DIGITOL: the new project combating hate speech and misinformation with digital literacy

AGE and its Greek member, 50+Hellas, are involved in DIGITOL, a new European project for the digital inclusion of older adults that kicks off this January 2020. By building intergenerational synergies, the project aims to sustain the digital participation and active citizenship of older adults and contain the spread of fake news and hate speech.

Within a digitalized modern society that relies inceasingly on digital means for communication and information, and with older adults growingly using the Internet, online information literacy become imperative. Yet, the prevalence of digital illiteracy among EU older cohorts remain strikingly lower than in any other age groups. At the same time, a recent article from Guess and Tucker (2019) showcased that adults aged 65+ in the United States are seven times more likely to share fake-news articles. The authors are, however, very careful in drafting hypothesis to explain this difference between age groups.

The DIGITOL project will address the emerging need for a better digital literacy among older adults in filtering-out fake news that promote unfounded hateful speech, discriminatory attitudes, radical or divisive nationalism, racism and homophobia. It will use an evidence-based, successfully used life-long learning method, that capitalises the benefits of intergenerational learning and intergenerational solidarity.

Learn more about the DIGITOL project