In seven chapters, Journalism, 'Fake News' and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training addresses the importance of trust, defines the concept disinformation and related concepts mis- and mal-information (with a strong rejection of the term ’fake news’), and the spread of disinformation in social media.
The handbook also provides tools and practices for fact-checking and data verification, as well as dealing with the online targeting of journalists and sources. Every chapter, called as a module, contains a framework and a lesson with assignments.
According to UNESCO, the publication is a call for action. Journalism needs to proactively detect and uncover new cases and forms of disinformation, and this is a critical mission for the news media.
The model curriculum is part of UNESCO’s initiative in supporting journalism education within its International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). UNESCO has earlier published three model curricula: Teaching Journalism for Sustainable Development: New Syllabi (2015), Model Curriculum for Journalism Education: A Compendium of New Syllabi (2013), and Model Curriculum on Journalism Education (2007).
Besides journalism educators, groups of users who may benefit from the publication are, according to UNESCO, practicing journalists and editors, political parties, health professionals, business people, researchers, and election monitors.
Maarit Jaakkola