Western governments and organisations are funding games that teach players about the dark art of spreading fake news online. Commercial game developers are building stories around this theme, too
, since internet users often struggle to discern legitimate sources from nefarious ones. Last year a study by Ofcom, a British regulator, found that 30% of the country’s adults hardly consider the truthfulness of information they read online. About 6% give no thought to the veracity of stories. Around a quarter failed to spot fake social-media accounts.
“Rather than simply waiting for lies to spread, and then debunking them with a fact-check, we can leverage games like ‘Cat Park’ to practically educate ourselves about common disinformation techniques,” says Davor Devcic of. Aimed primarily at citizens in the West, the games are based on the idea of “active inoculation”: just as individuals build up resistance to a disease after a vaccine, after playing “Cat Park” or “Harmony Square” they are more wary of internet skulduggery.
Commercial game developers are also building stories around this theme. “Not For Broadcast”, a propaganda simulator, is set in an unnamed European country in the 1980s after a populist party has been elected. Players operate as the director of a 24-hour-news channel and must select news clips to build a narrative. They can decide whether or not to amplify the government’s message, but sensational content tends to get the most eyeballs.
The medium makes all the difference, says Alex Nichiporchik, the boss of tinyBuild, the makers of “Not For Broadcast”. “Video games are the only media where you can look at the story and say: ‘I did this.’ We put players in the shoes of powerful newspeople and ask them to make morally questionable choices.” A player might censor an interviewee, for example, or leave out inconvenient facts.
Games, whether physical or digital, “are great tools for asking questions”, adds Mr DeJong, and can reach people who are turned off by more straightforward educational methods. “There is a heavy focus on being critical about social media and a reward for demonstrating an understanding of how disinformation works.” Players can justify their hours of entertainment as an instruction in civic responsibility.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
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