April, 2022. Online disinformation – especially about science – is one of the scourges of our age. As we observe that science and facts are being called into question, what can be done? The EU-funded TRESCA project has developed a massive open online course (MOOC) titled ‘Communicating trustworthy information in the digital world’ to explore this question directly and to improve current practices of communicating scientific knowledge. The course is available free of charge and for anyone who is interested.
The MOOC consists of seven modules that are made up of educational videos and learning resources. As a participant, you will learn how digitalisation has influenced the development and communication of scientific knowledge. The focus of the course lies on how an overflow of information has made it difficult for the public to decipher what is accurate or inaccurate information.
The problem of scientific disinformation is vast and growing – affecting how millions of people around the world perceive climate change, the pandemic, vaccines and more. The MOOC includes modules on how today’s online world affects science, the challenges social scientists face in studying dis- and mis-information, how science journalists handle “fake news”, how misinformation affects policy making. We discuss these topics from the perspective of three important stakeholders, namely (social) scientists, journalists, and policymakers. We also cover how these stakeholders connect with each other, as well as with ordinary citizens. Our objective for participants is to discover what drives public trust and how people and organizations can earn it and maintain trust via improved communication practices.
The course ‘Communicating trustworthy information in the digital world’ is available free of charge, completely in English and 100% online. The course is designed to give practical solutions to students and young professionals. It is in English and takes approximately 6 hours to complete. It has flexible deadlines so you can learn at your own pace, and you can earn a certificate after completing the course.
You can sign up on Coursera via the course’s home page.
TRESCA project
The TRESCA Project is a project coordinated by Erasmus University Rotterdam that is focused on Trustworthy, Reliable and Engaging Scientific Communication Approaches in the age of fake news and misinformation. TRESCA’s primary goal is understanding how science communication can help rebuild trust in the Social Sciences and Humanities. TRESCA aims to develop more trust in science through the innovation on scientific communication practices. TRESCA is funded by the European Union, under the Horizon 2020 funding scheme.
The project, led by Erasmus and involving partners from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain, has also conducted extensive public-opinion surveys on scientific disinformation, tested various online strategies for dealing with it, and began work on a “disinformation widget” that could help citizens detect misleading content online.
- More information
Visit the website of the TRESCA project.
Visit the TRESCA MOOC-page for more information regarding registrations, and to stay up-to-date!
Contact: Jason Pridmore, Erasmus University Rotterdam, pridmore@eshcc.eur.nl- Related content
