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Humanities LibreTexts

11.9: Interactive Games for Recognizing Disinformation and Media Manipulation

  • Page ID
    208545

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    Academic writing strives for objectivity. As you evaluate research sources or edit your writing for voice and tone, it's important to recognize emotional, biased, or unsupported claims that can weaken credibility. The following games are designed to help players recognize sources of misinformation. They can be played singly or in groups.

    Harmony Square is a game in which players are hired as Disinformation Officers to spread fake news and disrupt the harmony of a neighborhood. It was designed and developed by the Gusmanson design studio with financial support from groups including the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the University of Cambridge.

    Cat Park is a game in which players join a neighborhood group to spread disinformation to stop a city project. They learn how to use emotional manipulation to exploit social tensions for personal and political gain. This game was also developed by Gusmanson in cooperation with groups including the GEC and the University of Cambridge.

    Lizards and Lies is a game in which players manipulate conspiracy theories moving through social media. It was funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Digital Citizens Contribution Fund, Technoculture Arts and Games Lab, Machine Agencies, and the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship.

    Not for Broadcast is a propaganda simulation game in which players control what appears on a broadcast network. It was developed by the British video game studio NotGames and published by tinyBuild.