YO MEDIA team participated in the ECREA Digital Games Research Section symposium, titled “Digital Games at the Forefront of Change – On the Meaningfulness of Games and Game Studies,” unfolded at the King Juan Carlos University &  Complutense University of Madrid on November 9-10, 2023.

In the symposium’s Session 1: Education and Learning, chaired by Teresa de la Hera,  “Games for Media Literacy: Detecting and Combating Disinformation” was presented by R.S. Contreras-Espinosa. The communication mentioned the ongoing research project, YO-MEDIA: Youngsters’ Media Literacy in Times of Crisis.

The study aimed to explore how games can enhance media literacy, with a specific focus on combating disinformation. The researchers, Contreras-Espinosa and Eguia-Gomez evaluated 24 games related to media literacy, dissecting their mechanics and dynamics in relation to the learning outcomes associated with developing a critical perspective against content manipulation.

The analysis covered aspects such as the inclusion of news creation components, teaching how to investigate and disseminate fake news, illustrating the consequences of spreading false information, and instructing on how to structure fake news.

The identified learning outcomes included understanding the societal and individual consequences of believing and sharing false information, recognizing the motives behind intentional disinformation, awareness of political and commercial interests influencing online behavior, understanding the impact of algorithms on online content, identifying credible sources of information, and acquiring skills to verify information and navigate the evolving media landscape.

The results revealed that the mechanics and dynamics of games demonstrated a high degree of effectiveness in achieving critical learning goals, empowering users to understand, practice, and implement media literacy skills to combat disinformation. This research sheds light on the significant role that video games can play in fostering a media-literate society.