The web is a place for education and knowledge dissemination, but also a place for disinformation and fake news. This makes the web an eminently political space.
The web offers many opportunities for civic education. However, it seems that disinformation and fake news use it more efficiently. There are several reasons why this is the case:
Misinformation and fake news do not require extensive research. They can be posted online faster than well-researched knowledge.
The anonymity in social media encourages the immediate sharing of unverified and unsustainable information. There is no accountability.
The algorithms of major platforms are designed to increase interactions with familiar content. They filter out anything that does not fit the profile of a user.
There is still a lack of manageable tools to create digital knowledge resources independently of platforms. This is necessary to provide content for civic education that can be used and networked independently.
How can the web become a space for sustainable civic education? And what are the technical prerequisites for this?
Web 3.0
The emerging web offers decentralized infrastructures and tools to create and network content for civic education independently of platforms. This allows information and materials from a variety of sources to be brought together for interdisciplinary civic education involving actors from all sectors of society.
We inform about the new possibilities of Web 3.0 and develop solutions that can be used for civic education.
Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are web applications that can be programmed to automatically match information with data from trusted, pre-approved sources. If they match, they are marked as verified information. In case of discrepancies, further checks can be triggered or warnings issued.
An excellent strategy against misinformation and fake news!
Curation Hub
A key prerequisite for creating sustainable knowledge resources for civic education is the systematic indexing of their content and materials. This allows the content to be reused in a variety of ways and to be processed automatically. For example, for multilingual delivery in multiple languages, or for automated updating, supplementation, or verification of individual pieces of information.
We develop corresponding solutions and share them via a curation hub.