digital and Media Literacy 
skills can contribute enormously to 
shaping a well-informed public audience, 
capable of assessing the credibility of 
online sources and detecting potentially 
fake news, while fostering a healthy 
public democratic debate.

To this end, the Digital Education 
Action Plan (2021-2027) focuses 
one of its two strategic priorities 
on developing digital skills and 
competences for the digital transition 
of people of all ages. Digital literacy 
and addressing disinformation play a 
key role in this vision. With a view to 
this, the Commission is developing 
common guidelines for teachers 
and educators on promoting digital 
literacy and addressing disinformation 
through education and training. The 
guidelines will provide teachers and 
educational staff with insight and 
practical guidance on how to promote 
a broad understanding of digital literacy 
through education and training; foster 
better awareness and knowledge 
on disinformation; and allow for the 
responsible and safe use of digital 
technologies. The guidelines will be 

published in September 2022 as part of 
a “Back to school” campaign.

Lastly, in working to achieve the 
European Education Area and its 
ambitious vision for excellence in 
education for all learners across 
Europe, building democratic education 
environments free from bullying, harmful 
speech and disinformation is key. To this 
end, teachers and educators play a vital 
role in helping to create a safe learning 
environment free of discrimination 
including through the development of 
critical thinking.

The flagship funding programmes of 
the Commission, namely Erasmus+ and 
the European Solidarity Corps, have 
been supporting a number of projects 
in Media Literacy and will continue 
doing so under the new programming 
period. Since 2014, over 2,600 Erasmus+ 
projects dealing with Media Literacy 
and disinformation among other topics 
have been selected for funding, with an 
overall budget of over EUR 241 million. 
Not to mention, of course, the eTwinning 
projects in this area, which we will 
further examine later in this book.

To complement the work carried 
out by the Directorate-General for 
Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 

4 JOIN (2020) 8 final

5 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on a Single Market For Digital 
Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC - (COM (2020) 825 final)

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 119

All of these bodies, programmes 
and initiatives are of enormous 
benefit to teachers working with 
the topic of Media Literacy in 
schools and demonstrate the 
attention given by European 
institutions to such an essential 
skill, fundamental to empower 
active and digital citizenship.

the power of influencers in the fight 
against disinformation online.

From 2022, the activities supported 
under “Media Literacy for All” will be 
mainstreamed within the Creative 
Europe Programme’s Cross-sectorial 
scheme with an increased budget. 
DG CNECT’s ambition is to build 
on the lessons learned during the 
implementation of Media Literacy for All, 
in order to scale up existing successful 
activities across Member States’ cultural 
and linguistic borders, whilst continuing 
to seek innovative ways to improve 
Media Literacy skills in Europe in a fast-
moving media ecosphere.

In addition to the new Creative Europe 
Media Literacy scheme, DG CNECT 
supports the work of the European 
Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), 
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/
en/policies/european-digital-media-
observatory which includes within its 
objectives the creation of a repository 
of Media Literacy tools and materials, 
to be made available to practitioners 
across Europe. Furthermore, a number 
of regional hubs will be set up during 
2021 to support national Media Literacy 
activities on disinformation.

(DG EAC), Media Literacy is further 
supported by the Directorate-General 
for Communications Networks, Content 
and Technology (DG CNECT)’s Media 
Policy Directorate, which is responsible 
for disinformation policy and concrete 
actions to combat disinformation online.

DG CNECT is responsible for a Media 
Literacy Expert Group which provides 
a forum for exchange of good practice 
across Europe on Media Literacy, 
working closely with the 27 Member 
States and a range of organisations 
working in Media Literacy including 
UNESCO, European Audiovisual 
Observatory, European Digital Media 
Observatory and others.

DG CNECT is working closely with 
UNESCO on the implementation of the 
2021 edition of the European Media 
Literacy Week, which will, for the 
first time, take place in late October 
alongside UNESCO’s regular Media and 
Information Literacy event.

DG CNECT has from 2016 supported 
the implementation of the European 
Parliament’s Pilot Project and 
Preparatory Action “Media Literacy for 
All.” This has enabled the Commission 
to provide seed funding to a wide range 
of innovative projects in the field of 
Media Literacy, covering a diverse range 
of subjects from educational toolkits to 
fact-checking projects which harness 

18

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 121

?

CHAPTER 2 
Disinformation & 
critical thinking

In this chapter we have contributions from two organisations from 
the “Friends of eTwinning” network. One is from Lie Detectors, which 
focuses on how to deal with disinformation and equip young people 
with the skills to recognise the false from the true. The other comes 
from Anne Frank House and examines the role of propaganda in the 
development of attitudes to groups.

20

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 22.1
Detecting lies in the digital world

LIE DETECTORS
Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck
and Adeline Brion

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 
online disinformation was eroding trust 
in facts and science and threatening 
to stifle public debate in Europe. The 
pandemic has situated Media Literacy 
as a skill that is as central to securing 
public health as it is to safeguarding 
democracy. 

It is easy to think about disinformation 
as working along partisan lines, trying 
to sway us in one political direction or 
another. But very often we see that its 
design is simply to confuse and sow 
uncertainty about basic facts, public 
institutions and our own communities. 
The questions remain: by whom, and 
why, and to what end? 

The pandemic has thrown up much 
new disinformation, from the idea 
that COVID-19 can be cured by eating 
garlic to the notion that it’s designed 
to distract us while a killer technology 
called 5G takes over the world. The 
effect has been a hollowing-out of trust 
in facts and basic science, making 
informed decision-making – and with 

that the basis of the democratic process 
– increasingly difficult. 

A growing body of evidence and Lie 
Detectors’ own work have shown that 
young people seek out information 
about these and other facts world 
not only via traditional media or in 
educational environments but on 
encrypted and image-based online 
platforms, chatrooms and gaming 
platforms where fact-checkers rarely 
reach, such as Instagram, WhatsApp, 
TikTok, Twitch, YouTube and gaming 
apps such as Fortnite and Roblox. 

Traditional print and broadcast media, 
meanwhile, have moved their news 
content online. At first glance, the 
online look and feel of a gaming blog 
or of political advertising can often be 
deceptively similar to professionally 
written journalism. 

It is not only the ease with which 
blogs or vloggers can look like quality 
news. Platform algorithms often keep 
us on our screens in a custom-made 
information universe that presents 
information less in terms of quality or 
credibility and more in terms of our own 
preferences. This means that in a single 
classroom, children and teachers may 
inhabit widely diverging information 

22

universes without being aware of 
this. Without a common basis of 
understanding or knowledge, discussion 
about basic themes can become 
increasingly difficult. 

Luckily there are ways for classrooms 
to tackle the problem of disinformation. 
At Lie Detectors, an independent 
and award-winning Media Literacy 
organisation, we work to equip young 
people and teachers to tell apart fact 
from falsehood and opinion online. 
Our participating journalists deliver 
90-minute sessions – either face-
to-face or, during the pandemic, via 
videoconferencing – taking children 
through the basics of checking facts 
and media bias and explaining how 
journalism works. Preparatory materials 
constructed along a series of news 

23

challenges guide children and teachers 
to apply basic journalistic investigative 
methods to checking online content for 
truthfulness. These simple techniques 
are rooted in source-checking, testing 
of context and personal bias, and 
technical search-engine applications. 
Increasingly, we train teachers in how 
to integrate critical Media Literacy into 
teaching routines. 

We’ve found that Media Literacy 
teaching in the classroom can have a 
direct impact on how children interact 
with the posts they encounter online.

As may be seen from the graph above, 
since the pandemic, there has been 
a rise of about 30% in the number of 
children who say they have changed 
their behaviour as a result of working 
on Media Literacy modules, becoming 
more aware of the need to check 
sources. Our work has increased the 
number of teenagers and pre-teens who 
said they were now checking sources.

Children report being increasingly 
concerned about how to deal with 
conspiracy theories and viral content 
online. Similarly, the work has shown 
the pandemic to be acting as a powerful 
catalyst for the digital transformation, 
bringing teachers and educators into 
closer contact with children’s online 
experience. 

Yet while a growing number of teachers 
name critical Media Literacy in an online 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 2 
universe as a essential literacy tool, a 
limited number are willing to broach 
this sensitive issue in the classroom. 
Teachers who aren’t already teaching 
Media Literacy can learn to do it. It’s 
easier than it probably seems, as long 
as they keep a few basic principles in 
mind.
•  Firstly, literacy work in the classroom 
should explore children’s online news 
consumption habits. Open questions 
about news-gathering habits can 
bring widely diverging answers from 
one classroom to another and often 
lay the foundations of all subsequent 
discussion.

•  Secondly, it can be wise to keep Media 
Literacy free of politics: the aim need 
not always be to discuss sensitive or 
political issues.

•  Thirdly, the more age-relevant, 

engaging and gamified the approach, 
the more Media Literacy training can 
help children boost their critical online 
thinking. A vast trove of resources 
exists online, from UNESCO curricula 

to fact-checking sites and online Media 
Literacy games.

•  Finally, the aim must not be to 

prescribe a list of trusted news sources 
and forbid the use of others. 21st-
century learning must equip children 
with the ability to gauge credibility 
wherever they are.

If you’d like to get started today, see 
our partial list of favourite resources 
below or request a classroom visit by 
a participating journalist by visiting 
the Lie Detectors website. We provide 
free teacher-training via the eTwinning 
partnership. 

A set of curated materials from Lie 
Detectors may be seen in Appendix 
1: Materials for developing Media 
Literacy – a curated selection from Lie 
Detectors

24

25

2.2.
Stereotypes and prejudice: tools for 
teaching young people awareness and 
empathy 

Dove soap was accused of racism 
over an advert on Facebook in 2017 
showing a black woman turning into a 
white woman. The brand apologised, 
admitting it had “missed the mark 
in representing women of colour 
thoughtfully,” but the fact that individuals 
and societies so often fail to recognise 
the persistence of prejudices and hurtful 
images is a challenge educators face 
when teaching about discrimination. For 
example, anti-Roma and anti-Muslim 
imagery also feature frequently in 
newspapers and the advertising world.

Editors, marketing teams, educators and 
students often lack the knowledge and 
skills to be aware of such issues, and 
do not take the time to look carefully or 
think deeply about them.

ANNE FRANK HOUSE
Karen Polak

We live in a world of constant exposure 
to advertising, 24-hour news cycles and 
limitless sources of information and 
entertainment online. More than ever, 
we need to commit time and resources 
to understanding the messages 
bombarding us. We also need to 
distinguish between unintentional use 
of biased imagery and propaganda or 
deliberate disinformation. 

As recently as April 2021 a left-wing 
Dutch national newspaper published a 
cartoon depicting a public figure using 
antisemitic imagery with echoes from 
the Nazi-era. Neither the cartoonist nor 
the editors had antisemitic intentions 
and none of them was aware of 
the prejudice it portrayed: a Jewish 
puppeteer, controlling the world. 
The apologies were profound, and 
safeguards were promised, but the 
question remains: how it is possible that 
they all lacked the historical awareness 
to recognise the image?
They are not alone.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 2Understanding the 
mechanisms of propaganda 
and hate

Propaganda, the spreading of 
information to influence public opinion 
on an issue, can be based on facts, 
arguments, rumours, half-truths, or 
lies. Although propaganda may use 
half-truths or lies, this need not be the 
case, but the currently much used term 
“disinformation” involves deliberately 
false information, presented with the 
aim of deceiving. It comes from the 
Russian dezinformatsiya, the name given 
to Stalin’s KGB department dedicated to 
“black propaganda” – designed to create 
the impression that it was being sent 
out by the very people it attacks.
It is always relevant to teach students to 
ask “Who is sending out this message, 
and why?”

There are various excellent educational 
resources available to deconstruct the 
techniques used in both propaganda 
and disinformation: the way strong 
emotions are activated, the simplified 
use of facts, half-truths, opinions and 
lies; and the attacks on opponents to 
insult or belittle them. Media Education 
Lab gives insight and offers a growing 
collection of contemporary examples.

There are, however, also advantages 
to using historical examples, as the 
passage of time may highlight the 

manipulation and raise awareness 
about what has changed over time 
– and what has not changed. The 
Mind over Media project run by the 
United States Holocaust Memorial 
Museum offers lesson plans using 
Nazi-propaganda posters to analyse 
the mechanisms used. The exhibition 
“Fake or Real: A history of forgery 
and falsification,” at the House of 
European History (2021) shows how 
forged documents were used during 
the Dreyfus Affair in France to stoke 
antisemitism.

Recognising propaganda and hateful 
stereotypes and being able to put them 
into context is a complex process, 
requiring critical thinking. Project Zero 
at Harvard University has developed 
various accessible and attractive 
“visible thinking” routines. The idea 
is that the routines reveal the learning 
process, empowering the learner. “What 
do I know?” at the start of a lesson 
is contrasted with “What do I know 
now?” at the end. Learning that even 
complex issues can be unravelled by 
taking time and care gives students 
a sense of achievement. The “See-
Think-Wonder” routine helps them 
look more closely, examine the ideas 
or associations triggered (What do I 
think?) and then consider questions 
the image raises (What do I wonder?). 
Careful observation and thoughtful 
interpretation set the stage for inquiry.

In the online Stories that Move toolbox 

26

27

against discrimination, the module 
“Mastering the media” uses the visible 
thinking routines to look at racist, sexist, 
antisemitic, anti-Roma and anti-LGBT+ 
imagery in adverts and propaganda, 
helping students unpick the different 
layers of meaning and exploring why 
advertisers or politicians are using 
these images. It is one of the 5 learning 
paths offered here.

migrants. The website “Teaching 
about refugees” includes animations 
showing that “words matter”. Looking 
carefully at terms such as migrants, 
asylum seekers, refugees and displaced 
persons helps us to think critically 
about the way people who have left 
their countries of origin are portrayed in 
simplified messages.

The message of this poster, for example, 
is that the umbrella of nationalism 
“protects” the family from many threats.
It is also valuable to show students 
positive examples: journalists and 
educators providing counter-narratives 
to hateful propaganda. Large numbers 
of migrants arriving in Europe in 
2015 triggered a lot of anti-refugee 
propaganda, so the UNHCR put 
together a useful guide: Countering 
toxic narratives about refugees and 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 2Emotional intelligence

consider the (historical) background 
and the aim of messages.

29

From Stories that Move – Some examples of propaganda 

The basic mechanisms of propaganda 
have not changed much, despite our 
fast-moving Internet world. We see 
it happening today. The conspiracy 
theories around the contribution of the 
introduction of 5G technology to spread 
of Covid saw public anger unleashed 
against an invented enemy. We can all 
learn from the past, but we need to take 
time to think critically and to learn the 
skills that can help us see which media 
bubbles we are in and how clickbait can 
catch us out.

The focus on Media Literacy in the 
eTwinning network this year offers a 
timely opportunity for teachers and 
students geographically far apart to 
learn together how to strip the mask 
from disinformation and “fake news”. 
It would be wonderful to see projects 
making use of TwinSpace to develop 
the understanding and skills needed to 
achieve this.

A next step is understanding the 
impact of discrimination. This requires 
emotional intelligence. Essential 
elements of emotional intelligence, 
such as self-reflection and empathy, 
need to be developed, and can be 
taught. Understanding how stereotypes 
and prejudices are used in advertising 
campaigns is not the same as realising 
how painful this can be.

Young people talking frankly about their 
experiences with discrimination are 
central to the Stories that Move project. 
For example, a young boy called Tyrell 
recounting how a classmate wanted to 
“rub out the colour of his skin” with an 
eraser adds a personal dimension to the 
Dove soap advert.

Students also respond well to Sophie 
Haber’s story from Vienna in the 1930s.
“A girl at school called me a ‘Jewish pig’. 
So, I smacked her. The head teacher 
asked: ‘What got into you?’ And I am 
actually proud of my answer. I said: ‘She 
called me a Jewish pig. I am a Jew, and I 
am not ashamed of it, but I am not a pig. 
And that is why I smacked her. Because 
of the word pig.’ And the matter was 
settled there and then.”
Taking time to listen to stories and 
to discuss where hurtful words and 
nasty images come from can sensitise 
students to look more carefully, and to 

28

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 2?

31

CHAPTER 3 
Youth &
the media

Another Friend of eTwinning is the Better Internet for Kids network.6
Under the Better Internet for Kids (BIK)7 umbrella, a BIK Youth8 Ambassador pro-
gramme was established giving young people a platform to share their experiences 
and to voice their opinion on how to build a better Internet. Today, the community of 
BIK Youth Ambassadors consists of 40+ committed young people, aged 12 to 24, 
from across Europe.

In this section, they share their views on Media Literacy education and how to iden-
tify and deal with disinformation online.

30

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 3STUDENT QUOTES

“I feel it is one of the most 
important skills to have these 
days. In school, in the job and 
in private life – perhaps even 
in kindergarten – Digital Media 
Literacy plays a huge role. 
Without it, the Internet can be 
used, but not in a sustainable 
way from which you can 
benefit.”

Lili, 22, Austria

1

What does “Digital 
Media Literacy” mean 
to you and how does 
it impact you?

“To me, it means being able 
to navigate the Internet 
confidently. Understanding 
what we are giving when we 
use the Internet and what we 
are gaining.”

“To me it is very important in order to counteract 
issues such as cyberbullying, evaluate data I 
see online and to generally navigate through the 
Internet in a good way.”

Piero, 12, France

Eiman, 18, Ireland 

6 During the pandemic, through the European network of Safer Internet Centres, a number of resources were 
produced in national languages to respond to issues such as scaremongering and infodemics, as well as 
strategies for fact-checking online information. Further resources covering other aspects of Media Literacy 
and online safety can also be found on the Better Internet for Kids portal at betterinternetforkids.eu. 
7 Under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), EUN Partnership AISBL (hereafter European Schoolnet) is 
developing and maintaining – on behalf of the European Commission – a Better Internet for Kids (BIK) core 
service platform to share resources, services and practices among national providers of the services – the 
European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) – and to provide services to their users, including industry. More 
information at: www.betterinternetforkids.eu
8 www.bikyouth.eu/ 

32

33

“For me, digital literacy means in particular, the development of 
competences to find one’s way in the digital world. By this I mean 
finding suitable sources quickly and specifically, understanding how 
to interpret them correctly and then disseminating the findings via 
suitable online channels. Digital literacy among teachers and students 
must therefore be promoted at an early stage. Progress in e-learning 
should be maintained even after COVID-19. For me, digital literacy also 
means, as I get older, that I want to or should at least fundamentally 
understand profound topics in the field of digitisation. This includes, 
for example, topics such as digital standards, digital sovereignty, 
data spaces, platform regulation and the functioning and use of data 
streams. Above all, the area of data literacy is also moving more and 
more into the focus for me personally. Unfortunately, many people are 
not aware of the regulations that should benefit us.”

Kathrin, 24, Germany

2

What kind of offline tools 
of communication do you 
engage with (reading 
books or print newspapers, 
for example)?

“It is hard to go away from the feel of going 
through the pages of a paper book, so there is 
always one of those on my bedside table. I do 
also like to casually open a print newspaper at 
my local coffee shop. Why? It saves my battery 
and I am sure that the information is already 
curated and not personalised. In a biased way.”

João Pedro, 24, Portugal 

“As digital media has 
become a very powerful 
tool of communication, 
traditional offline tools are 
still popular outside of the 
Internet world. I personally 
still engage with leaflets 
that are handed out on 
the streets, the radio, but 
most importantly, in-
person events, where you 
socialise with other people 
and educate each other 
through conversation.”

Violeta, 17, Greece

“Personally, during the past year, I realised how important it is to take some 
time off from social media, online news and even school-related platforms 
at times. I found myself reading more and really enjoying it. Besides the 
several entertaining novels, I rediscovered the more practical/educational 
side of literature with lockdown cookbooks and more interactive magazines 
with fun challenges.”

Joana, 16, Portugal

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 3“I usually find news online 
through finding articles on 
Twitter or simply stumbling 
upon a headline whilst on 
Google. However before 
finding credibility in any 
source, I always check to see 
if it’s first from a relatively 
well-known news site (e.g. 
BBC News). Other criteria 
that are important to me are 
also how accurate spelling 
and grammar are, and by 
checking other similar 
articles to see if statements 
and facts match up in order 
to determine which source 
is the most trustworthy to 
read.”

Jess, 14, UK

3

How do you find your 
news online? What criteria 
are relevant to you when 
browsing and searching for 
information?

“I browse through my phone’s news 
site and read the online newspapers 
that I am a subscriber of. I like to check 
twice if the site that the news is on 
is trustworthy or if it has a lot of fake 
news. The news having a neutral view on 
the topic is also important I think, or at 
least not bullying the other views when 
writing news with a different view to 
your own.”

“I mainly follow state media and 
information sites. I also listen to 
podcasts by journalists I trust because 
of their previous work. If I’m particularly 
interested in a topic or want to look at it 
again, I usually search on Ecosia. I select 
the results based on experience. Often 
these are websites of newspapers that 
have a certain reputation. If a site seems 
a bit strange or one-dimensional in its 
reporting, I research it again to find out 
who is behind it. A good example of this 
is the Rubikon news site. The articles 
appear to be independent information, 
but in reality, there is only one person 
behind it who ‘reports’ from the right-
wing corner.”

Kathrin, 24, Germany

Frida, 17, Finland

“Usually, which is typical 
for students, you always 
take the first link in the 
browser, but I do not 
use any pages that are 
marked as ‘not secure’, 
as my data could simply 
be forwarded to third 
parties.”

Manahil, 16, Germany

34

35

“We had an assignment due which 
carried 50% of our overall exam 
mark and I searched for news on the 
incidents that were happening due to 
climate and there was a fake article 
which I thought was true and that was 
what made me fail since the site went 
down and it was too late for me to 
arrange my assignment.”

Silenia, 16, Malta

4

What experience 
do you have with 
disinformation?

“I am autistic, and disinformation can and has caused 
people’s perception of me to change. For example, 
when I told my classmates I was autistic, they started 
speaking slower to me because of disinformation.”
 Sunna, 18, Iceland

“The past year has been eye-opening 
when it comes to the importance 
of communication tools and good 
information sources. Most experiences I 
have had with disinformation are related 
to the pandemic: fake news about the 
virus, symptoms, tests, treatments, 
vaccines and restrictions. A lot of new 
material was created in a very short 
time span, so, alongside with reliable 
and essential information, there was 
disinformation and even inappropriate 
and alarmist spread of true stories. 
Now, in my country I can already see 
an improvement, not only in content 
creators and managers, but also in the 
public’s ability to deal with such data 
(suspect; don’t share, in case of doubt; 
and report, if certain of the inaccuracy).”

Joana, 16, Portugal

“I never felt directly impacted by 
malicious disinformation. I know, 
however, how easy it is to fall for 
it. Recently, my home country 
government created a propaganda 
poster where it compared a national 
metric against the European 
average. With the scale used, 
that deliberately did not start in 
the axis zero origin, it looked like 
the national performance was 
outpacing the Europe one by 
much, when in fact it was actually 
borderline above.”

João Pedro, 24, Portugal

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 3“In my environment, I notice 
how quickly opinions can 
be formed on the basis of 
misinformation, which is 
then stubbornly maintained. I 
think it is insanely important 
to know how to consume 
consciously on the Internet, 
and above all not to put 
aside all common sense and 
independent thinking

Lili, 22, Austria

5

Why is it important to 
teach “Digital Media 
Literacy” in schools?

“Disinformation can 
be found both offline 
and online. I think 
it’s fair to say that 
every person has 
stumbled upon some 
sort of fake news in 
their life, that is why I 
think it’s important to 
learn how to filter all 
the information that 
we come across and 
not blindly accept all 
the info that is given 
to us.”

Violeta, 17, Greece

“Children need to learn that media can be fake and easily manipulated and need to 
know how the media plays with words to give you the news and they also need to 
learn how the media industry works. They need to realise that even through editing, 
visuals can also be manipulated. Also, students need to learn the tools which can 
be used to disseminate information (script and visuals) and they should learn that 
the media sets the agenda and makes its users think on the matter which the media 
owners wants and not what the users really want. Also, students need to realise that 
what is uploaded on the digital online media would be available globally and it is not 
private anymore. So, it is important that one thinks before one posts, and that Digital 
Media Literacy is the key to understand the messages around us.”

Yevgeny, 15, Malta

36

37

“I and the rest of our generation face 
disinformation every day, on social 
media, news and TV. We can get very 
affected by it and give us the wrong 
impression of what is happening in the 
world. Therefore it is very important 
that we learn from an early age how 
to spot disinformation, know how to 
deal with it and learn which sources is 
safe.” Solveig Emilie, 15, Norway

“I believe this is like teaching young people how 
to cross the street. Sooner or later, they will 
have to do it on their own, so it is better to be 
taught on how to do it. The same goes for the 
way we consume (and produce) information 
through media. That is something inherently 
relevant on a day-to-day basis. Schools are the 
best place to teach the right competences to do 
it well.”

João Pedro, 24, Portugal

“Students are one of the most 
noticeable presences in online 
platforms – that is the short answer. 
Having informed and skilled young 
people is a huge step in the battle 
against the creation and spreading 
of disinformation. But personally, 
I think there is much more to that 
question. They have a great influence 
on many other Internet users (family 
members, friends, teachers, …), thus 
teaching them Digital Media Literacy 
is inherently making them carriers 
of that messages in their daily intra- 
and intergenerational experience and 
knowledge exchange.”

Joana, 16, Portugal

“Because young 
people otherwise 
do not act carefully 
enough online. And 
this can get very 
dangerous!”

Jana, 17, Germany

“It’s important to 
know from an early 
age to be critical 
enough when being 
in touch with digital 
media, whether it 
is to be trusted or 
not. Teaching Digital 
Media Literacy in 
schools helps kids 
and young people 
be aware of it and 
in the online world 
overall. It gives you 
tools to make your 
own content and be 
in touch with other 
people’s content.”

Frida, 17, Finland

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 339

CHAPTER 4
Media Literacy 
in eTwinning 
through project 
work

38

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4In this chapter we give the floor to eTwinning teachers 
who, via their collaborative projects, have taken on the 
challenge of developing the skills of discernment in 
their students in all areas of Media Literacy.
The project descriptions are set out according to the 
age levels of the students and cover a wide variety of 
approaches to the topic.

4.1  Age 0-6

ALPHA

CHILD BROADCAST TIME

LOOK AT LIFE SAFE AND CAREFULLY

SAFE MEDIA SAFE KIDS

ETWINNING KIDS TV

4.2  Age 7-11

1
2
3

NORTH EAST WEST SOUTH = N.E.W.S.!

24 HOURS – 24 STUNDEN

YOUNG JOURNALISTS OF TODAY – 
RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL CITIZENS OF 
TOMORROW

ALL ABOUT DIGITAL

ENJOYING CODING

4.3  Age 12-16

?

LITERATE-TWINNERS

FAKETASTIC

INFLUENCED

ART AUTOGRAPHS 2021

WEBA (WEB-ACADEMY)

4.4  Age 16-19

COVERING COVID -19 THROUGH 
DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY

ART AUTOGRAPHS 2021

DIGITAL BRIDGE!

MONO-LOGOS

SOCIAL MEDIA CULTURAL 
DEGENERATION

4.5  Vocational Education & Training

FIND THE TRUTH IN THE 
VIRTUAL WORLD

YOUNG EUROPEAN 
ENTREPRENEURS (YEE)

LANGUAGE, MEDIA
AND CULTURE

40

41

4.1

AGE 0-6

ALPHA

This project grew out of the effect of the pandemic process. Preschool 
children gained proficiency in technology and Media Literacy, while the 
teachers continued the distance education process in the most efficient way.

Aims:
The Alpha project aimed for more efficient online education. The children were 
taught about safe Internet use, cyberbullying, Media Literacy and correct use of 
Web 2.0 tools like LearningApps, Wordart or Jigsawplanet, while teachers also 
improved their competence in technology. The main goals of this project were to 
help the children become aware of safe Internet usage and begin to learn the basics 
of Media Literacy. In this way they were introduced to the digital age by recognising 
Web 2.0 tools, discovering their talents as children of today – also known as Alpha 
children and experiencing an efficient distance education process during the 
COVID-19 pandemic.

Activities:
During the project, the teachers first organised a seminar for themselves with an 
expert on the theme of Media Literacy and Disinformation. They also developed 
information sheets for parents about the topic and the children were divided into 
multi-national teams where they worked on many activities such a designing 
posters on Media Literacy and Disinformation, a selection of which may be viewed 
here: https://youtu.be/kbxf29O28vg The teachers also developed a simple game in 
Kahoot where the children had to choose statements about photographs as being 
true or false, to help them distinguish between real and fake.

Impact:
An educational online games catalogue was developed with several links to Web 
2.0 tools. At the end of the project, the results showed that the children use the 
Internet more consciously and receive digital education in accordance with their age 
requirements.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4Countries:
Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/139565/home

Tools:
Zoom, Adobe Connect, Wizer.me, Mentimeter, Wordart, igloo.games, Chatterpix, 
Bitmoji, Avatarmaker, Wordwall, Jigsawplanet, Cram, Canva, Google Forms, Kizoa, 
Padlet, Nearpood, Google slides, Storyjumper, Bookcreator, Genially, Emaze, blogger.
com, Tripline, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook

CHILD BROADCAST TIME

Child Broadcast Time is a project for those children affected by exposure 
to TV programmes during the pandemic. During this period, children stayed 
at home for too long and faced negative influences from TV programmes 
much more than adults. Children usually do not know the contents of the TV 
programmes and they do not know which ones are appropriate for them. This 
project focuses on Media Literacy awareness, media content production and 
effective use of technology while doing this.

Aims:
The aim of the project was that the children would be able to understand the 
basics of Media Literacy, particularly in relation to the TV programmes they like to 
watch. They learned whether a TV programme is suitable for them or not, and their 
awareness was raised on various media tools and for what purpose they are used. 
By integrating current Media Literacy into traditional education, the children also 
developed their social skills. In this way they gained social media awareness and 
became aware of social media channels and their contents even at this early age.

43

created puzzles, quizzes, etc. for their partners. They “produced” a cookery show 
for broadcasting to their partners: https://youtu.be/AKv9uiikLWg Also the children 
studied what music is suitable for TV programmes for their age group and produced 
their own musical story, having their first experience with musical instruments.

Impact:
The students were able to adapt their experiences to their daily lives by working 
collaboratively during the project. In the published e-book of parents’ responses 
after the project we can see a reported development in the selectivity shown by 
children when choosing TV programmes to watch: https://www.ourboox.com/
books/cocuk-yayin-zamani-etwinning-projesi-veli-proje-degerlendirme-anketi-
childrens-broadcast-time-etwining-project-parent-project-evaluation-survey/

Countries:
Turkey, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Malta, Italy

Link to Twinspace:
 https://twinspace.etwinning.net/141342/homeMalta, Italy

Tools:
Google Music Lab, TonnyTool

LOOK AT LIFE SAFE AND CAREFULLY

This project tackled the issue of screen addiction, one of the biggest 
problems for students. It has been revealed by studies that screen addiction 
causes eye disorders and autistic symptoms, decrease in attention and 
expression skills from an early age. For this reason, it is necessary to 
support the use of technology and 21st-century skills at the level required 
by reducing children’s screen addiction.

Activities:
Project activities included getting to know the other members, making a 
representation of the school, city and region, making a project logo, online meetings, 
evaluation and dissemination of the project. Essentially the children learned 
about how TV broadcasting works. They learned to recognise signs relating to TV 
programmes denoting their suitability for different age groups. With this signs they 

Aims:
This project involved teachers, parents and students with the main aim of raising 
awareness among all these groups about safety on the Internet, useful content, 
technology addiction and Media Literacy.
The goals of the project included:
•  Encouraging the children to enhance their listening, comprehension and 

42

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4interpretation skills and improve their Media Literacy.

•  Improving the children’s language skills and reducing their exposure to screens.
•  Increasing the participants’ awareness of safe Internet issues.

Activities:
Participants were involved in activities based on methods such as discussions, 
collaborative learning and peer learning. Children-parent education sessions were 
held on safe Internet contents, the conscious use of technology and on matters 
decided by the partners. During the project, students worked on activities based on 
their individual differences, under the guidance of the mentor teacher.
What was most interesting in this project was the extensive training sessions 
organised by expert educators for the teachers, parents and children involved in 
the project. In total, 13 project partner teachers, 128 parents and 128 children were 
involved and even more parents and teachers have been reached, in addition to 
the project team, by the dissemination works carried out via video-conference. The 
training sessions included such topics as being a child in the digital world, Media 
Literacy for young children and the use of technology with preschool children.
A collaborative rap song was created by the children about the games and topics 
learned during the project. The song was created with the help of their families. Also 
a virtual exhibition was created using the Emaze tool, making a representation of all 
the work the children did during the project.

Impact:
The parents in particular appreciated the main message that sometimes media 
cannot be trusted and that to play traditional games with friends and family can be 
more fun. Teachers reported that the children became aware that not everything on 
the Internet is to be trusted and that creative play can take place off line as well as 
online.

Countries:
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Jordan

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/147217/home

45

SAFE MEDIA SAFE KIDS

In this project, children took the first step in Media Literacy, gaining 
awareness about the safe use of media.

Aims:
Preschool is a critical period for learning, and children are vulnerable and most 
affected by the negative impact of all media, from which they need to be protected. 
Also, it is important to ensure conscious interaction on the part of children with 
technology, as media have gained a greater place in daily life through the Internet.

Activities:
Children took the first step in Media Literacy by designing project-specific smart 
signs, writing an original song for the project, creating a public spot-on Media 
Literacy in early childhood, and engaging family participation with different 
activities.
The Turkish Radio and the Television Supreme Council also collaborated with this 
project by preparing relevant documents and taking advantage of their Media 
Literacy experts. In each school the children created their own Media Literacy 
Centres and even organised a Media Literacy Festival towards the end of the 
project. They learned how to design a digital game and how to use a microphone 
with different effects on platforms such a Zoom. They also learned about faking 
photographs and played games of spotting the fake. The results of the project are 
summarised in a e-book: https://online.fliphtml5.com/qwzaz/ujpg.

Impact:
The project stimulated pupils to develop an awareness about the negative effects 
of media over-exposure, consumption-oriented information pollution, and exposure 
to intense, continuous and excessive stimulation. Through the various project 
activities, the children participating in the project had a change in their behaviour, 
they became more aware and reflective about what they were doing online, In 
addition, the increased awareness of parents and teachers in terms of Media 
Literacy and safe media use helped the children to display the knowledge and 
behaviours they learned in different environments.

Tools:
Canva, Mozaically, Postermywall, Viva video, Inshot, Piccolage, Kizoa, Padlet, 
Thinglink, Bitmoji, Chatterpix, Renderforest, Scoompa, Pixiz, Photocollage, 
Logomaker

Countries:
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Romania, Poland

44

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 447

the warning signs on cartoons such as the sign for “includes violence” and produced 
a one-minute video where they talked about their favourite cartoon. The entire 
project outcomes may be viewed here: https://etwinningkidstv.weebly.com/.

Impact:
At the end of the project, the parents and children developed awareness of the 
content broadcast by television and were more sensitive to what is suitable material 
and what is to be avoided. The teachers reported that children and parents gained 
awareness of Media Literacy and became more selective about TV warning signs, 
TV watching times and TV programmes.

Countries:
Turkey, Spain, Serbia

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/99196

Tools:
Google Music Lab, Little Chef, LearningApps, Jigsawplanet

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/152628/home

Tools:
İnteractive boards, computers and Web 2.0 tools

ETWINNING KIDS TV

eTwinning Kids TV is an international project designed for preschool 
children. Today, almost every child uses media and technology and pupils’ 
families do not have enough information about their correct use.

Aims:
It is known that the media have effects on children’s cognitive, social and 
psychomotor development. Today almost every child uses media. Television is one 
of the preferred media for children. Informing and raising awareness of parents 
and preschool children about Media Literacy contributes to children’s cognitive and 
social development.
This project aimed to raise the awareness of children, parents and teachers about 
Media Literacy, and make them more conscious when using television, which is still 
the most preferred medium.
The activities were aimed at informing families and also kids about Media Literacy, 
raising awareness and guiding them to create safe TV programmes for their peers.
The project also aimed to increase children’s knowledge about Media Literacy in 
order to develop their sense of responsibility and raising aware of similarities and 
differences between cultures.

Activities:
Among the project activities developed by the teachers was the construction of a 
mock TV studio. After a discussion with the children and their parents the children 
helped to prepare TV studios and materials such as microphones, cameras, TVs, 
remote controls, etc. out of waste materials (the schools are eco-schools). They 
then developed their TV programmes including materials on sport, music, or 
cartoons. The children then discussed their favourite cartoons and discovered 
which were the most popular in their country and why. In transnational teams they 
prepared to make their own version of their favourite cartoons. They learned about 

46

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 44.2

AGE 7-11

NORTH EAST WEST SOUTH = N.E.W.S.!

In this project, the students were journalists, editors and photographers 
who worked together in national and international teams to create an 
international magazine and to explore the world of news.

Aims:
The aim of this project was to increase student awareness about the making of a 
newspaper or magazine, about the rules to follow when searching for materials on 
the Web and what to pay attention to when looking for valid information.

Activities:
The project followed very well-designed steps:

1) Students met a professional journalist prior to starting their work and, under his 
guidance, collaborated in international teams to create three issues of an online ma-
gazine. Some articles were published in a local newspaper of the partners’ towns.

2) After writing each issue, students interviewed the young journalists of a partner 
school to deepen their knowledge about the content of the partners’ articles.

3) On the occasion of Safer Internet Day 2021, the partners organised an event on 
eTwinning live. Students were introduced to the idea of fake news and became 
aware of the difference between true news and fake news and how to detect disin-
formation. They had to produce their own fake news articles which may be seen 
here: https://wakelet.com/ i/ invite? code= 735e7b6
4) At the end of the project, the best articles were chosen and featured in a video 
clip. Finally, the best articles were published on a local newspaper in the partners’ 
towns.

A very interesting activity was the “Interview the Reporter” task, when students 
could ask questions to satisfy their curiosity about their partners’ article. The final 
outcome of the project was the international online magazine including 30 articles 
from 30 partners.

48

49

Impact:
Students became conscious of the huge work needed to create the issues of the 
magazine and of the importance of providing valid and grounded news, avoiding 
disinformation or culturally biased content.

Countries:
Albania, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Roma-
nia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/114711/home

Tools:
Symbaloo

YOUNG JOURNALISTS OF TODAY –
RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL CITIZENS OF TOMORROW

This cross-curricular project was created to encourage students’ critical 
thinking and prepare them to be responsible digital citizens.
Topics such as trivial content, stereotypes and low-quality information were 
addressed and analysed.

Aims:
This cross-curricular project aimed to encourage students’ critical thinking and 
prepare them to be responsible digital citizens. The project is based on a mutual 
belief that as teachers we shouldn’t just watch our students spend time on their 
smartphones consuming very often trivial content on YouTube. Those contents 
are also full of stereotypes, especially towards “acceptable” appearances and have 
low production standards and aesthetic levels, and the language which is used by 
YouTubers is not in accordance with literary standards. The aim is to address this 
during the project
The project was originally based on an established Erasmus+ KA229 project, which 
gathers schools from Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania and Spain, and 
then expanded its scope by including additional partners through eTwinning from 
Italy, Ireland, Cyprus and Turkey.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4 
Activities:
As a preparation for the project some of the teachers took part in an online training 
on Media Literacy and journalism. The materials and approaches learned during this 
course formed the basis of the project activities. During the project the students 
learned to write articles in different journalistic styles. They then published and 
exchanged articles related to topics like local news, students’ achievements, civic 
and media education. Using virtual meetings and workshops, students gained the 
necessary basic skills needed to design and write for a newspaper, including jour-
nalistic ethics. After this induction training, the students suggested possible topics 
for articles and started to draft articles, with the help of mentors. At the end of the 
project the students voted on the best articles which were included in an e-book: 
https://shared.kotobee.com/ # /book/ 22220

Impact:
Through the active creation of media content (like an e-book  or more than 70 
articles) and reading of student texts, the students became aware of the difference 
between manipulative media content and content created for the purpose of 
information, education and entertainment. They also increased their digital skills 
and the ability to collaborate and have developed an interest in active digital 
citizenship. Participation in the project has also developed their intercultural 
competencies and encouraged them to be open-minded, empathetic and accepting 
towards different cultures.

Countries:
North Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Cyprus and Turkey

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/100169/home

Tools:
WordPress, Weebly, Google Sites, Zoom, Skype

50

51

24 HOURS – 24 STUNDEN

This project dealt in a variety of ways with the use of media by students, 
their interaction with other peers and netiquette. 
During this project, the students faced various challenges and reported how 
difficult it was for them to stay without a mobile phone.

Aims:
The project aimed to give the young people the opportunity to reflect creatively and 
critically on their predominantly digital world which had become more dominant in 
their lives due to the pandemic. In particular, the idea was to make them reflect on 
how much they depend on the use of their mobile phones.
The theme of the 68th European competition “Digital EU – and YOU?!” gave the 
children and young people the opportunity to reflect creatively and critically on their 
predominantly digital world.

Activities:
During the project the students reflected on their “media diet”. They took part in the 
activity “24 hours without” where they had to give up the use of their phones for 24 
hours. For that, the teachers developed a series of questionnaire designs to examine 
how the students use their smartphones, their favourite apps, how often they 
consult their phones in a day and how they would feel without them. Reflecting on 
the results of the survey in transnational discussions the students became aware of 
the patterns of their behaviour. In the next stage of the project they were encouraged 
to think about the opportunities offered by a reality without digital media and 
Internet. Working on this they wrote collaborative stories, created cartoons and 
videos, and imagined what life without a phone could be like for them. The students 
developed collaborative stories and published them as short e-books or videos. 
They also engaged in developing an alphabet of Internet-free activities and created 
a tale about the adventures of a mobile phone, which may be viewed here https://
videos.simpleshow.com/ iZYUozZlt4?fbclid= IwAR1lmkfhv33g8brm8 QMYUaKkZ oX8x
LYSg4B6kq --IFF_qD4B0Lar6yUVciI%2F
Parents were also involved in the project with several questionnaires about their 
“media diet”.

Impact:
The project encouraged the students to reflect on their media consumption and 
alternative possibilities of a daily routine without a mobile phone. At the end of the 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 453

Then students searched for and designed a dictionary of digital words.
The project also evaluated various media such as books, newspapers and 
magazines, advertisements, cartoon movies and collected their findings in a 
collaborative Padlet.
Students also learned about the importance of digital footprints and created their 
digital footprints with the information they found by googling their names. At the 
end of the project students prepared collaboratively and signed an agreement about 
a safe use of the Internet.

Impact:
The project made students more careful when they spend their time online and more 
conscious about the risks of the Internet. They saw their peers facing issues when 
they were online, thus giving them the courage to take action when facing Internet 
safety issues or cyberbullying.
Students also learned that every child must be aware of Internet safety and 
standards no matter their age.
The project also involved parents who learned how to guide their children when they 
are online and how to tackle the effects of computer and smarts phones abuse.

Countries:
Turkey, Romania, Italy

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/152784/home

Tools:
Canva, Postermywall, Milanote, Wakelet, Voice toner, Chatterpix, My doll face, 
Voki, Genially, Padlet, Learning apps, Kahoot, Oodlu, Educandy, Jigsawplanet, 
Storyboardthat, Makebeliefcomix, Birddessines, Wordart, Mentimeter, Tricider, 
Answergarden, Inshot, Animaker, Book creator, Storyjumper, Grcodegenerator.

project all the students involved had a good idea of their usage and had learned to 
take part in alternative activities which did not include mobile phone usage.

Countries:
Portugal, Germany

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/95044/home

Tools:
Madmagz, ToonyTool, Makebeliefscomix, Padlet, Adventmyfriend, Wordart, Issuu, 
Kinemaster, Artsteps, Answergarden, Mysimpleshow

ALL ABOUT DIGITAL

We live in a digital age and, during the pandemic, young people of every 
age increased their use of technology. This project was created to raise 
awareness in young students about their digital life, their consumption of 
information, their Internet safety, cyberbullying and the impact of Internet 
abuse on their health.

Aims:
The aim of the project was to allow students to take their first safe steps in the 
digital world and help them recognise how to evaluate media content.
The main activities focused helping the students to acquire knowledge about the 
workings of the Internet and develop Internet skills by analysing and evaluating 
media content. Introductory activities enquired about what technology and 
Internet mean for students. Activities also included lessons and a webinar with 
an ICT teacher about Internet safety. Students then created safe nicknames and 
passwords, played digital games, participated in an online live Kahoot together with 
their teachers, created a collaborative brochure about Media Literacy featuring the 
pros and cons of media content.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAEWD7eLGHQ/share/preview?token=X0PYk-
PJWWMXiXBgxb54MVw&role=EDITOR&utm_content=DAEWD7eLGHQ&utm_cam-
paign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton#1

52

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4ENJOYING CODING

The project “Enjoying Coding” encouraged partners to learn and increase 
their passion for coding.

4.3

AGE 12-16

55

Aims:
This project aimed to develop the students’ understanding of what is involved in 
coding and how coding forms the backbone of all computers and the Internet.

Activities:
The project was based around teachers preparing their students to take part in 
EU Code Week, and as a preparation the teachers enrolled in the MOOC “Basics 
for Schools of Artificial Intelligence (AI),” offered by EU Code Week. The students 
learned how to decipher codes and how to break down pixilated pictures, During the 
eTwinning Spring Campaign on Media Literacy the activity was to create a “fake” 
pictures quiz on Kahoot and challenge their partners to find the fake (this activity is 
described in detail in Chapter 6).
As an output the teachers created a specific page on the project TwinSpace where 
they collected and shared original lesson plans to be used for coding.

Impact:
In this project the students developed problem-solving skills and critical thinking. 
They became familiar with programming language and raised their interest in 
coding. And as an extra, they learned the correct use of computers and tablets.

Countries:
Slovenia, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Spain

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/122478

Tools:
Photoshop, Digital photo frame, Kahoot, Google Forms

54

LITERATE-TWINNERS

This project focused on the safe and conscious use of media and Internet 
by the participating students.

Aims:
The Project is about Media & Social Media Literacy and Disinformation. The main 
aim is for students to learn to be safe and conscious about the use of the Internet. 
For this they need to learn the necessary vocabulary about Social Media Literacy 
and some basic Web 2.0 tools, make presentations in a foreign language and gain 
social and civic competences by means of DigComp 2.1. The goal is to integrate 
Social Media Literacy into the curriculum and to raise students’ awareness about 
Social Media Literacy, disinformation and Internet safety.

Activities:
In this project – under the guidance of their teachers – the students were first 
introduced to the European Digital Competence Framework and, using this as the 
basis, they worked on activities based on the main areas of the Framework. The 
students researched materials on Media Literacy and presented the outcomes of 
their work to their project’s partners. All the project members gathered online every 
Saturday evening to listen to the presentations of the mixed country teams.
The Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methodology was used 
effectively in this project. The students also prepared booklets, posters and public 
service advertisements both in their mother tongue and in English. By preparing 
their tasks in their mother tongues, they aimed at reaching other stakeholders in 
their schools and even in their countries. Finally, partners were divided into teams 
and the students wrote stories about Media Literacy and disinformation.
Pupils learned key topics about Media Literacy, disinformation and threats of media 
and social media including illegal and fake news/content, exclusion, cyberbullying, 
social pressure, digital footprint, security online, copyright infringement and 
netiquette. The result of partners’ activities is collected in an e-book which includes 
dozens of short stories on media and social Media Literacy. They also created a 
common booklet on Media Literacy: https://online.fliphtml5.com/lwuyp/kjmi/#p=1

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4Impact:
The project allowed partners to study and learn the vocabulary centred around 
Media and Social Media Literacy and encouraged students to become familiar with 
some basic Web 2.0 tools. The project also raised students’ awareness of Media 
Literacy, helping them to gain social and civic competences and get ready for the 
new literacy needed for living and working in the 21st century.

Countries:
Turkey, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Spain, Croatia, Serbia, Portugal

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/144132/home

Tools:
Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Slides, Pinup, WordArt, Tricider, Calameo, 
Canva, Zoom, Blogspot, Microsoft Teams, Removebg, Pixton Edu, Kahoot, Thinglink, 
School Map, Quik, Padlet, Animoto, Biteable, Weebly, Powtoon, CalendarLabs, 
Mosaically, Menti, Cram, Educandy, Socrative, Makeit

FAKETASTIC

Fake news, post-truth and alternative facts are three buzz terms that seem 
to sum up this strange time we live in. Fake news has not just been around 
since the Internet and smartphones; rather, it has always been with us. In 
this project the students dive into the world of manipulation and make up a 
faketastic story in which they imagine the fake news of the future.

Aims:
This project was designed to introduce students to the notion of fake news and 
teach them strategies to become better and more critical readers. The project dealt 
with disinformation in the social media, real/fake images and videos as well.

Activities:
The students were introduced to the character of “Baron Münchhausen” who is 
a good example of a person who delivers misinformation with his fake stories. 
After reading the novel Baron of Liars, the students in transnational teams created 

56

57

“faketastic” stories for everyone in which they imagined the fake news of the future, 
as if they were told by the Baron himself. The storybook title was “Münchhausen’s 
new clothes” as a reference to Münchausen’s new stories written by their project 
team. At the end of the project, students focused on the rights and responsibilities 
of writers in terms of copyright and dived into the world of manipulation by creating 
a maze game with fake Twitter posts and images. Various pedagogical approaches 
were implemented in this project such as flipped classroom in each module and 
game-based learning with different tools and resources. Also, scenario-based 
learning techniques were used: students imagined living in the year 3050 and 
wrote short stories in transnational teams. The main outputs of the project were 
the storybook and an adventure style game with fake Twitter posts and stories 
created by the students, and even a maze game where students had to avoid false 
information and know what is real based on their instinct.

Impact:
The students learned a lot in this project about what is real and what is fake and 
how to spot the difference. Their critical skills were developed and they felt more 
confident at the end of the project in being in command of their digital world. The 
teachers recorded two very interesting videos in which they reflect on the outcomes 
of the project for their students:
https://youtu.be/-OQnrRQHVoU
https://youtu.be/Nf1a6LkuPp0

Countries:
Germany, Turkey

Link at Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/125385/home

Tools:
Padlet, Facebook, Twitter, Quizizz, Doozle, Genial.ly, Google Slides, Zoom, Canva, 
Imovie, BBC Academy Resources

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4INFLUENCED

ART AUTOGRAPHS 2021

59

Aims:
Nowadays, influencers have a big impact among young people. That is why this 
project has been created: to examine how Internet content can influence our 
opinions, decisions and lifestyles, and suggest conclusions for the lives of the 
students.

Activities:
After reading an article about the top ten influencers and researching the concept 
of influencing, the students designed a presentation about them and added other 
influencers who were important to them. The students also researched how the 
Internet can affect people and, for this, they created a “glossary of terms” and a 
collection of texts that reflected their personal experiences. They also reflected 
on the influence of the Internet on democratic participation. They collaboratively 
created lots of products including an e-book. They shared their personal experience 
and learned how and by whom their life is influenced.

Impact:
Students were encouraged to improve their critical thinking when dealing with media 
content and the influencers they follow. At the end of the project, apart from the 
newly acquired and improved intercultural, digital and foreign language skills, they 
created products collaboratively, which demonstrated a high level of creativity and 
critical thinking. One student made the comment that “I was a bit shocked when 
I realised how much the Internet influences me and many other people every day. 
Many of us couldn’t live without it anymore.”
You can discover more about this project here

Countries:
Lithuania, Italy, Germany

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/70666/home

Tools:
Adobe Spark, Sutori, Classtools.net, Issuu, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google 
Forms, Padlet, Makebelifscomix, Memegenerator, Tricider, Dotstorming, 
Answergarden, Kizoa

58

Aims:
The aim of this project was to help student learn what art fakes and art memes are, 
against a wider study of contemporary art. How do high-quality, correct memes 
relate to art? Do people know memes based on art better than the original source? 
How can students discriminate between real art pieces and fakes?

Activities:
For one year, students aged 10 to 17 linked this project with their study materials of 
culture and art. Activities included the creation of art-works on the basis of personal 
associations on the creativity of artists, the design of samples based on culture and 
artistic heritage, research on the life and work of artists from different countries, and 
the formation of a respectful attitude to the acquisition of various cultures of the 
world. The students conducted research on famous influencers, created a glossary 
of terms related to online behaviour, created a collaborative e-book Modern Art 
Simplified. In addition, they made several films, eTwinning live events on spotting 
memes and fakes.

Impact:
The students certainly improved their critical skill and, by studying the world of art 
and art fakes, understood that every image has to be critically appraised in terms of 
context, main message and underlying motivations.

Countries:
France, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/116982/home

Tools:
Graasp, Minecraft, Blender, GeoGebra, Emaze, Tricider, Survey Monkey, Mentimeter, 
Padlet, Thinglink, Genial.ly, Calameo, Blogspot, Adobe Spark Post, Pixlr, Tuerchen, 
Kahoot, LearningApps, Linoit, Sway, Seesaw, Toytheater, Sutory, Wizer.me, YouTube, 
Stop Motion Studio

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4WEBA (WEB-ACADEMY)

The project investigated Web 2.0 online educational environments and how 
they can support teaching and learning online.

Aims:
The project aimed at improving students’ knowledge of and skills in using Web 2.0 
tools more effectively and in avoiding the dangers implied in a digitalised world.

Activities:
In this project, the students who were away from schools due to the COVID-19 
pandemic were empowered to create course content using Web 2.0 tools to 
support their lessons and activities. Students face various dangers in a digitalised 
world and, for this reason, they created original and educational products on the 
topic of “Media Literacy and Disinformation” with all the Web 2.0 tools they had 
become familiar with: online stories and competitions, concept maps, lesson slides, 
measurement and game tools. These contents were disseminated throughout the 
schools involved in the project. The products were related to topics like discoveries 
and inventions, cultural heritage, school subjects, nature and environment, and at 
the end they made presentations to their partners and to the local community.

Impact:
Students increased their digital competencies and received online education with 
different project activities to become more conscious of Internet safety. They also 
gained a lot of information on Media Literacy and disinformation and created a book 
about “Media Literacy and disinformation with the use of technology”:
https://read.bookcreator.com/ A38pys632fUAYyVim907yyocfyf2/ tEIggLfDQ86G-
s6I8OmPGOg

Countries:
Turkey, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/122869/home

4.4

AGE 16-19

61

COVERING COVID -19 THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY

This is a project which used the COVID-19 situation as a means to develop 
Media Literacy skills in the students involved.

Aims:
With the whole planet thinking and acting in the same way due to the COVID-19 
pandemic, this project had the aim of making students aware of the reasons for and 
the consequences of the pandemic, especially in the area of disinformation in the 
news and so help them to increase their Media Literacy.

Activities:
The students learned to use Web 2.0 tools by making infographics on Media Literacy 
using Canva and presenting them for their peers. The process included cultural 
exchange among students during the online meetings alongside the project.
An e-book on “Coronavirus: how bad information can go viral” – https://read.
bookcreator.com/ zKZ3ZsUA1Eg71glCyoalnxELgyr1/ QaodmG6MShSev3D-89Zeww 
was produced collaboratively by the project partners. This was used as the basis 
for transnational discussions to help raise the students’ level of awareness of the 
very diverse impact of the virus in different fields and contexts, especially in relation 
to media coverage and misinformation, but also to such other topics as climate 
change.

Impact:
Students learned about the importance of concentrating on Digital Media Literacy 
as a key tool to build resilience towards health-related misinformation related to 
the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, they became more resilient in the face of the 
onslaught of everyday media coverage of the pandemic.

Tools:
Computer, mobile phone, video camera, tablet, voice recorder, television. Web 2.0 
tools: Padlet.com, LearningApps.org, Quizizz.com, Canva.com, Spiderscribe.net, 
Jigsawplanet.com, app.bookcreator.com, Google Slides, Google Forms, Google Docs, 
Storyjumper.com, Linoit.com, Blogger.com, Mentimeter.com, Surveymonkey.com

Countries:
Azerbaijan, Jordan

60

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/114852/home

Countries:
Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Lebanon, Croatia, Serbia

Tools:
Microsoft Teams Platform, Padlet, Canva, Bookcreator, StoryJumper, Quizizz

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/123681/home

63

ART AUTOGRAPHS 2021

Media Literacy includes the practices that allow people to access, critically 
evaluate and create media. This project promoted awareness of media 
influence and created an active stance towards both consuming and 
creating media.

Aims:
The project aimed to develop the skills needed to critically analyse messages 
broadcast via various media sources. The goal was to improve students’ digital 
skills and help them develop a general media capability and increase their creative 
skills in making their own media messages and also fight against fake news.

Activities:
As the project was about Media and Disinformation, one of the main activities was 
to introduce Web 2.0 tools to students. The students researched the vocabulary on 
the Internet and media and produced a glossary of common terms: https://online.
fliphtml5.com/ rlouv/ gfsj/. They also carried out some social experiments to study 
how disinformation spreads and affects people using four different approaches: 
creating and using fake photographs, photomontage, online tools for creating false 
news, or making a video. This is the e-book they produced on this topic:
https://read.bookcreator.com/ kYAGFuZpV3YZczRWVWNHsgX2Zb82/ JoYR0ejb-
TZqecnOCloKTZQ

Impact:
The final evaluation of the project showed that the activities the students were 
involved in and the products they created increased their Media Literacy awareness. 
The project enabled the students to gain new skills such as critical thinking, problem 
solving, collaboration, communication and leadership skills. The students can now 
analyse information and different kinds of media and also create their own media. 
As a result they have become more conscious and cautious digital users.

62

Tools:
Google Forms, Kahoot, Quizizz, Blooket, Mentimeter, Canva, Postermywall, 
Thinkercad, Google Docs, Zoom, Wakelet, ToonyTool, Kapwing, Kizoa, Quizle

DIGITAL BRIDGE!

With the digital age, new risks and critical areas threaten young students. 
This project deals with Internet and social media addiction, cyberbullying, 
fake news and lack of preparedness for involvement in a digital culture with 
the attendant risks, such as violation of online privacy, data security, fraud 
and other related issues.

Aims:
This project was set up to help students become better digital citizens and be aware 
of cyber risks, and to improve their Media Literacy and digital literacy skills.

Activities:
The students worked in transnational teams and created many outcomes including 
this quiz on the aims of people creating fake news: https://view.genial.ly/6070c7d6a
838df0d7dd3126b/ interactive-content-bricks-quiz.
The students were also introduced to the concepts of copyright and fair use of 
intellectual property and created a follow up quiz on the topic. https://view.genial.ly/ 
6070c7d6a838df0d7dd3126b/ interactive-content-bricks-quiz
The partners developed a digital citizenship dictionary, including logos, posters and 
tutorials and produced a series of newsletter on Media Literacy, one of which may 
be seen here: https://www.flipsnack.com/digitalbridge/copy-of-digit-l-bridge-march-
activities-bulletin.htm.
During the project, students created an e-Magazine on “safer Internet”.

Impact:
The final evaluation of the project shows that the students’ digital competence 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4improved and that they are more motivated to be conscious of what they read, see 
and do when they interact with media.

Countries:
Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Ukraine, Tunisia, Lithuania, Poland, 
Georgia, Romania

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/151244/home

Tools:
Renderforest, Flipgrid, Bitmoji Virtual Classroom, Google Slides, Responsters, 
Thinglink, Blogger, Wix, Tricider, Wordartcloud, Google Spreadsheet, Voki, Calameo, 
Bitmoji, Chatterpix, Pictramap, ToonyTool, Pixton, Bighugelabs, Meme Generation, 
Google Forms, Genially, Emaze, Prezi, Canva, Postermywall, Flipxpress, Quizlet, 
Quizizz, Kahoot, Learning Apps, Zumpad, Storyboard, Sli.do

MONO-LOGOS

The title of the project builds on the word “monologue”, a discourse 
generated by a single person and addressed to a single or several receivers. 
Although there are several types of monologue, this project concentrated 
on comic monologue to address topics including Media Literacy and critical 
thinking.

Aims:
In Mono-logos, students presented and discussed the issues of present society 
from a humorous point of view. The intention was to trigger a reflection about these 
issues, leveraging on people’s sense of humour, thus stimulating critical thinking. 
The aim was to increase students’ inclusiveness, cooperation skills and awareness 
of controversial and difficult issues.

Activities:
The pupils, in international mixed groups, dealt with a topic: COVID-19, gastronomy, 
dystopian literature, environment, foreign words, Media Literacy or women & 
equality. Here is an example of an activity in Media Literacy https://view.genial.ly/ 5fc

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c2b9d185a0d0d977ca3ae/ presentation--media-literacymono-logos-etwinning-copia-
copia-copia-copia-copia.
Once the topics were discussed, each group scripted and performed a comedy 
monologue and later participated in debates. In addition, all students involved in the 
project participated in international campaigns related to the topics of the project. 
This included hearing-impaired students who used sign language in their videos.
As well as recording monologues for each topic the students also delivered digital 
items such as newspapers, magazines, comics, posters and presentations about 
the different topics. An overview of the media coverage of the project can be found 
on this page.

Impact:
The students involved certainly improved their linguistic skills both orally and 
in writing. Their critical analysis skills also improved and the teachers felt they 
understood the reality of the work in a deeper way.
Countries:
Spain, Bulgaria, Ukraine

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/123528/home

Tools:
Tiktok, Flipsnack, Calameo, Genially, Google Slides, Mentimeter, Linoit, Google 
Forms, YouTube

SOCIAL MEDIA CULTURAL DEGENERATION

This project addressed the negative effects of social media, which, coupled 
with a pandemic, affected teenagers’ behaviour. When social media are 
students’ main way of experiencing reality, one of the consequences is 
called “cultural degeneration”.

Aims:
This project had four main aims:
•  To research and define the advantages / disadvantages of Social Media
•  To research the term “cultural degeneration”
•  To build up social awareness of our current culture

•  To learn how to use the tools of the Internet in an effective way

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4Activities:
The students engaged in a wide variety of study activities including researching 
social media, the concept of cultural degeneration and the interaction between 
the two. They also studied social media addiction, the challenge of cyberbullying, 
disinformation and what is involved in a digital footprint. They displayed their 
knowledge through quizzes and poster creation and in a number of e-books. One of 
the main outcomes was a cartoon video designed by all the students about social 
media addiction.

Impact:
In the evaluation of this project the teachers expressed the opinion that both they 
and their students benefited in many ways from their participation. The teachers 
became much more aware of social media offerings and the dangers hidden there. 
The students also became aware of some of the negative aspects of social media 
and addiction. They became more aware of how media can affect culture bringing 
everything down to what is deemed an “acceptable” approach by social media 
gurus. They became adept in the use of Web 2.0 tools, and learned to be sceptical 
about news and how to investigate what is true and what is not.

Countries:
Romania, Turkey, Tunisia, Poland, Albania, France, North Macedonia, Serbia

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/117668/home

Tools:
Canva, Renderforest, Animaker, Chatterpix, Kahoot, Scrumbl.ca, Genially, Storyjumper, 
Padlet, Linoit, Toontastic

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4.5

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 
AND TRAINING

FIND THE TRUTH IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD

This project topic came about due to the risks that new communications 
tools can pose for children and young people, when mobile technology 
has developed rapidly and new media tools have entered our lives. With 
social networks, new media tools have moved to the centre of our lives. 
New communication tools also pose some risks especially for children 
and young people; therefore it is very important for them to learn how to 
analyse, evaluate and interpret the messages on social media correctly.

Aims:
The aim of this project was to raise students’ awareness of the risks posed by 
social media. They also had to learn the concept of information pollution and how to 
access real knowledge.

Activities:
The project was student-centred and students were involved in decision-making 
processes on the topics of the project and were divided into international school 
teams for interdisciplinary work. The students designed interactive images, studied 
the notion of caricature and created their own. They also created a Media Literacy 
dictionary and wrote a series of acrostic posters which they published in an e-book: 
https://online.fliphtml5.com/ oxkts/ sjuc/#p=1. They created a very informative 
brochure for families to raise their awareness of how to behave on the Internet. In 
addition they prepared videos and organised webinars for one another on various 
aspects of Media Literacy.

Impact:
According to the evaluation carried out at the end of the project, the students 
learned how to analyse, evaluate and interpret social media messages correctly, and 
increased their Media Literacy skills. They certainly gained confidence in the use of 
online tools and developed soft skills such as team work, collaboration and presen-
tation skills.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 4Countries:
Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Ukraine, Romania, Spain, Turkey

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/158648/home

Tools: 
Canva Renderforest, Webly, Genially, Learning Apps, Animoto, Padlet, Google Forms, 
SurveyMonkey, Mind Meister, Certificate magic

YOUNG EUROPEAN ENTREPRENEURS (YEE)

This project aims to make students aware of the influence of current 
European trends such as “sustainability”, “digitalisation” and “cultural 
diversity” and learn about the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurship, 
consumer behaviour and the world of work.

Aims:
The aim of the project is to focus on the importance of the currently relevant 
megatrends “sustainability”, “digitisation”, “cultural diversity” and “COVID-19” for 
social interaction in Europe. In this way, the aim is that the students will examine 
the effects of these megatrends on entrepreneurship and the working world and 
become active as entrepreneurs themselves. In doing so, it is hoped they will deve-
lop a sense for sustainable economic activity an increasingly digitalised European 
marketplace.

Activities:
The students in this project acted as entrepreneurs, developed their own business 
and product ideas and reflected the experience gained in an annual report. The first 
step was for the students to analyse the current needs in the participating countries 
and in doing so they become aware of cultural diversity. From this, they created their 
own model company with a corresponding product range. After that, they carried 
out advertising campaigns aimed at an international market and managed the sales 
process in the online spaces (their TwinSpace). By doing this they became aware 
of the importance of media content, of creating a robust product concept and the 
techniques needed for a successful advertising campaign. They also created a job 
opportunity in their companies and learned how to apply and present themselves 
in the best way possible, Their final outcome was the production of a company 

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magazine. Students and teachers have been encouraged to collaborate and create 
effective synergies, learning from one another, while studying and working in inclu-
sive international contexts.

Impact:
Reflecting on digital technologies, so relevant in their ongoing distance learning 
experience, the students have realised how crucial Media Literacy is in the develop-
ment of a product concept and an ethical approach to advertising. The results of the 
project evaluation show that students working together, meeting and appreciating 
cultural diversity, goes way beyond any national vision and makes it possible to 
boost the development of European citizenship.

Countries:
Italy, Germany, Turkey, Portugal, Ile de la Reunion - France, Czech Republic, Poland

Link to Twinspace:
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/119802/home

Tools:
Padlet, iMovie, Google Earth, Genial.ly, Google Docs, Google Maps, WordClouds, 
Flipsnack, Google Sites, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Microsoft Teams

LANGUAGE, MEDIA AND CULTURE

The relation of language and media is the way we share human values, 
realities and behaviours of a social group. It is the way we share the culture 
of that social group. In the modern world, to inform, educate, entertain 
and share cultural values we need both – language and media, as well 
as another aspect of culture – Internet culture, which has already greatly 
impacted how we interact with one another.

Aim:
The aim of the project was to help students understand that language, media and 
culture connect with one another. Understanding this connection will not only help 
students appreciate the role of media in their lives but also help them be more 
informed citizens, more savvy consumers, and eventually more successful workers, 
by improving their competences and skills enabling them to live and work in modern 
society.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 471

Activities:
During this project, the students developed their self-expression with creative 
and effective messages, like designing and creating personal avatars. Activities 
including public speaking and story-telling, even recording themselves while 
presenting a story. They participated in a role-playing activity where they carried out 
a series of interviews of famous people which they recorded on video. They then 
edited the video to present the concepts in the most attractive way. They learned 
that videos can be manipulated and the messages of people can get garbled.

Impact:
The students developed many different skills: how to put messages across clearly 
and succinctly in both their mother tongue and a foreign language. They improved 
their skills related to verbal and nonverbal communication, as well analysing both 
written and visual communication. Students also improved their communication 
skills to make effective connections and relationships with others.

Countries:
Czechia, Turkey, Serbia
Link to Twinspace: https://twinspace.etwinning.net/92669/home

Tools:
Joomag, Voki, AnswerGarden, Tricider

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TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 473

CHAPTER 5
Resources for 
teaching Media 
Literacy

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TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 575

Communication in the European 
Commission too are also always 
attempting to learn and re-think their 
approach. They would be pleased to 
receive feedback for future updates at 
the following contact address :
COMM-DISINFORMATION-TEAM@
ec.europa.eu
URL https://europa.eu/learning-corner/
spot-and-fight-disinformation_en
Another useful toolkit is the Media 
Literacy Toolkit which has been 
developed by the Austrian and German 
Press Councils and is available in 
English. Consisting of a series of 
case studies, role play scenarios and 
videos, the emphasis is on raising the 
students’ awareness of such issues as 
the freedom of the press and ethical 
journalism.

The French Centre for Media education 
CLEMI has produced an excellent set 
of Media and Information Literacy 
classroom activity sheets which can be 
downloaded and printed.

The MEETolerance group have also 
produced a set of resources on media 

education activities and methods to 
support social inclusion.

T for Think Smart is a 15-minute video 
designed to help children reflect on the 
information they read and the people 
they meet online.

MySelfie and the Wider World is an Irish 
Social Personal and Health Education 
resource developed to engage 5th- and 
6th-class primary school students 
on the topic of cyberbullying. A 
series of short animations are used 
to help students develop the skills 
and understanding to be responsible, 
socially conscious and effective Internet 
users, as they explore social networks 
for the first time.

All Aboard for DigiTown is designed to 
help older children aged 9 -12 become 
smart digital citizens by exploring 
ten themes in the downloadDigiTown 
activity book. Topics include consumer 
awareness, rights, well-being, Media 
and Information Literacy, ethics and 
empathy, privacy, etc.

Media Literacy and disinformation are not 
easy topics to tackle, particularly with young 
people who are immersed in a media-
driven world. However, there are many 
fine resources out there, some of which 
have already been mentioned in previous 
chapters. In this chapter we look at some 
of the resources available both from our 
contributors and other sources, as well as 
providing you with some suggested activities 
for use with your classes.

Let us start with The EU Disinformation 
Toolkit for schools. This has been 
dubbed “How to spot and fight 
disinformation” and is aimed at an 
average secondary school class, 
covering one or two lessons. The 
guidelines document is accompanied 
by a PowerPoint presentation, featuring 
links to several YouTube videos 
serving as case studies. The Toolkit 
package spans across the notions 
of knowledge and understanding, to 
include also actual action-taking in 
the form of group discussions and 
presentations, translating knowledge 
into empowerment. The contents are 
specifically tailored to the lived realities 
of the students, as well as to their 
history coursework. Thus, case studies 
are taken from characters such as 

Machiavelli, Pope Urban II and today’s 
QAnon conspiracy theorists. This 
contemporary and historical mix will 
enable them to effectively contextualise 
disinformation both in the world around 
them and also within its historical 
precedents and parallels. As a parting 
gift, the Toolkit offers a wealth of 
additional recommendations for further 
research with a reading list that appeals 
to the target group at hand.

With a view to enhancing inclusiveness 
and agility, all materials are available in 
all 24 EU languages of the EU27 as well 
as being completely customisable to 
the teachers’ and classroom’s needs. 
Much like the pupils for whom this 
package is intended, the Disinformation 
Team of Directorate – General for 

74

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 577

How to Spot Fake News). The IFLA 
invites you to download it, print it, 
translate it and share it to help spread 
the message.
Five Essential Questions (USA)
Common Sense Media is an 
independent non-profit organisation 
that provides parents, teachers and 
policymakers with unbiased information, 
trusted advice and innovative tools to 
help them harness the power of media 
and technology as a positive force in all 
children’s lives. Use these five essential 
questions as a springboard, to help 
young people, or anyone for that matter, 
dig deeper with even more critical 
questions of their own.

The Mind over Media website has 
a range of resources on the topic of 
propaganda, how to recognise it and 
how to respond to it.

The European participation pool SALTO 
has a range of resources on media, 
information and critical thinking.

A further set of resources and reading 
references in all EU languages is 
available in Appendix 1

We finish here with a set of very relevant 
resources from outside the EU:
BBC student resource
A collection of resources from around 
the BBC to help students spot fake 
news and false information. The 
content explores the social, political 
and economic impact of news reporting 
and the skills needed to analyse and 
critically evaluate information across a 
range of media.
The CRAAP Test (USA) is a handy 
checklist to use when evaluating 
information. CRAAP stands for 
Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy 
and Purpose, created by librarians at 
California State University-Chico. They 
have come up with a memorable way 
to remind us that not all information is 
good information, especially in an online 
environment. 

Fact Check Eight simple steps (USA)
The International Federation of Library 
Associations (IFLA) have produced an 
infographic with eight simple steps 
(based on FactCheck.org’s 2016 article 

76

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 579

CHAPTER 6
Classroom 
activities for 
developing 
Media Literacy

1
2
3

78

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 6Contributors

BIRGY LORENZ Tallinn University of Technology, cybersecurity scientist, Estonia
DIANA POUDEL Digital security and Media Literacy teacher, Estonia

The suggested activities in this section 
focus on how to carry out projects and 
activities on Media Literacy. They are 
set out according to the age range of 
the students involved:

AGE 0-6

0-6-year-olds are often exposed 
to false and inappropriate content 
through cartoons and ads that pop 
up on websites and apps during their 
gaming activities. While many parents 
are digitally aware and able to protect 
their children from this, others allow 
their child to use technology without 
precautions. The following activities 
are suitable for use with very young 
children.

SUSPICIOUS LINKS AND ADS 
– TO CLICK OR NOT TO CLICK, 
THAT IS THE QUESTION.

Key competences:
Safety, problem solving, data literacy

Description:
Kindergarten children learn how to 
evaluate links and ads from a “face 
value” perspective. Teachers from 
several countries investigate.
Ask what online area students are using 
at home and collect screenshots of 
them.
Cut advertisements and links 
information from these screen shots (it’s 
important to have examples of different 
languages, some information should be 
about trusted ads/websites/links, some 
untrusted).
Create a shared Kahoot quiz about 
the selected ads (where there are two 
answer types: I trust / I don’t trust).
Run the Kahoot with students in all of 
the partner schools to see the students’ 
level of discernment of untrusted sites. 
If it is low, explain what went wrong and 
why.

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It is also advised that a parents’ meeting 
be organised where parents also take 
the quiz with a follow-on awareness 
training.
Share findings with one another’s 
countries.
This Kahoot test can be used 
internationally to teach the paradigm 
“Think before you click.”

OH! MOTHER, WOULD YOU 
BUY ME A …

Key competences:
Safety, digital literacy, financial literacy
Description:
Kindergarten children learn that online 
money is also real money. Teachers 
and parents gather information about 
the gaming apps (free, paid), on the 
device that the children are using. They 
investigate when these apps start to ask 
for credit card information to buy goods 
in the game or get into the second level. 
The teachers work collaboratively, to 
develop a presentation that showcases 
different games with examples where 
the game starts asking for money or 
credit card number.
Then the game of “shop” (one person is 
the seller, second is buyer) will be played 
with the students using paper-based 
game money. On the screen the game 
situation is shown, and the “buyer” must 
give away his/her money to the “seller”. 
The teacher explains the situation that 
the student is now responsible for their 
family’s money – buyers must choose 
to spend the money on the chosen 

game example or not. If they choose 
to buy, then credit card information is 
requested, and the teacher explains 
what it is and how it’s connected to 
real money. If the game money runs 
out, then the person is out of the game. 
If they don’t buy anything through the 
whole scenario they are awarded with 
the diploma “securest Internet gamer”, 
that is developed by the partners 
(students) together.

AGE 6-10

6-10-year-olds are exposed to lies in the 
same way as their younger counterparts 
through play activities and media 
channels. Although the rules state that 
young children should not be on social 
media networks, many parents do not 
consider this a forbidden activity, so 
young children’s accounts on Facebook, 
Instagram and TikTok are not unusual in 
this age group.

MONKEY SEES, MONKEY 
DOES!

Key competences:
social well-being, reputation, 
communication, problem solving
Subjects:
social studies, Media Literacy
Description:
In this activity students learn that 
mimicking others or following the 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 6guidelines of others, who are not trusted 
adults in their lives, is not the wisest 
thing to do. Students in every country 
will collect videos that are funny to 
them, but not something that should 
be imitated. Every country sends a set 
of videos to their partner country to be 
evaluated – what is wrong with them 
and what would be the downside if 
someone acts on it? In groups, students 
make a list of socially acceptable (good) 
behaviour and unacceptable (bad) 
behaviours. The lists are discussed 
in a forum or video-conference where 
similarities of “behaving” well in most 
of the countries are pointed out. 
Students can also discuss what will be 
the downside when somebody acts in 
a non-acceptable way – losing friends 
for example or doesn’t get a job, has 
troubles with police etc. The teacher 
will also explain to the students how 
to report this kind of content online. 
Another activity could be to show two 
versions of a story or a situation. One is 
true and the other is false. The children 
watch both and then discuss which is 
the true story and how did they know 
it was the truth? This activity can be a 
follow-on from the first: not everything 
on the Internet is to be imitated and not 
everything is necessarily true.

INTERNET SECURITY RULES AT 
SCHOOL, AT HOME

Key competences:
digital well-being, cultural differences
Subjects:
social studies, digital safety, Media 
Literacy, cultural similarities, art
Description:
A list of certain rules and regulations 
(use of devices, hours, limitations, 
bullying, using passwords, who to get 
help from, etc), given to the children 
both at home and in school are 
compiled in each school and then 
compared to learn about differences 
and similarities The first step is to learn 
about one another’s rules at home and 
school – gathering information from 
the parents and using a Venn diagram 
to analyse what is different/similar at 
homes and school. Then the results 
are shared with partner countries to 
find out the similarities and differences 
between countries, and discussions 
take place about why such rules are 
necessary, leading to a wider set of 
activities regarding what is good and 
what is bad in media, what advertising is 
in the programmes or apps they watch, 
what the advertisements are showing, 
and what exactly they are trying to sell. 
A follow-on activity could be to design a 
shared poster about the similarities of 
the rules, and around that to showcase 
with the country flag what is different in 
each country. This can be used to raise 
awareness of cultural differences and 
similarities. Another activity could be to 

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make posters of the advertisements in a 
programme or app, highlighting how this 
advert is aimed at enticing a person to 
buy the product. These posters can be 
used in the school, but also shared with 
parents to be used at home.

AGE 11-14

11-14-year-olds have probably been 
around on social media for years, 
exposed to gossip, poor behaviour and 
misinformation, and have found ways 
to filter that content for themselves so 
that it doesn’t affect their lives so much. 
However, they need to be reminded 
of what is acceptable and learn to 
distinguish what is true and what is 
false.

DETECTION OF BAD AND GOOD/ 
TRUE AND FALSE ONLINE

Key competences:
communication and collaboration, social 
well-being, problem solving
Subjects:
informatics, social studies, digital safety, 
Media Literacy, art
Description:
In this activity students learn how to 
solve different problems online. Every 
partner country develops a video 
scenario either about situations that 
happen online – playing games, talking 
to strangers, computer problems, etc. 

and/or creates a news report based on 
false information. The scenario is cut 
into two halves and partner A will film 
the first half and partner B the second 
half. The videos must be created relying 
more on visuals than words. The videos 
are then edited together and all of the 
teachers sit down with the students and 
look and discuss what happens in each 
video. They analyse and discuss what 
they think it means, how one should 
act in these situations and learn the 
techniques of discerning truth from 
fiction. The different interpretations of 
the situations from two points of view 
can also be discussed to discover how 
the students understood the situation. 
A follow-on discussion of common 
solutions can take place with the main 
points to be written down as good 
practices as part of the project report.

FAKING IT CHALLENGE

Key competences:
communication and collaboration, social 
well-being, problem solving
Subjects:
informatics, social studies, digital safety, 
Media Literacy, art
Description:
Every day, students engage with 
countless images and videos that have 
been edited or digitally altered. From 
simple Snapchat filters to short, light-
hearted, or ironic TikTok videos, it’s 
clear that young people are pretty savvy 
when it comes to consuming – and 
creating – manipulated media. And in 

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 685

A report/infographic can be published 
with guidelines on how to detect 
COVID-19 misinformation that catches 
the eyes of the adolescents.

a lot of ways, seeing altered media is 
just part of being online today. But are 
your students aware of – or have they 
thought deeply about – disinformation 
online? Technology is advancing quickly, 
and some experts believe that some 
of these fakes will soon be nearly 
imperceptible to the human eye. In 
this activity students are introduced to 
the notion of fakes. As an introduction 
the students are asked to take this 
quiz: http://bit.ly/ game-realpictures. 
Then there is a class discussion about 
how easy it is to fake pictures and the 
students start to create a gallery of true 
and fake pictures. Using an online quiz 
tool like Kahoot, they can then create 
a challenge for their partner schools. 
Follow-up topics for discussion could 
be to ask students how they felt, what 
they learned, what they think now of the 
pictures they see every day....

AGE 16-18

16-18-year-olds are a target group for 
many different groups, advertisers, 
political groups, extremists, etc. False 
news also focuses on the social 
influence of young people at this age 
by delivering smarter content. The aim 
is to influence their political views, 
their views about current issues such 
as the right to a “clean planet” and 
good schooling. The more aware the 
student is, the less likely they are to fall 

prey to false ideas. However it is of the 
utmost importance to educate all young 
people in this area as they are future 
voters, and are open to the forces of 
manipulation from an early age.

BEFORE AND AFTER – PHOTO 
MANIPULATION CHALLENGE

Key competences: create and 
manipulate digital content, digital 
literacy
Subjects:
arts, informatics, media education, 
psychology
Description:
During this activity, students learn 
how to use design tools and develop 
content to teach digital safety. Every 
partner teaches students how to 
take pictures (different places, angle, 
using green screen or other) and how 
to manipulate them (e.g., change 
background, move objects around, etc.). 
A test can be co-developed where the 
chosen manipulations are showcased 
and everyone must investigate and 
evaluate if the picture is fake or not and, 
if fake, what has been manipulated. 
Students can discuss online “How 
to spot a fake?” and develop shared 
guidelines for detecting one. The 
concepts and technology surrounding 
the development of Deep Fakes should 
also be introduced at this point

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HUNTING DOWN LIES ON THE 
NET ABOUT COVID-19

Key competences:
media and digital literacy, judge relevant 
content, analyse misinformation, well-
being
Subjects:
arts, informatics, media education, 
psychology, environment, health 
education
Description:
Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as a 
starting point, students learn how to 
analyse and differentiate fake news, 
fake content vs trusted content. and 
trusted sites for COVID-19 news and 
information.
Every country finds and evaluates 
national content, information shared 
via social media, etc. on the topic of 
COVID-19; English language content 
(pictures, diagrams, videos, news, 
guidelines) also on the topic of 
COVID-19.
Every country develops a quiz for their 
partners with questions designed to 
determine what is true and what is false 
in the information gathered. Analysis 
of the results from the quiz point out 
weaknesses and strong points about 
accurately detecting misinformation on 
the Net, leading to a deeper discussion 
on why misinformation is published and 
why people believe it. In this activity 
experts from various fields, journalism, 
advertising, etc. can be engaged to 
explain the process and how to report 
false content online.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCHAPTER 6Conclusions

Media Literacy, as we have seen in the 
introduction to this book, encompasses many 
aspects from the printed word, to advertising in 
all its forms, to all media presented online, to 
our social interaction with others.

In a world dominated by the Internet, 
where more and more of our daily 
interactions take place online, with our 
government services, our banks, our 
news services, our social outlets even 
our shopping all transacted online, 
media awareness and digital safety 
are becoming increasingly important. 
During the COVID-19 pandemic many 
things changed, all schools and most 
jobs had to switch to home-schooling 
and home-working and it became 
apparent that our dependence on the 
Internet increased. Our dependence 
on all forms of media for news and 
information also increased, as did the 
surge in false information circulated in 
all media channels.

In the EU, the Digital Competence 
Framework 2.0 of the European 
Commission is a set of guidelines for 
what every citizen of the EU should 
know about Media Literacy and 

digital safety – how we consume 
and understand information, how we 
interact with others online, what content 
we develop and how we publish it 
safely, how we safely use our devices, 
share data and use the resources 
in a way that is not a burden to the 
environment, as well as how we solve 
problems. The implication of this is 
that every EU citizen needs to be media 
literate, able to differentiate between 
truth and falsehood and know what 
digital security means from an early 
age. In Europe we are protected by 
EU directives such as General Data 
Protection Regulation (GDPR) but the 
rising societal impact of cyber crimes, 
the need for cyber security professionals 
and digitally aware citizens. is 
increasing rapidly. The full range of 
European initiatives to promote digital 
awareness has been well described in 
Chapter 2.

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Currently, one of the biggest threats 
to our democracy is the rising trend 
of misinformation and deliberate 
disinformation. The former comes 
from half-understood facts turned 
into something that makes sense, a 
little like the “telephone game”; the 
latter is a deliberate attempt to skew 
the truth for an ulterior motive. Either 
way it is important, now more than 
ever, that people, particularly young 
people, learn the skills of discerning 
truth from fiction. Chapter 3 deals with 
both the historic and present-day use 
of manipulation of the media and its 
consequences.

It is not an easy task to develop these 
skills, as so much is tied up with how 
we see ourselves and how we wish 
to be seen. In an age of social media, 
where people need to collect “likes”, it is 
easier to spread a lie. Falsehood is often 
more exciting than truth, and it is much 
more interesting to share with friends. 
Nowadays there is little absolute truth 
– the more scientists and others learn 
about the world, the more questions 
arise, and therefore the truth is long and 
complicated. But people like simple, 
short and exciting stories. So lies travel 
faster and faster.

As educators we need to know how 
media work to help our students develop 
their armour. We need to understand 
the seductive practices of advertising, 

the language of rhetoric and the 
motivations behind disinformation in 
politics, science, propaganda and false 
rumours. We must teach our students 
not to take everything at face value, 
to check sources, motivations and 
language. At the same time, we need to 
build up in them the building blocks of 
trust. Who can they trust? What sources 
can they trust? How can they build trust 
in their own information and integrity? 
The eTwinning community can certainly 
help, as it is built on the notion of trust. 
eTwinning teachers trust one another 
to work in the best ways possible to 
educate their students. Those students 
in turn learn to trust their teachers and 
their peers across Europe to work on 
projects. Together they can put together 
the tools and activities of accurate 
research and information, they can be 
a force for truth. But it is a long road 
to educate people to be aware, and the 
tricks of disinformation become more 
and more sophisticated.

We have made a good 
start and will continue to 
work with the teachers 
of Europe to develop 
a well-educated and 
aware cohort of young 
European citizens of 
tomorrow.

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGCONCLUSIONSAppendix 1:

Materials for developing Media Literacy – a curated 
selection from Lie Detectors

This section includes three types of materials:

1. Lie Detectors Materials for Classroom Work
2. Further Reading and Resources Online
3. Fact-Checking Organisations

1. Lie Detectors materials for 
classroom work
Lie Detectors Worksheets for 10-16-year-olds: viral posts, video and images, with 
solutions.
Note: the listed selection is Corona-themed. Alternative themes available on request

- Lie Detectors News Challenge 1 – WhatsApp Chain Letter EN DE FR
- Lie Detectors Solutions Sheet 1 – WhatsApp Chain Letter EN DE FR 
- Lie Detectors News Challenge 2 – Unravelling Video News EN DE FR
- Lie Detectors Solutions Sheet 2 – Unravelling Video News EN DE FR
- Lie Detectors News Challenge 3 – Checking Images EN DE FR
- Lie Detectors Solutions Sheet 3 – Checking Images EN DE FR

Lie Detectors Worksheets for advanced groups and teachers
Note: this exercise focuses on disinformation with a refugee theme and contains 
instructions for teachers’ use

•  Lie Detectors News Challenge 4 – New Year’s Fireworks and a Burning 

Church EN DE FR

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2. Further reading and resources online

Handbooks and curricula

• Lewandowsky, S., & Cook, J. (2020). The Conspiracy Theory Handbook

- English
- French
- German
- Czech
- Greek

- Hungarian
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Other non-EU languages available here

•  Cook, J., Lewandowsky, S. (2011), The Debunking Handbook. St. Lucia, 

Australia: University of Queensland.

- German
- English
- Italian
- Czech

- Portuguese
- Swedish
- Romanian
- Spanish

- Other non-EU languages available here

• UNESCO MIL Curriculum Framework for Teachers

 -  Collection of MIL resources for teachers in various languages 

(search available by language and teaching subject)

Introductions to Media Literacy and news literacy
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) “How to spot Fake News” 
checklist

- Spanish
- French
- German
- Bulgarian
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch

- English
- Estonian
- Finnish
- Greek
- Hungarian
- Italian
- Latvian
- Lithuanian

- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Swedish
-  Other non-EU languages

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGAPPENDIX 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAVI, “Beyond Fake News” checklist

- English
- Dutch
- French
- Greek
- German

- Italian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Spanish

- Swedish
- Other non-EU languages

First Draft checklist

- 7 types of mis and disinformation (EN)

Games and introductions to Media Literacy
- Introductory videos in EN:

- TED: Eli Pariser – Beware online “filter bubbles”
- McGill University: McGill Science Literacy Video

- Games in EN:

- BBC: BBCI Reporter
- American University Game Lab: Factitious (Pandemic edition)

- Introductory videos in FR

-  TED: Eli Pariser nous met en garde contre les bulles de filtres en ligne
- CLEMI: D’où vient l’info? par François Lamoureux
- France TV education: Qu’est-ce qu’un journaliste?

- Games in FR:

- Libération: P’tit Libé dans la jungle de l’information
-  Médias animation ASBL: Théories du complot, ressorts et mécanismes

- Introductory videos in DE

- TED: Eli Pariser – Vorsicht vor “Filter-Blasen” im Internet
- Klickwinkel: Algorithmen – Die Social-Media-Infofilter
- Klickwinkel: Fake News & warum sie sich verbreiten
- NDR: “Fake News”– Macher packt aus–
- Klickwinkel: News oder Fake News – Schon gecheckt?

- Games in DE:

- Saferinternet.at: Fake News Bingo
- Handysektor: Fakt oder Fake

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- Get Bad News by DROG – available in multiple languages

- English
- Czech
- Dutch
- German
- Greek
- Esperanto
- Polish

- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Serbian
- Slovenian
- Swedish
- Bosnian
- Moldovan

3. Fact-Checking Organisations

CROATIA:
- Faktograf

FRANCE:
- Checknews
- Les Décodeurs
- Le Vrai du Faux
- CrossCheck
- Fake Off
- Factuel
- Les Observateurs
- Lui Président

GERMANY:
- FaktenFinder
- HOAXmap

GREECE:
- Ellinika Hoaxes

ITALY:
- Lavoce
- Pagella Politica

USA:
- Politifact
- FlackCheck
- OpenSecrets
- Washington Post fact checker
- Media Matters

NORWAY:
- Faktisk

PORTUGAL:
- Polígrafo

SPAIN:
- Newtral
- Maldita

SWEDEN:
- Dagens Nyheter

CANADA:
- Polimeter
- FactsCan
- Détecteur de rumeurs

UK:
- FactCheck
- The Guardian Reality check
- BBC Reality check
- Full fact

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGAPPENDIX 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
93

Getting in touch with the EU 

IN PERSON
All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres.
You can find the address of the centre nearest to you at : europa.eu/contact

ON THE PHONE OR BY EMAIL
Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this service:
– by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain operators may charge for these calls),
– at the following standard number: +32 22999696, or
– by electronic mail via : europa.eu/contact

Finding information about the EU

ONLINE
Information in all the official languages of the European Union is available on the Europa website : europa.eu

EU PUBLICATIONS
You can download or order free and priced EU publications from EU Bookshop at : http://bookshop.europa.eu.
Multiple copies of free publications may be obtained by contacting Europe Direct or your local information centre 
(see http://europa.eu/contact).

EU LAW AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
For access to legal information from the EU, including all EU law since 1951 in all the official language versions, 
go to EUR-Lex at : http://eur-lex.europa.eu

OPEN DATA FROM THE EU
The EU Open Data Portal (http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data) provides access to datasets from the EU. Data can 
be downloaded and reused for free, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.

92

TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGTEACHING MEDIA LITERACY & FIGHTING DISINFORMATION WITH ETWINNINGContact us 
For more information about eTwinning please consult our 
website:

www.etwinning.net

For questions about eTwinning, please contact by email: 

eacea-eplus-etwinning@ec.europa.eu

For the last 17 years, eTwinning has grown from a grassroots initiative into 
an active schools’ community which has involved, since its launch, more 
than 937,000 teachers working in more than 217,000 schools across 43 
countries. Funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme, 
eTwinning provides a safe digital platform, where teachers are engaged in various 
activities: from the design and implementation of European collaborative projects 
to networking, from the participation in virtual Groups to professional development 
and peer-learning. 

eTwinning, via its platform available in 30 languages, provides a range of resources 
and  learning  opportunities  for  teachers.  Indicatively,  topics  of  these  resources 
include the benefits of engaging with eTwinning, 21st century skills, use of ICT in 
Education, project kits for inspiration and guidance. Registered teachers have access 
to eTwinning Live, a restricted area of the platform with more advanced features 
and possibilities of the eTwinning community. Alongside, teachers may participate in 
professional development activities that are offered at national level that focus on 
fostering their pedagogical, collaborative, and digital competences.

At European level, eTwinning is coordinated, on behalf of the European Commission, 
by the Central Support Services (CSS) managed by European Schoolnet, a consortium 
of 32 Ministries of Education. At national level, the National Support Organisations 
(NSO)  promote  eTwinning  by  offering  a  range  of  communication  and  learning 
activities and provide guidance and support to end-users. 

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ISBN  978-92-9484-469-9
doi :10.2797/268