Romanian high students study discrimination and hate speech in the mass media
On 29 September, the House of Memory project held another workshop in Suceava for students of the local National College "Petru Rares". The discussion focused on Discrimination and Hate Speech in the Media. Fake News. Lecturer Dr Anca Zaharia conducted the class.
During the workshop, the youth had the opportunity to dive deeper into the problems of discrimination and disinformation, discover how manipulative technologies work in the media, and who uses them and why.
The event consisted of four modules. Through specially prepared materials and presentations, the participants found out the reasons for discrimination as a social phenomenon, got acquainted with the definition of “media” and its role in society and jointly tried to find answers to the questions of why social media are often used not only as a communication tool but also as a manipulation technology, and what should be done to avoid falling into the trap of fake news.
Through practical exercises, the children learned how to select facts from the continuous flow of information, and a visit to the editorial office of the local newspaper "Monitorul" helped them to get an idea of how news is created.
The students particularly remembered the conversation with journalist Oana Șlemco, where she shared some gripping insights into her profession and practical tips for better fake recognition. The audience was very impressed by the variety of manipulations that the media and social networks can sometimes use.
At the end of the workshop, which lasted almost the whole day, the students discussed the consequences of the spread of fakes in society. In particular, they discussed such issues as distrust of journalists and experts, lack of social cohesion, confusion, and loss of value orientations, etc. Afterward, together with the lecturer, they summed up what they had heard and seen during the workshop and thanked Anca Zaharia for the knowledge and skills they had gained.
