An international conference, dedicated to counteracting fake news and anti-Roma misinformation was held in Sofia on the 13th of July. The conference is part of the CARE for TRUTH project, co-financed by the European Union “Rights, Equality and Citizenship” Programme (2014-2020) and implemented by the Applied Research and Communications Fund, coordinator of the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre, together with the C.E.G.A. Foundation (project coordinator), the Center for the Study of Democracy, and the Roma Lom Foundation.
The book “CARE FOR TRUTH – against fake news and anti-Roma misinformation”; was presented at the conference. The publication presents the main part of the work carried out under the project and also includes three practical guides for recognizing and counteracting fake news and disinformation for different target groups, developed by experts of the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre of the Applied Research and Communications Fund in 2021.
This includes:
– a basic methodological guide on how to identify fake news, disinformation and media manipulation concerning societal issues in general and anti-Roma manipulation in particular for all target groups;
– a practical guide on how to counter fake news, disinformation and media manipulation related to the Roma community that fuels antigypsyism;
– a practical guide for teachers on how students can identify fake news, misinformation and media manipulation that fuels stereotypes and negative attitudes toward certain communities.
At the conference, Dr Emanuil Georgiev from the Applied Research and Communications Fund presented the work of the Safer Internet Centre. In addition to the development of the manuals, in the period June-July 2021, The Centre’s experts, together with experts from C.E.G.A. Foundation and Roma Lom Foundation, conducted five capacity-building training sessions among Roma leaders and mediators and Roma activists, as well as teachers. The aim of the training was to equip them with concrete methods and tools on how to detect, monitor and counter misinformation and media manipulation that fuel stereotypes and negative attitudes towards the Roma community. Two training sessions with a group of participants from Northern Bulgaria were held in the village Varshets, two – with a group from South Bulgaria – in Bansko and Hisarya and one for both groups, where participants had the opportunity to discuss ideas for future cooperation with each other, was held again in Hisarya.
In October 2021 and March 2022 in Bankya, two training sessions for teachers from Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Kyustendil, Svishtov, Oryahovo, Dalgopol and Kesarevo took place. The sessions were on how to recognize fake news and media manipulation and how to develop the skills of selecting and evaluating information in students. Afterwards, the trained teachers piloted in their schools the lesson on fake news included in the practical teachers’ guide. Some good practices from the teachers piloting of the lesson are also included in the book.
In the book presented at the conference, you can also find reports from research on typical anti-Roma stereotypes and myths reproduced in the public space, prepared by the Center for the Study of Democracy and the C.E.G.A. Foundation. At the conference, the research was presented by Dr Lilia Yakova from the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Rumyan Sechkov from the C.E.G.A. Foundation. Nikolay Kirilov from Roma Lom Foundation presented the work in Roma communities.
