Strengthening Democracies: Building Resilience and Resistance to Information Disorders

About

Participants will engage with key questions: What makes disinformation a “wicked problem”? How do public discussion spaces become vulnerable? Sessions combine conceptual introductions with practical exercises, including case studies, media literacy approaches, and hands-on OSINT practice. Topics range from research quality and scientific literacy to AI-driven challenges, hybrid warfare tactics, and resilience strategies at individual, institutional, and policy levels.

The course is designed for critical engagement rather than technical mastery, providing participants with a deeper understanding of the dynamics of information disorder and practical insights into countering its effects. This is a great preparatory course for anyone considering a master’s or doctoral degree and wanting to try out research methods in the context of information disorder.

Course leader

Maria Murumaa-Mengel • Ragne Kõuts-Klemm • Andra Siibak • Marju Himma • Ebe Pilt • Maia Klaassen • Inger Klesment • Anna Danielyan • Gretel Juhansoo

Target group

bachelor's, master's, lifelong learners

Course aim

- Explain the concept of information disorder and its impact on democratic societies and public discourse.
- Identify key mechanisms and narratives that drive disinformation across news and social media platforms.
- Evaluate the quality and relevance of information sources, including academic research and media content.
- Apply basic principles of scientific literacy and source criticism when engaging with complex information environments.
- Recognise emerging challenges posed by AI-generated content and understand their implications for trust and credibility.
- Describe resilience strategies at individual, institutional, and policy levels, including media and information literacy interventions.
- Perform introductory OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) tasks to locate and verify publicly available information.

Fee info