SNINA, Slovakia – On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, students at the Cirkevné Gymnázium sv. Cyrila a Metoda in Snina participated in a vital and timely workshop titled “Unmasking the Digital Mirage: Media Literacy in the Age of Fake News.” This event marked the learning training workshop of the Erasmus+ project, focusing on empowerment and critical thinking.

The workshop, part of a Small-scale Partnership in Youth funded by the Erasmus+ programme, is designed to equip young people with the essential skills to navigate the complex online world. The core mission of the “Unmasking the Digital Mirage” project is to foster a generation of discerning digital citizens who can critically evaluate information and identify disinformation.

Throughout the interactive session, students were introduced to fundamental fact-checking strategies. The workshop emphasized four key pillars of media literacy:

– Verifying the Source: Participants learned to question the origin of information, distinguishing between reputable media outlets and unknown or biased sources. They were encouraged to look for “About Us” sections and transparent author information.

– Lateral Reading: Instead of staying on a single webpage, students were taught to open new tabs to search for more information on the topic from various trusted sources, such as major news agencies and verified media.

– Authenticating Images: The workshop highlighted the power of reverse image search tools like Google Lens. This technique helps to determine if an image is old, has been taken out of context, or digitally manipulated.

– Recognizing Emotional Manipulation: Students analyzed how sensational headlines, often designed to provoke anger, fear, or excitement, can be a warning sign of unreliable content.

The event at Cirkevné Gymnázium sv. Cyrila a Metoda, a school known for its pleasant and supportive atmosphere, provided an ideal setting for this crucial dialogue on digital literacy. By engaging directly with students, the “Unmasking the Digital Mirage” project aims to build a resilient and informed youth community, capable of unmasking the falsehoods of the digital world and championing the truth.

This week, on 17.11.2025, in Snina, Slovakia, students at the Cirkevné Gymnázium sv. Cyrila a Metoda engaged in the 2nd hands-on workshop of a project called “Unmasking the Digital Mirage: Media Literacy in the Age of Fake News.”

The session named “Source Reliability Ranking represented the second training event within an ongoing Erasmus+ project, with its primary focus on evaluating the reliability of sources. Attendees were introduced to the concept of framing and applied this knowledge by analyzing an actual social media post. The group discussion centered on key criteria for judging source credibility, such as transparency, fact-checking practices, and established editorial standards.

This workshop is one in a series organized under a Small-scale Partnership in Youth, an initiative funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The central mission of the “Unmasking the Digital Mirage” project is to cultivate a new generation of savvy digital citizens, equipped with the critical skills needed to assess online information and effectively identify disinformation.

SNINA, Slovakia – Unmasking the Digital Mirage: Fostering Critical Thinking in Snina

This week, on 21.11.2025, marked a significant milestone as we successfully completed the third workshop of our first series under the project “Unmasking the digital mirage: Media literacy in the Age of fake news.”

We had the pleasure of working with the students at Cirkevná škola sv. Cyrila a Metoda v Snine, delivering a dynamic Media Literacy Role-play Workshop.

The core of the session utilized Forum Theater techniques to address the combating of fake news and misinformation. Students were tasked with applying critical thinking to various scenarios, drafting fictional news stories, and presenting social media posts to their peers.

By adopting the roles of journalists, fact-checkers, and concerned citizens, the students practiced:

Analyzing complex content

Questioning the validity of sources

Deciding whether to spread information or debunk it

The role-play was followed by an insightful discussion on the impact of misinformation. Thank you to the school and students for such an interactive and productive session!