Disinformation is a big challenge for media today. Even for experienced and tech savvy journalists, sometimes it may not be easy to identify disinformation. For example, images and videos are professionally manipulated. Websites and social media accounts disseminating them are disguised as credible sources — such as government officials or other well-known personas. It seems there are enough useful online tools that help identify fake news stories, but the problem still persists. So how can we  identify and debunk disinformation effectively? Keeping in mind that the ultimate victims of disinformation are media consumers, how can media strengthen their ‘immunity’ to disinformation?

The concept of open debate and the idea of finding a way for the people to communicate with each other with more respect and consideration should be observed from the standpoint of media literacy.

If the media literacy level is low, as it is in many countries, and people do not have critical thinking skills developed, they are more inclined to act emotionally rather than rationally and react without arguments and with hate speech.

Open debate does not mean the ability to access platforms to express opinions, or to have to find a way to bypass laws and oppressed regimes to speak freely. It’s also not about opposite opinions talking past each other.

Open debate is the freedom to have a conversation with regards and respect to others, regardless of their views.

The aim of this concept is to find a solution to foster critical thinking and to increase media literacy.

There are governments that supervise and control information and ideas circulated amongst their people and abroad. In recent years, censorship refers to the examination of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other communication media for the purpose of altering or suppressing parts thought to be objectionable or questioning the status quo.

Thanks to the Internet, there are many solutions today to bypass government censorship. These tools allow the population to access information freely even though doing so puts them at risk.

How can journalists reach people living under censorship? How can we help them access free information in a safe and modern way?