As a part of the Travelling Festival Docudays UA, on 4 December, Lviv hosted a seminar on the topic of “World Wide Web Traps: How to protect yourself in the sea of digital possibilities.”

Access to knowledge and information has always been a privilege of only certain population groups—aristocracy or representatives of religious cults; the majority did not have access to such opportunities. In the age of information society, when technology has become openly accessible, the situation has changed radically. No doubt, the world has opened, it has become closer to each of us. Art, science, politics and entertainment have become available to us with one touch of our cell phone screen or computer keyboard. But has the contemporary individual in the world of information actually obtained freedom of choice and access to true knowledge? The seminar participants tried to find the answer to this question. The event was organized by NGO Patronus in partnership with the Museum of Dignity in Lviv and the Teaching Methodology Centre for Education in Lviv.

The speaker at the event was Viktoria Romaniuk, deputy editor-in-chief of StopFake.org, deputy head of the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism, PhD in Cultural Studies and media expert.

She told the seminar participants how to distinguish between actual news and fake news and how to prevent false facts from manipulating our thoughts. The invited participants tried to analyze the key threats of the information space, considered notable examples of media influences, and found new ways of safe existence in the information dimension.

“The general availability of technology has made every one of us a participant in the information process—we are not just consumers, but creators of messages. The media, bloggers, opinion leaders, people who want to make money off selling and consuming information—millions of opinions and points of view, which simultaneously became audible in the virtual and media space like never before, have moved people away from the truth, created obstacles to thorough and deep comprehension of information, and became a threat to private life. Lies, manipulation, false points of view are changing the contemporary audience, their perception of reality, they have transformed contemporary communication,” said Viktoria.

See the video recording of the event here.