In the media literacy programme 1,200 students from 35 schools are producing newspapers, podcasts and videos to tackle misinformation.
At a time when information is moving at breakneck speed and distinguishing between truth and misinformation is becoming increasingly difficult, an extensive educational program at 35 schools across the country is bringing digital literacy and critical thinking to the forefront, with about 1,200 students participating in turning classrooms into small journalism workshops, producing newspapers, podcasts, videos and digital campaigns while being systematically trained in checking sources, cross-checking information and identifying fake news, in an initiative that highlights the role of education as a key pillar against the rise of fake news and online disinformation.
Newspapers with headlines about fake news, podcasts about disinformation, informational videos, interviews with two cameras set up in classrooms, and even apps designed by students themselves.
The students’ impressions
For months, some 1,200 children from 35 schools across the country, from Kastoria and Florina to Didymoteicho, Kefalonia, Patras, Crete and Mytilene, transformed their classrooms into small journalism labs, attempting to answer one of the biggest issues of the day: misinformation.
The program “Literacy in News for Youth: Navigating the World of Information and Digital Media, Cultivating Critical Readers”, organized by the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, the General Secretariat for Information and Communication and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, was not limited to theoretical contributions. Instead, it gave students the opportunity to experience in practice the process of journalistic production: to research, cross-reference information, evaluate sources, conduct interviews and create their own content.
“I went online and whatever I saw I adopted uncritically, unthinkingly, unquestioningly,” Stathis Babuklis, a student of the Psychiko General Lyceum, who together with his classmates created the Unmuted newspaper to fight fake news and then went on to create a podcast. “Now I see the headline, the photo, the text, the quality of the speech and the signature,” he explains.
A similar experience is described by Evelina Panagiotopoulou from the 2nd General Lyceum of Gerakas, who says that through the project she realized that “what we see is not always true” and that sometimes fake news is deliberately circulated to misinform. She says she now systematically checks the news she reads and carefully examines its sources.
In Komotini, Giorgos Kertidis from the 1st General Lyceum participated in the creation of the student newspaper “Mideniki Focus”. “We learned tools and ways to recognize the validity of a news story,” he notes, adding that he is now trying to transfer this knowledge to his friends.
The journalistic works created by the students in the framework of the programme were of particular interest, approaching issues of everyday life, education and their local communities. At the 1st EPAL Korydallos, students created a podcast with teachers on the present and future of education, responding to the challenge of producing a complete journalistic product, either in video or newspaper form. The Media Lab team of the 1st High School of Aspropyrgos implemented the campaign “MAGA – One city, two truths”, focusing on the environmental burden of their region.
The students created a video campaign, conducted interviews, researched official sources and sought suggestions and solutions to the problems they documented. At Psychiko Lyceum, students created the online newspaper Unmuted, through which they dealt with checking the credibility of news, the use of mobile phones in schools and the phenomena of fake news and deliberate misleading, and then went on to create a podcast.
At the 1st Lyceum of Acharnon, students created a video dedicated to the yesterday, today and tomorrow of their city, by researching official sources, collecting old and new photos and conducting interviews. Through this process, they had the opportunity to get to know the world of information better, to work with professional journalists and to learn to critically deal with any news.
Marinakis: Misinformation must be decisively beaten
Speaking at a conference where the results were presented, Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis described the programme as a “soul deposit”. He said it is an initiative that makes him “really proud” as it is a response to the crisis of misinformation.
Marinakis described his meetings with students who participated in the programme, noting that he was impressed by the fact that many children stayed at school after classes were over to continue discussions and journalistic activities. “This is the answer to those who believe that everything is black,” he said.
The government spokesman particularly focused on the dangers of misinformation, stressing that it does not only threaten democracy or political life, but also the everyday life of citizens. He referred to false news that can even affect the country’s international relations, and warned that online disinformation can lead young people “to the wrong conclusions about their life choices.”
Pavlos Marinakis also stressed that disinformation is one of the biggest challenges of our time and said that “it must be tackled decisively, with an optimistic approach and self-confidence.” As he said, in this effort, “people of civil society, teachers, pupils, students, parents, grandparents must play a leading role”, making it clear that this is not an issue that concerns only “one party or one government”.
The government spokesman particularly stressed the need to formulate rules for the internet, without questioning freedom of expression. In this context, he also referred to the ongoing debate at European level on the removal of anonymity on the internet, “not pseudonymity”, as he clarified, so that every account corresponds to real data.
At the same time, he stressed that countering misinformation cannot be done only through regulatory measures, but mainly through the cultivation of critical thinking. “This programme is not aimed at convincing students that the government is right. The aim is for the citizens of tomorrow to pass all information through the filter of critical thinking,” he said.
Zacharaki: Modern school cannot and is not limited to the sterile transmission of knowledge
Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Sofia Zacharaki, who focused her speech on the challenges of the era of artificial intelligence, was also on the same wavelength. “Today, many times we are often not sure of either what we see or what we hear,” she said, noting that images, videos and voices can now be altered in an extremely convincing way.
The minister stressed that the greatest strength today is not just access to information, but the ability to evaluate it with critical thinking. “Democracy does not need passive consumers of information. It needs people who question, who cross-examine, who are curious to explore before rejecting,” she said.
Zaharaki congratulated the students for the newspapers, podcasts, videos and information campaigns they created, stressing that they “did not remain mere spectators of information” but became “researchers, creators and active citizens.”
He also linked the philosophy of the programme to the debate on the new high school and the National Baccalaureate, noting that school should not be limited to rote learning, but should cultivate skills such as research, argumentation and critical evaluation of information.
“Strengthening literacy, using new digital learning tools and linking the educational process with skills such as argumentation, collaboration and critical evaluation of information are key priorities of the education policy. The school of the new era must prepare citizens who do not uncritically reproduce digital noise, but can think clearly, participate in public debate responsibly and formulate an informed opinion,” the Minister stressed.
Kirmikiroglu: Need to cultivate “critical interlocutors” and not just “critical readers
The Secretary General of Communication and Information, Dimitris , described the programme as “pioneering and innovative”, noting that the new generation is growing up in a completely different information environment compared to previous generations, where newspapers have been replaced by screens and an uninterrupted flow of information. He said that the State is now attempting to formulate a comprehensive strategy for media education, so that young people can acquire essential skills against misinformation and online toxicity.
He announced the creation of an advisory group of experts for the National Media Education Strategy, noting that the country is for the first time acquiring a coherent plan in this area. He also placed particular emphasis on the need to cultivate “critical interlocutors” and not only “critical readers”, stressing that public dialogue and the quality of communication in social networks are now a central issue for democracy and social cohesion.
For his part, the Special Secretary for Long-Term Planning of the Presidency of the Government, Ioannis Mastrogeorgiou, referred to the great changes brought about by artificial intelligence and the exponential development of technology, describing the current generation as the first to grow up exclusively in a digital environment. He said that young people are now confronted not with a lack of knowledge, but with an overload of information. “We used to say ‘don’t believe something until you see it’. Today we say ‘don’t believe something even if you see it,'” he said.
Mastrogiorgiou stressed that the big challenge of the coming years will be the ability to distinguish “knowledge from noise,” calling on students to invest more in deep reading, continuous education and the cultivation of skills that cannot be replaced by algorithms or artificial intelligence applications. “AI will provide the speed. But the substance will be given by what makes you human,” he noted.
The scientific director of the project, professor of the Department of Journalism and Media of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and director of the Peace Journalism Laboratory, Nikos Panagiotou, stressed that the implementation of “Cultivating Critical Readers” clearly highlighted the importance of the systematic cultivation of media literacy in the school environment, emphasizing that students can function as critical readers of information when they are given the appropriate tools and the necessary guidance. “The students did not act as passive receivers of information, but as active readers, able to analyse, question and evaluate the content they consume on a daily basis”, he noted.
He stressed that “the experience of the programme confirms that education can and must equip the new generation with tools for critical thinking in the face of misinformation and the barrage of digital content. The cooperation between teachers, students and the university community shows the way for the systematic integration of media literacy into school practice, in an experiential and meaningful way”.
The coordinator of the project and head of the Department of Audiovisual Media and Internet of the General Secretariat of Communication and Information, Ekaterini Polyzou, congratulated students, teachers and families for their participation in the pilot project, noting that its success was based on the collective effort and perseverance of all those who dedicated extra time and work.
Mrs. Polyzou noted that the response of the students exceeded the initial expectations of the organizers, as the children not only actively participated, but also developed initiatives and ideas that gave new dynamics to the program. He said the experience highlighted the crucial role that young people themselves can play as agents of change and creativity when given the right space to express themselves and work together.
