In the light of current global health crisis and military conflicts, the media play a key role in documenting events and ensuring the information flow between information sources, including government or policymakers and citizens. Given the urgency for having the latest and updated piece of information and pressure in newsrooms, fighting against message decontextualization and misinformation through literacy has been more and more in demand.

The YO-MEDIA project aims to fill the gap in the information about media literacy in times of crisis, e.g., outbreak crisis and military/war conflicts. The research question is ‘In what way can game-playing foster youngsters’ media literacy in times of crisis?,’ and a mixed-method approach is, therefore, followed. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined to assess the feasibility of game-playing to create awareness of misinformation through learning by doing and doing by playing.

The project comprises the following research activities: Reviewing the literature on Media Literacy in times of crisis; Interviewing professors, journalists and other stakeholders, Design Thinking and validating a course with stakeholders; Co-designing hybrid games with youngsters aged 16-18, Implementing a massive open online course for media awareness, and Assessing the feasibility of the adopted strategies.

The YO-MEDIA’s expected result is to create youngsters’ awareness and knowledge in assessing the reliability of information accessed or shared in the media. Also, it targets teachers, non-formal educators, journalists, and media professionals by contributing to their professional skills in promoting media literacy in crises through innovative digital environments such as games, training frameworks, and pilot actions.