Elche becomes the stage for the fight against Fake News at the Youth Festival Crítica

More than 400 students from three high schools in Alicante and Valencia participate in the Crítica project, learning to identify and dismantle hoaxes in social networks.

Cristina Medina, deputy director of Radio Elche Cadena SER, stresses the need to incorporate the identification of fake news in the school curriculum to promote critical thinking and awards prizes to the best works.

The Festival Crítica, held at the Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Elche and following the track of last year's edition, puts the finishing touch to the educational project dedicated to promoting critical thinking and providing tools for the identification of fake news.

The event, organized by Jovesólides with the collaboration of the City Council of Elche, has brought together more than a hundred students from the high schools IES Enric Valor of Castalla, IES La Canal of Petrer and IES Carrús of Elche.

Watch the best moments of the Festival Crítica in Elche!

FESTIVAL CRÍTICA 2024, summary of the event held in Elx

During the festival, the videos created by the participating students, in which they identify and dismantle hoaxes and provide correct information, were presented.

A specialized jury, composed of experts such as Cristina Medina, deputy director of Radio Elche Cadena Ser and Elche 7TV; Espe Martínez, project technician representing the Esperanza Pertusa Foundation, and María Bernabeu, co-director and Iván Botella, head of communication, representing the Juan Perán Pikolinos Foundation, selected the three winning videos in the categories of greatest social impact, best editing and greatest creativity.

The winning teams of the Festival Crítica have stood out for their creativity, editing and social approach in the fight against fake news. The group 'Fake Busters' from IES La Canal de Petrer has won the creativity award for its original approach to dismantle hoaxes. The group 'Report-Fake. Los cazadores de fake news' from IES Carrús in Elche won the award for best editing for their technical skill in the creation of their video. Finally, the group 'Colegio Emigrante' also from IES Carrús of Elche, has been recognized for its social approach in addressing misinformation, taking the prize in this category. These teams represent the spirit of the Festival Crítica by demonstrating how critical thinking and digital skills can help combat fake news effectively.

CRÍTICA - Fake Busters (Creativity Prize)

CRÍTICA - Colegio Emigrante (Social Dimension Prize)

CRÍTICA - Report-Fake. Los cazadores de fake news (Best Edition Prize)

Education and youth, key in the fight against disinformation

During the event, journalist Cristina Medina, deputy director of Radio Elche Cadena SER, stressed the importance of including this type of training in the school curriculum, given the high use of social networks by young people and the need to distinguish between truthful information and fake news.

María Bonmatí, Councilor for Education, Youth and Disability of the City Council of Elche, thanked the educational community for their involvement and effort to promote critical thinking in adolescents.

For her part, the president of Jovesólides, Lourdes Mirón, highlighted that the Crítica project has involved more than 400 young people over the last two years in different high schools in the provinces of Valencia and Alicante, teaching them to identify and refute fake news.

Students participating in the project have also expressed their enthusiasm and satisfaction for learning during the process, highlighting the importance of acquiring skills to identify fake news in social networks and understand how information can be manipulated.

The Crítica Festival represents the end point of the educational project for this academic year. Since its implementation, Crítica has positioned itself as a benchmark initiative in the Valencian Community in training young people to detect and combat fake news and hoaxes in digital media. Thanks to this educational project, students develop critical thinking and acquire key skills to exercise informed judgment when navigating in an increasingly complex and polarized digital environment.

Are you still hungry for more? Visit Crítica's website!

Crítica is a project of Education for Development and global citizenship, funded by the Second Vice-presidency and Department of Social Services, Equality and Housing of the Generalitat Valenciana.

Join the fight against Fake News and learn more about the Crítica project. Follow all the news with the hashtags #Crítica and #QueNoTeLaCuelen on social networks.