Manipulation in the media (on-line workshops)
Online meeting on Teams. In today’s reality when we are bombarded with information and every day we come across a vast amount of information, it is very important to be aware of the manipulative techniques used by the media. It is crucial to be able to find reliable information in the information overload and to be able to distinguish true information from fake news and lies. Therefore, we decided to participate in workshops about media manipulation. During the workshops, participants got familiar with the basic manipulative techniques used by the media. Brief and factual presentation, along with a mini-lecture led all the participants into the main topic. Afterwards we discussed examples of manipulation in the media gathered by teachers and students. This practical part of the workshops involved finding different manipulative techniques in the presented examples and developing the ability to participate in a discussion, express opinions and present arguments. During this activity, students learned critical thinking on media reality and separating real news from fake ones. Students learned how to recognize various manipulative techniques used in the media. What’s more, we tried to come up with different protective measures against excessive media manipulation.
These workshops enabled us to become familiar with the commonly used manipulation techniques, they developed our ability to participate in a discussion, think critically and search for reliable information. They helped to shape the attitude of openness and tolerance. Thanks to these workshops, students could take active part in the discussion to express freely their opinions, share their thoughts and insights, at the same time respecting the opinions of others even if they differed from theirs.
Critical thinking, expressing one’s own opinion and discussion skills are very important skills nowadays. What’s more, everyone should be able to search for information and analise it critically. It is important not to be prone to manipulation and stereotypical thinking and to be open towards other viewpoints. We try to teach these skills and attitudes in our school. Therefore, workshops about manipulation integrated well with the normal school activity, as they gave all the participants a chance to work on these abilities.
