🚀 Erasmus+ minus Fakes: Clickbait as it was

The Erasmus+ "Clickbait" Youth Exchange took place in Gonio, Georgia on 17-24 May 2023.

What’s the difference between fake news and manipulation? How to recognize social media’s fakes and how to improve media literacy skills? All these questions are essential for journalists, but also for all young people. Trust me; everyone can be manipulated. So, let's repeat the last question ‘’How to improve media literacy skills?

The subject of media literacy is trendier now than ever. Nowadays, media literacy skills aren't just grasping facts - those are emotional and intellectual skills that can protect your mental and even physical health. Likewise, sorry for being annoying, but we need to train this ‘’muscle’’ called media literacy with our valuable questions and critical thinking every day.

The project ‘’Clickbait’’ was developed by young people to create a grassroots movement of critical thinking and filtering information. Young people from the Netherlands, Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, Georgia, Moldova, and Armenia discussed the topic through their experience and knowledge for 7 days. How did it go?

Yeah, we are moving to the attractive part of this article!

What was the plus of this Erasmus+?

Even if you are an experienced accountant from Poland (Hi, Agnieszka!) or a doctor from Turkey (Come on Ilyas!), you need to understand how media works or what true journalism is, and of course, you need to share your own experience, expand your media literacy skills, and refrain from social media fakes.

Erasmus+ isn’t just a training course with mind-boggling lecturers and rusty ideas. Erasmus+ provides a ground for interactively sharing your knowledge. Even if you have some language barriers, it doesn't mean you are out of the group. I absolutely love all those forthright people who kindly shared their opinions, knowledge, and job experience with us, even if we were ‘’apples and oranges’’.

And about different points of view - it always works in a good way if you are trying to understand other’s mentalities and cultures. And it is something worth raising a toast for.

Don’t panic - we did it too.

Article by Anahit Hakobyan