Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Information Verification
Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish
Teaching staff
Students can request tutoring by sending a mail to the teacher.
Introduction
In a world where certainties are increasingly rare, the role of the media is growing in importance. This is why journalists need to be better equipped to verify facts and produce unbiased, accurate, and responsible information. Such an ideal goes beyond adherence to certain standards in the way news is presented and its production routines.
Pre-course requirements
No prerequisites.
Objectives
We aim to provide students with a first experience in the field of verification. The purpose is to introduce the practice of some techniques and the use of some tools and, at the same time, to situate it in a broader context: the social role of the journalist at a time of crisis in the democratic public sphere.
Specifically:
- To know the basic tools and techniques of verification.
- To develop critical thinking.
- To know the different forms of disinformation and how the phenomenon works.
- To understand the role of the journalist in the current situation of the public sphere.
Syllabus
Verification techniques and tools
- Image verification
- Video verification
- Social network verification
- New threats (generative AI, 'deep fakes'...)
- Offline verification
2. The journalist's job in the current media context
- The era of information disorder
- The work of fact-checking organizations.
- Structural disinformation: media agenda and news framing
- Cases: Pandemic and Ukraine.
- Biases, fallacies, and critical thinking
3. Analysis and presentation of a case of disinformation and verification (Final paper)
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The final grade is the result of:
20% Class exercises and participation
50% Final project
30% Exam
The faculty regulations will be strictly observed in cases of plagiarism, fraudulent use of the IA and spelling mistakes.
In order to pass the course in the 1st call it is essential to take the exam and deliver the project memo.
In order to pass the course in the 2nd call, it will be necessary to re-evaluate the activities (exam or/and project) not passed in the first call.
If the student does not pass in the 2nd call, the course must be repeated.
In the 3rd and 5th calls, the criteria of the 1st call will be applied.
In the 4th and 6th calls, the criteria of the 2nd call will be applied.
Bibliography and resources
First Draft (2020). Cómo verificar información encontrada en línea.
European Journalism Centre (2020) Verification Handbook (3rd edition).