Online journalism in our country has influenced the existence of fake news. Thus, fake news has an impact on making wrong decisions among the younger generations.
Albanian and Bosnian students of the 10th grade, at the “Frank Bardhi” Natural Gymnasium in Mitrovica, during training within the project “Media education against disinformation for non-majority communities in Kosovo”, have assessed that fake news are negatively affecting their being, as they are falling prey to these news.
The student of this high school, Ylli Mehmeti, told KosovaPress that his generation is very sensitive, therefore these news are affecting the decision-making which, according to him, are not the right ones for his generation. According to him, misinformation affects critical thinking.
Mehmeti has also come across speculations about the exclusion of players from the Kosovo National Team.
“Fake news has taken over the internet. Nowadays we have learned how to protect ourselves from them, how not to trust them all and how to distinguish them from each other… Our generation is a very sensitive generation, they influence a lot because they can misinform the public or the audience and it affects making decisions which are not right for our generation… They affect some decisions because misinformation affects the critical opinion about news or something that we thought earlier and changes the critical opinion about it… Several players were excluded, there were various speculations as to why they were excluded, but the truth is still known,” said Mehmeti.
Meanwhile, the other student, Sara Preteni, said that this training has helped them learn how to protect themselves and identify fake news.
She has not come across fake news as it is very careful in verifying the source of the news.
“It was very necessary nowadays. I have learned how to protect ourselves from fake news and how to specify whether it is fake or true… Fake news is a very widespread factor both among young people and throughout the world. These news are affecting us young people very badly, we are falling prey to these news and they are negatively affecting our being… They are reduced by looking at whether they are verified or not, so it is a valuable education. Fortunately, I didn’t come across it (fake news) because I looked at the mediums they come from and whether they are verified or not”, said Preteni.
Likewise, the English language professor at this school, Arjeta Mehmeti, who has come across fake news about the northern part of Kosovo, said that they should rely on serious media and not believe everything that comes out on social media.
“Using digital platforms and different media, these days there is a lot of fake news, that’s why the youth and all of us should be very careful in using and trusting these news… Mainly the latest news that also has to do with the northern part , there is a lot of fake news, which today, thankfully, we were also informed who to believe, to follow the sources, to see if they are verified by the media, etc. We must rely on more serious media and not believe everything that is offered, especially on social media”, said Mehmeti.
The project “Media education against disinformation for non-majority communities in Kosovo” is supported by the United States Embassy in Prishtina. /A.Shala/
