Class Information Disorders

This course aims to equip students with media and information literacy (MIL) tools and critical theoretical and theoretical-practical analysis, including around the emergence and popularisation of generative AI and the issues that arise there in the context of informational, social and political disorders, enabling them to interpret the informational content circulating in the media from multiple approaches. At the end of the programme, students should be able to identify and reflect theoretically on situations of informational disorder disruption and understand the mechanisms that facilitate these situations.

Not applicable

Programme content: 1. Introduction: beyond 'fake news' 2. Information disorders: competing definitions, paradigms, epistemologies 2.1 Radicalisation 2.2 Disinformation (propaganda, plot theory, etc.) 2.3 hate speech and other harmful content 2.4 Amplification (in the context of the emergence and popularisation of AI) 3. Actors and types of action 3.1 Entertainment and business 3.2 Politics and propaganda 3.3 News and journalism 4. Existing mechanisms, social costs 4.1 Virality 4.2 Automation and AI Gen 4.3 Risk of damage to information and democracy 4.4 Deep fakes and cheap fakes 5. Research on motivations, effects and impacts, including the emergence and popularisation of IAGen 5.1 Types of motivation 5.2 Cognitive biases 5.3 Filtering bubbles and echo chambers 5.4 Doubt and loss of trust 6. Responses to the phenomenon of information disorders 6.1 Industry actors 6.2 Governments 6.3 Civil society 6.4 MIL: a response?

The teaching methodologies favour the intersection between expository content and the promotion of critical debates, using role-play and group dynamics, around specific questions posed from theoretical approaches and concrete cases. The expository methodology is used to present fundamental concepts, such as "fake news" and definitions of information disorders (Programme Content - CP1-2), providing the theoretical basis necessary for further critical study. The interrogative methodology promotes questioning and active participation by students, for example, in the analysis of actors and types of action (CP3), encouraging debate and the practical application of knowledge in the classroom. Role-plays and group dynamics are central to the simulation of scenarios, providing practical and critical experience of the content.

Frau-Meigs, D. (2019). Notícias falsas e desordens informativas. In M. J. Brites, I. Amaral, & M. Torres Silva (Eds.), Literacias cívicas e críticas: refletir e praticar (pp. 77-80). CECS. McDougall, J. (2019). Fake News vs Media Studies: Travels in a False Binary. Palgrave. McDougall, J., Brites, M. J., Couto, M. J., & Lucas, C. (2019). Digital literacy, fake news and education / Alfabetización digital, fake news y educación. Cultura y Educación, 31(2), 203-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/11356405.2019.1603632 Tandoc Jr, E. C., & Kim, H. K. (2023). Avoiding real news, believing in fake news? Investigating pathways from information overload to misbelief. Journalism, 24(6), 1174-1174-1192. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221090744 Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking. Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/information-disorder-report-2017/1680766412