Framing as an example of disinformation

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Personal responsibility, analytical skills, judgment

Project idea on disinformation

Understanding the dynamics of disinformation

Children and teenagers have direct access to information through smartphones and social networks such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. They receive information anytime and anywhere, assess it as good as they can and relate it to their own life or share it directly in order to interact with others. Furthermore young people are more likely to trust information that seems familiar to them, corresponds to their image of adulthood or comes close to the ideas set in their family or peer group. Inherent to the mechanics of social networks, like content becoming viral randomly or by certain agendas being pushed, not all information can be verified easily which poses a grave danger to children who haven't developed the ability of proper evaluation yet.

In order to prepare young people for these challenges, they need to be educated about disinformation and given the knowledge they require to critically assess information.

Objectives and competences

In order to understand the mechanisms of disinformation, this project idea exemplifies how framing is used to control the perception of information by deliberately presenting certain aspects of it. In this way, any information can be placed in familiar frames or even scientifically sound facts can be used for one's own, often dubious, purposes through clever manipulation.

Using the example of a text (message), a picture and/or an audio collage, young people understand how framing is used and how they can recognize and analyse such techniques by setting frames themselves and presenting content from different perspectives. By working in teams and reflecting on their experiences, they are enabled to make informed and critical decisions and actively participate in society.

Children and teenagers

understand what disinformation is and why it is so important to deal with it.

get to know the method of framing and how information can be consciously changed.

use the writing conference method to modify their own texts/pictures/audio collages.

Children and teenagers

analyze the examples and recognize how information in text, image and sound can reflect different points of view.

create their own works in teams and present them in different ways.

present their results to the class.

Children and teenagers

share their knowledge on the subject of disinformation and report on whether and where they think they have encountered fake news.

discuss suitable examples of framing in the team.

formulate their thoughts on framing and evaluate the teamwork.

Children and teenagers

contribute their creativity to the implementation of the group work.

take a critical look at the results and challenges and reflect on their personal approach to media.

Project flow

In order to explore the topic of framing in a variety of ways, the project idea offers three options for creating your own work. Young people can choose between text, image or audio for the implementation. There is an example and instructions for each option.

Note: When implementing the lesson, please ensure that you choose the examples in such a way that you do not create or disseminate any disinformation yourself.

The teacher or workshop leader starts with the topic of “disinformation” and asks the students in a short discussion whether they know what disinformation means. If necessary, examples can be queried by hand sign.
The concept of framing is then explained as a way of consciously controlling news. The teacher/workshop leader gives examples of framing in the media, in advertising and in politics. (See background text: What is framing?)

Securing results: Background text: What is framing?
Social form: Plenum

Participants work in teams and select one of the framing examples for further processing. They can choose between text, image and audio.
Together they look at the examples and discuss which means were used to change the content and perception in each case.
Based on the examples, the teams create their own work and change it to create different perspectives and reactions.
To do this, they draft a script in which they first plan a motif or story. In the next step, they consider together how they can change this information and implement it accordingly.

Examples:
A. Text about Lina Mertens
The text was created with Chat GPT and is based on the person Greta Thunberg. In the three variants, Lina Mertens (fictional person) is described from different perspectives and creates different images of the person in the readers' minds. The teams analyze the texts and create their own versions. Use our AI experiment kit https://chat.ki-entdecken.de.

B. The image of “running people on the beach”
The image of “running people on the beach” was created with image-generating AI and is based on different backgrounds, colors and filters or the respective image descriptions. The individual image elements are supplied so that the teams can experiment with the material themselves in addition to analyzing it.

C. The audio recording on Europe
The example of the audio recording shows how language, sound and music can change a message. Based on the audio script, the young people can also use a smartphone or tablet to create their own versions or record and analyze their own messages as audio.

Note: On request, anonymized access for students to use Chat GPT can be provided free of charge.

Securing results: Examples: P. 5-7 Audio example: Download
Social form: Group work/partner work

Sufficient time should be allowed for the evaluation of the results.
The teams take it in turns to present their results without comment. The rest of the class classifies the results in terms of content and names the different “frames” that were used. These are then commented on by the respective groups.

To conclude, ask how the young people think about the topic of framing based on their experiences and evaluate the topic of disinformation together in a discussion.

Social form: Plenum

Technical terms

Framing: The technique of presenting information within a certain framework of meaning in order to influence the perception and interpretation of the recipient. For example, a message can be perceived differently through the choice of words (“climate change” vs. “climate crisis”).

Algorithm: A set of rules or calculations used by computers to solve problems or perform tasks, such as the distribution of content on social media. For example, algorithms determine which posts are displayed to users on social media platforms.

Content Creator: Individuals or organizations that create and publish digital content to inform, entertain or engage an audience. This can take the form of texts, videos, images, podcasts and other media. This includes, for example, video creators, bloggers, podcasters and influencers on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and blogs. They regularly create content that often appeals to a specific target group. This can be both individuals and companies.

Further information

Here you can find external links to platforms that offer helpful information on the complex topic of disinformation.

Teachtoday Academy: The Academy's learning content offers further interesting points of reference, for example on the topic of digital democracy. (Academy > Overview | Teachtoday)

Klicksafe: The EU initiative to promote online literacy has compiled extensive material on the topic of disinformation and opinion when dealing with young people. (Disinformation, deepfakes & fake news - what do I need to know? (klicksafe.de/en)

Project materials

Find here all the materials you need to implement the project idea. They are available to download free of charge.

Project idea material 1: Complete document

Here you can download the complete document of the project idea free of charge.

Download [ 439.04 KB | pdf ]

Project idea material 2: Picture examples

You can download the image examples free of charge here.

Download [ 2.01 MB | zip ]

Project idea material 3: Audio examples

You can download the audio samples free of charge here.

Download [ 12.9 MB | zip ]

2024: Important elections are coming up worldwide, but the spread of disinformation via digital channels is increasing. Strengthening media literacy is crucial in times of fake news and populist movements to protect democracy and support young people. Disinformation in times of AI

Disinformation, reinforced by artificial intelligence, is difficult to recognize and spreads rapidly via social media and messenger services. For better orientation and to be able to support young people effectively, you can find out more about the strategies here. Fake News – Strategies of Disinformation

Interactive learning module: Disinformation

Infographic: Mechanisms of disinformation

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