The CheckMate focus groups: Discussing about misinformation and disinformation across Europe

In the context of the research phase of our project, all partners conducted focus groups with representatives of the general public but also other target groups of our project in order to discuss the explored issues and exchange views and experiences.

In Greece, a very interesting discussion took place with 20 participants, all very interested in the topics of misinformation and disinformation, coming from the general public, many of them working in the school education sector.

The participants expressed their experiences and views on the spread of fake news and the ways of tackling the phenomenon. The majority of the participants expressed a sensitivity in the search of the truth and the identification of possible ways to reach valid information on the media. Critical thinking and cross-checking were highlighted as common practices and media education as a common need in order to enhance media literacy and be able to handle such issues.

A big discussion was also made on the topic of social media. The anonymity that social media offer makes it a vast online environment where everyone could post their truth and re-post easily fake news according to their beliefs and values. While social media consists a valuable tool for communication and interaction, it seems that it is also a fake news medium.