A game was launched this Tuesday (20) by the University of Cambridge in England, which allows you to spread conspiracy theories, fake news and propaganda to get under the skin of the creators of disinformation and combat them more efficiently.
According to information published by AFP, it states that the tool was created by researchers from the prestigious English university in collaboration with the Dutch journalist group DROG.
Available on the page fakenewsgame.org, the game invites users to create a fictitious means of communication on the internet and spread fake news, with the aim of attracting a large audience.
Players can resort to an army of fake accounts on social media, alter images or spread less than rigorous articles to achieve their goals.
“If you know what it’s like to be in the shoes of a person who is actively trying to deceive you, your ability to perceive and resist such techniques increases,” Sander van del Linden, director of the Decision-Making Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. , which works with the “inoculation theory”.
“We want to help develop ‘mental antibodies’ that can provide some immunity against the rapid spread of false information,” he added.
Almost 100 Dutch teenagers from a high school participated in a study using the game and those who understood the techniques began to give less credibility to ‘fake news’.
“A biological vaccine delivers a small dose of the disease to build immunity,” Van Der Linden said.
“Similarly, inoculation theory suggests that exposure to a weak or debunked version of an argument makes it easier to refute when you are confronted with more persuasive claims.”