Europe-wide campaign launchedPrebunking - How to preventively protect against disinformation

Disinformation and fake news are spreading rapidly on the internet. The good news is that many false claims are not that difficult to spot. This is because the same manipulation techniques and narratives are used again and again. If you know these typical tricks, you can quickly tell whether a report is serious. Or whether it is better to consult other sources. Prebunking is the term used to preventively explain the mechanisms of disinformation. A Europe-wide campaign is now using three videos to draw attention to particularly common manipulation techniques.

False information is spread online every day. To counter this problem, the Google subsidiary Jigsaw has developed three videos that are being played across Europe. The campaign was created in collaboration with several civil society organizations, including klicksafe. The aim of the campaign is to raise public awareness of the issue of online misinformation. The videos are available on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook from today.

What is "prebunking"?

"Prebunking" is a scientifically researched communication technique. It helps users to recognize when someone is trying to manipulate them with false information. This helps to increase society's overall resilience to disinformation. "Prebunking is usually done through short videos that are displayed as advertisements on social platforms. The methodology for displaying prebunking videos is based on research conducted by Jigsaw in collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol.

As part of the current campaign, Google offers a lot more information and useful materials on the subject on the website prebunking.withgoogle.com.

These are the manipulation techniques

Decontextualization

A technique in which texts or images are intentionally shown in a different context or incompletely.

Scapegoat method

This manipulation technique involves blaming individuals or groups of people for complex problems. Other possible causes for the problems are ignored.

Damage to reputation

This technique involves questioning the character of a person or group of people. As a rule, no verifiable evidence is provided for the allegations.

Further materials and information from klicksafe