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Online Training Course

FACING DISINFORMATION: Insights and strategies to counter the online information pandemic

Disinformation has found its perfect habitat online, where it spreads rapidly and, like a computer virus, corrupts information - and thereby our discourse - on any and every topical issue. Civil society, whether in the media, human rights or education, is increasingly challenged by false and irrational narratives that corrode public trust in their own work and in wider society. In an online landscape where disinformation is endemic, however, facts and credible analysis on disinformation, are still frustratingly elusive.

The training programme Facing disinformation: Insights and strategies to counter the online information pandemic is designed to strengthen media diversity and support its pluralism in Georgia,

This free online course explores in depth where disinformation comes from; how it spreads, who or what is behind it, and some effective strategies that be used to face disinformation down.

The Training Programme

Developed and presented by Regional Democratic Hub - Caucasus with Disruption Network Lab in collaboration with Alistair Alexander, this free online training programme starts in the first week of November 2021 and continue for 5 weeks (3 hours per week). The programme features leading researchers, campaigners and practitioners from across the world and also the region. Every session includes insightful talks, break-out discussions and workshop exercises. Live interactive sessions and also pre-recorded talks are planned, so participants can listen to them later - or again.

Alongside the talks are discussions, debate and workshops where participants can share their own experiences and work collaboratively with speakers and facilitators to build a practical, effective framework for identifying and challenging disinformation in their own work, networks and communities. The training aims to equip them with the tools and tactics to fight against disinformation and to identify fake news easily in social networks online and offline.

The training programme covers the following core topics:

• Disinformation: a field guide to the different types, why they spread and how to detect them;

• Algorithmic influence: how bots, and automated processes are embedded in our online conversations;

• Platform deception: how disinformation develops and spreads on different platforms

• Anatomy of a conspiracy theory: how and why conspiratorial thinking goes viral so rapidly

• Disinformation in different contexts: drawing on experience and research from different countries.

Target audience

Training program includes 100 participants from Georgia and EaP countries from all aspects of civil society, including journalists, human rights campaigners, technologists, lawyers, researchers, artists, etc. Online training course is a unique opportunity for the participants to convene in a safe online space over 5 weeks to investigate these issues in depth with leading researchers from the region and worldwide, and to learn from each other tools and strategies to counter the disinformation threat in their communities and networks. Applicants should be interested in exploring the issue, be able to be in attendance for all the components of the program and be actively involved in project activities.

Training period: Each Thursday 14:00-17:00, November 4 – December 2, 2021
Language: English (with Georgian translation)
Programme costs: All costs are cover by the German Federal Foreign Office
Training location: Online, BigBlueButton platform with the technical assistance of WeChange team.

Objectives

The online training programme aims to strengthen civil society actors in Georgia in terms of disinformation and it’s countering strategies, to equip students, journalists and representatives of different sectors with suitable abilities for fighting disinformation and developing media literacy skills, share experience between Georgian and German society.

By the completion of this course participants will have an excellent understanding of disinformation at a global level and the specific dynamics of disinformation in their own contexts. Participants will have explored the subject and with the group learned and developed tools and strategies of countering disinformation in their networks and communities.

At the end of the course, the participants will achieve the following results:

• Learn about algorithmic influence: how bots, and automated processes are embedded in our online conversations;

• Identify platform deception: how disinformation develops and spreads on different platforms;

• Learn more about the anatomy of a conspiracy theory: how and why conspiratorial thinking goes viral so rapidly;

• Get informed about disinformation in different contents: drawing on experience and research from different countries;

• Use theoretical and practical information gained from the training in real life cases.

TRAINers

Alistair Alexander is a researcher, trainer and consultant on technology, art, society and ecology. He has worked as a tech journalist, organised direct actions for climate or global justice, as well as tech projects and campaigns with NGOs worldwide. At Tactical Tech, he led the award-winning Glass Room project, displaying immersive art in pop-up spaces to explore data, privacy and misinformation. https://twitter.com/alicma

Carolyne Thompson is an award-winning data journalist who reports on human rights issues, humanitarian crises, displacement and refugee movements, and government accountability. Her work has appeared on France 24, NPR, the Washington Post, Al Jazeera, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio-Canada, among many others. She has participatedin fellowships and investigative journalism programs through the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, the University of British Columbia, and the International Center for Journalists. Her reporting projects have been funded through the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Journalismfund.eu. She has trained journalists through iJourno Africa, Free Press Unlimited and Journalists for Human Rights. She holds a Master of Journalism from Carleton University

Hadi al Khatib is Executive Director of Mnemonic and founder of Syrian Archive. Hadi has worked since 2011 to collect, verify, and investigate citizen-generated data as evidence of human rights violations. Through this work, he draws attention to human rights violations and ensures that human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers are able to use the verified data for their investigations and case building. Hadi previously worked with Tactical Technology Collective for 5 years to support journalists and human rights groups in securing their data, devices and communications online. Hadi worked as a part-time open- source investigator with Human Rights Watch and Bellingcat. He also worked as a consultant with the UN International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism. Hadi is a fellow at the Monument Lab, and the Centre for Internet and Human Rights. He was selected for the 2021 #TIME100NEXT list, the FastCompany's Most Creative People in Business list for 2021, and as one of Wired UK's2021 lists of changemakers.

Tamar Kintsurashvili - is an Executive Director of Media Development Foundation - MDF since 2017. Priory, she served as a chairperson of the MDF’s board. Tamar is an author and co-author of numerous researches and publications on hate speech, disinformation and media literacy. She is an editor-in-chief of www.mythdetector.ge, third-party partner of facebook’s fact-checking program. Tamar is also a member of Deutsche Welle Akademie Media and Information Literacy Experts Network (MILEN) and associate professor at Ilia State University.

Gisela Pérez de Acha reports on extremism and other topics for the Investigative Reporting Program with a focus on digital forensics and network analysis. She is also a human rights lawyer, an open source researcher at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab, and a trainer at Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps, a global network of volunteers who fact-check social media posts about war crimes and human rights violations.

How to apply (FULLY BOOKED - deadline is over!)

If you would like to attend the training, please apply here. The deadline is 20 October 2021.

Participants from Georgia and EaP countries are invited to apply from all aspects of civil society, including journalists, human rights campaigners, technologists, lawyers, researchers etc. Students are also welcome to apply. Applications from women and under-represented groups are especially welcomed.

The three hours sessions will be at a set time every week (the exact time will be confirmed at the selection stage). Participants are encouraged to join the sessions live, but they can also catch up later if they cannot make the specified time. During the training program there will be an online support team to guarantee a safe and confidential space.

Participants will be awarded with a certificate. All sessions will be held in or translated into English and Georgian. For Georgian participants knowledge of English is desirable, but not essential. The training is financially supported of the German Federal Foreign Office and participation is free of charge.

training programme organisations

This training is led by Regional Democratic Hub - Caucasus in cooperation with the Berlin based non-profit organization Disruption Network Lab with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office as part of the Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia (Eastern Partnership Programme) - https://civilsocietycooperation.net.

Regional Democratic Hub – Caucasus is a women led organisation, established in 2019 that has diverse working areas including early childhood development, women empowerment, youth participation etc. RDH-Caucasus has already undertaken couple of projects connected to media polarisation. In 2020 project - Hate News vs Free Speech, Polarisation and Pluralism in Georgian Media has been conducted within which 30 journalists and students from media schools have been trained. More info

Disruption Network Lab e. V. is an ongoing platform of events and research focused on the intersection of politics, technology and society. Since 2014 Disruption Network Lab organises participatory, interdisciplinary, international events at the intersection of human rights and technology with the objective of strengthening freedom of speech, and advocating for the globally marginalised. To date, the Disruption Network Lab has organised 23 conferences at the intersection of politics, technology and society.

Alistair Alexander is a researcher, trainer and consultant on technology, art, society and ecology. He has worked as a tech journalist, organised direct actions for climate or global justice, as well as tech projects and campaigns with NGOs worldwide.