1 min

Researching not Faking

#research

May 11, 2021

Inspiring Chat on the Topic of Fake News on 17 May 2021 online.

In May, the Austrian association ScienceCenter-Netzwerk launches a campaign on the topic of #ForschenStattFaken (researching not faking). Research institutions dedicate events, projects and social media activities to raising awareness for the issues of fake news and conspiracy theories.

Among other things, the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences joins the initiative with an online Inspiring Chat on 17 May.

Campaign #ForschenStattFaken

Be it the coronavirus or climate change – many rumours, half-truths and even explicitly false information are circulating, which can make it difficult to understand right away which information to trust.

Which strategies can we use to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources? How can media representatives and researchers whose areas of specialisation are affected by false information help us make these distinctions and fight “fake news”.

To find answers to these questions and promote the discourse on such topics, the ScienceCenter-Netzwerk initiated the campaign #ForschenStattFaken in May 2021 for its 15th anniversary.

Inspiring Chat

The St. Pölten UAS participates in the initiative by organising the online event “Inspiring Chat” on this subject in partnership with the ScienceCenter-Netzwerk on 15 May. The chat is designed to explore how knowledge transfer can enhance competencies in the independent and critical assessment of facts.

The discussion features: Lisa Totzauer, Channel Manager at ORF1, Michael Litschka, Researcher in Business and Media Ethics at the Pölten UAS, Ursula Schöberl, Immunologist and Knowledge Transfer Specialist, and Barbara Streicher, Executive Director of the ScienceCenter-Netzwerk.

Exchange instead of Ivory Tower

“We are not living in an academic ivory tower here”, says Hannes Raffaseder, member of the St. Pölten UAS’ Executive Board. “We seek to continually question and further develop our research topics in exchange with the public. The membership in the ScienceCenter-Netzwerk enables us to engage in the exchange necessary to do so and promotes interaction with many partners. This is how we stay abreast of current developments and can contribute to strengthening critical thinking and cultivating an understanding of science amongst the wider public.”

Within the framework of the campaign month, the St. Pölten UAS also shares three podcast episodes on automatic fake news detection, deep fakes and conspiracy theories.