Misinformation, disinformation, fake news, whatever you like to call it, are becoming more and more widespread and harder to spot. Luckily, there are quite a few good resources out there, both educational and fun, that are geared up at teaching us how to recognize it. This week, I evaluated two games that were designed to teach us ways to spot fake news and ways in which fake news and disinformation are created and spread.
The first game I checked out was Bad News. Bad News is a quick web based game that highlights how sites like Twitter and other social media platforms are used to propagate fake news. The game takes you through the six aspects of fake news and disinformation – impersonation, emotion, polarization, conspiracy, discredit and trolling. It covers the key aspects or qualities of disinformation in each category by asking for an answer to a series of chat based questions.
Each decision point is explained, giving players info about why a particular decision would lead to the spread of disinformation. Based on your responses the game calculates your credibility and the number of followers you’ve earned. Bad News is an effective tool in teaching about misinformation. By playing Bad News, you can easily get a good look at how information is manipulated, and what characterizes disinformation.
The second game I tested was Factitious. This game uses a Tinder-like interface that has you swipe left or right to see if you can spot fake news. An article is presented to you, and you swipe left if you think the article is fake and swipe right if you think the sample article is real. There is also a hint button that can reveal the source of the article. Depending on your answer, the game gives you reasons on why an article is true or false along with tips and suggestions for spotting fake news. It also talks about whether the fake stories have been fabricated for fun, influence, or profit, as well as satire, opinion, and spin. This is also an effective tool for teaching about how to spot fake news because it encourages people to slow down, read more of an article and to think about where the article is coming from.
Studies show that both misinformation and disinformation can have a serious negative effect on our society as a whole. You can read more about the effects in my article, The impact of Misinformation. The spread of fake news can cause mistrust and confusion, which is why it is so important to educate more on media literacy. While it’s almost impossible to eradicate misinformation – our news feeds are swarming with it more and more every day, using educational games like Factitious and Bad News is a great tool for educating about how to recognize fake news and not become a contributor to its spread. They’re fun, engaging and get young (and old!) people talking about the importance of finding disinformation and questioning if what they’re reading is true.