BECID Team’s Achievements: May 2024 in Review

Here you will find a comprehensive review of the BECID team’s achievements in May 2024. This overview includes events organized and attended by the team. The “Varia” section highlights publications that acknowledge BECID and includes a list of student theses related to media literacy, conducted at Tallinn University and the University of Tartu.

BECID organizes  

• The project “Media Literacy Classes in Latvian Educational Institutions” has ended. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the University of Latvia and Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences visited more than 80 Latvian schools in the school year 2023/2024. 

• On May 13th, hosted by the University of Tartu, Estonia’s first children’s internet safety event, CHILDREN’S DIGIÄKK, took place. The event welcomed over 200 children who engaged in screen-free activities, learning safe internet practices through interactive games. Over 50 future kindergarten and school teachers, along with youth workers, led the activities as part of their final project for “Playful Development of Media Literacy Skills” course, led by Inger Klesment and Maria Murumaa-Mengel. You can find a worksheet for teachers here. Media coverage of the event can be found here, here and here.  

Estonia’s First Internet Safety Drill for Preschoolers: DigiÄKK

• On May 17th to 18th, as part of the Media Studies course at the University of Tartu led by Inger Klesment, an installation titled “Digikäkk” encouraged people to anonymously share their biggest digital blunders on a writable wall made from discarded phone cases, fostering a communal learning experience from others’ mistakes. This installation, part of the 2024 European Capital of Culture in Tartu, attracted over 10,000 visitors, sparking intergenerational conversations and providing a unique platform for sharing and reflecting on digital missteps.

Tartlased jagasid suurimaid digikäkke

BECID is represented  

• On May 2nd, Maria Murumaa-Mengel (UT) conducted a training session on “Social Media Platforms and Micro-Communities in the Context of Internal Communication Information Resilience” for koolitusturg.ee. 

• On May 7th, Maria Murumaa-Mengel gave a video lecture on UTTV for Tartu University’s Science School about the flood of misinformation accompanying the European Parliament elections. You can find supporting worksheets here and here (EE, can be translated to EN). 

• On May 9th, Maria Murumaa-Mengel held an online training session for the members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry titled “Micro-Communities Within a Company.”  

• On May 9th, the Maaleht Elderly Festival was held at the Estonian National Museum. Inger Klesment, Maria Murumaa-Mengel, and Gretel Juhansoo teamed up with Telia to design postcards aimed at raising awareness about online fraud, resulting in entertaining outcomes. You can find numerous examples of the postcards here and the Canva document here.  

• On May 17, an editor of ‘Delfi’ Lithuania fact-checking initiative ‘Melo detektorius’ (read more from the Varia section) Aistė Meidutė participated in the international EDMO fact-checking conference ‘EU AND DISINFORMATION: LAST CHECKPOINT BEFORE THE VOTE’, where partners reviewed EDMO’s efforts to combat misinformation before the EU election. 

• On May 22nd, participants from the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s women’s leadership acceleration program visited the University of Tartu, where Maria Murumaa-Mengel discussed professional use of social media and influencer culture. 

• On May 23rd, Maria Murumaa-Mengel gave a public lecture for SALTO Participation and Information titled “Stay Sharp During Elections – How Cognitive Biases and Media Influence Our Decisions” (EN).  

• Lithuanian ‘Delfi’s’ fact-checking initiative ‘Melo detektorius’ is the first Baltic initiative to join YouTube’s pilot fact-checking program. On May 24, editor Aistė Meidutė attended a YouTube workshop in Paris, where participants learned about YouTube’s functions, met journalist Charles Villa, and discussed fact-checking content creation and promotion. 

• In May, the representative of BECID in Lithuania prof. Auksė Balčytienė (VMU) participated in the scientific conference organized by the Faculty of Communications of Vilnius University. 

Varia 

Three publications indicating BECID’s acknowledgement:

• ViA team has recorded a media literacy class for pupils (high schoolers) that you can find here. English subtitles will be added soon. 

• Delfi Lithuania has launched a chatbot to open a direct communication channel with users regarding disinformation campaigns. In partnership with Maldita – Europe’s leading fact-checking organization – and other regions worldwide, they are using this chatbot to combat cross-border Russian disinformation on private messaging apps and developing a centralized multilingual disinformation database to quickly identify emerging campaigns. Delfi Melo Detektorius can be reached via its Facebook profile using the message function. 

Both the University of Tartu and Tallinn University have had defenses of theses related to WP4 themes:  

• Tallinn University: As part of WP 4.1 Ingrid Landeiro has conducted a BA thesis titled “MEEDIAPÄDEVUSE KUI ÜLDPÄDEVUSE ÕPETAMISEGA KAASNEVAD RASKUSED MEEDIAPÄDEVUSE KOOLITUSELE TULNUD ÕPETAJATE NÄITEL”  

University of Tartu:  

• Eelmaa, S. (2024). The social categorization of sexual abuse. Doctoral thesis, sup. J. Strömpl, M. Murumaa-Mengel  

• Juhansoo, G. (2024). Vandenõuteooriad TikTokis ja mujal sotsiaalmeedias: alates 15-aastaste eestlaste kogemused ja hinnangud [Conspiracy theories on TikTok and other social media platforms: experiences and perceptions of Estonians aged 15 and above]. Bachelor’s thesis, sup: M. Murumaa-Mengel, M. Klaassen 

• Pukk, A. (2024). Tähelepanu püüdmise ja hoidmise strateegiate kasutamine haridusvaldkonnas: õpetajate kogemused sotsiaalmeediasse sisu loomisel [Attention-seeking and attention-keeping strategies in education: teachers’ experiences with social media content creation]. Bachelor’s thesis, sup: M. Murumaa-Mengel 

• Vompa, M.-J. (2024). Radikaliseerumisprotsesside ilmingud Eesti sotsiaalmeedias ning deradikaliseerumise võimalused ekspertide hinnangute põhjal [Expressions of Radicalization Processes in Estonian Social Media and Possibilities for Deradicalization Based on Expert Assessments]. Bachelor’s thesis, sup: M. Murumaa-Mengel, M. Klaassen.