Disinformation spread

This is unit 1 of a series of activities that focuses on the understanding of the phenomenon of disinformation and what we can do to fight it.

Like all 4 units, unit 1 contains a computational model plus a series of activities to implement with students. Before diving into the model, read the explanations below to understand more about the unit:

The model components in unit 1:
  • "Setup" button: defines the initial state of the model.
  • "Go" button: starts to run the model. Press this after you have finished to set it up
  • "Go once" button: runs the model one "tick" at a
  • "num-people" slider: also part of the initial setup, move it left and right to define the initial number of people in the system.
  • "num-engaged" slider: part of the initial setup, move it left and right to define the initial number of people engaged in a piece of disinformation--that is, the number of people who believe the news and are willing to pass it forward. These will be people in red.
  • "Engagement vs Time" chart: This line chart will show the evolution of people engaged across time
  • "World" display: part of the initial setup, move it left and right to define the initial number of people engaged in a piece of disinformation--that is, the number of people who believe the news and are willing to pass it forward.
Activities in unit 1:
  • Opening activity: guided discussion on disinformation within the students' social groups
  • Introduction to the issue of disinformation, to computational models, and what they can represent.
  • Tinkering with the model and reflection
  • Closing activity: guided group discussion
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Navigate through units 1 to 4 below to learn more about the issue, factors that influence it, and strategies to be more prepared to deal with it.

1. The issue of disinformation
2. Understanding biases
3. Understanding discourse triggers
4. Fact-checking strategies