Promote critical thinking: Camp in Passau fights against fake news!

Promote critical thinking: Camp in Passau fights against fake news!

At a time when the spread of “fake news” and online disinformation is increasingly worrying, the University of Passau is addressing an urgent social problem. On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, the second moreBNE camp will take place at the university, which will be held under the motto "Fake News and ESD: Think critically - act sustainably! Make students competent in dealing with fake news". This all-day event is aimed at teachers, students, university lecturers and extracurricular educational practitioners and offers a platform to develop solutions for dealing with fake news in today's information society. Registration is still possible via the university website uni-passau.de.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Eberth emphasizes the urgency of developing educational materials that enable young people and teachers to think critically and handle digital information confidently. The aim of the moreBNE project is to inform and sensitize students within the framework of education for sustainable development (ESD). The camp promotes the exchange of teaching ideas and the development of novel teaching materials, which are made available as Open Educational Resources (OER).

Importance of critical media literacy

The relevance of critical media literacy when dealing with fake news is undisputed. The spread of this disinformation has increased significantly since the 2016 US election. A key feature of fake news is that it is not always objectively false, but often contains systematically distorted content. Critical media literacy includes four dimensions: media criticism, media knowledge, media use and media design. These building blocks are crucial for recognizing manipulative content and questioning it critically.

Various studies, including those by bpb, show that only 41% of Germans knew how news was selected on Facebook in 2018. Awareness of information context is not sufficient to protect against misinformation; often people tend to confirm their existing opinions. This topic is receiving particular attention as part of the moreBNE camp because it aims to convey teaching content that breaks down such thought structures.

A holistic approach to media education

The camp represents an inclusive approach that appeals to both experienced and new users of OER. Participants are invited to actively shape the program and contribute their ideas. Flexible participation options, either morning or afternoon, accommodate different needs. The sessions offer space for creative exchange and the development of solutions aimed at the challenges of the information society.

Recommendation algorithms are also discussed because of their potential to promote fact-oriented content. Trust in information sources is of central importance for the resilience of a democracy. People who have had negative experiences with information providers tend to lose trust. Transparency and accountability on the part of the media are crucial to overcoming these challenges.

With the upcoming moreBNE camp, the University of Passau is offering an innovative measure to promote critical media literacy and thus strengthen a fundamentally important skill in today's digital world.