Among the many opportunities for collaboration with major national and international media offered by the Luiss Master in Journalism, one concerns the environment. Last 16 October, La Stampa opened the Climate Check section on its website, 29 articles to unveil false myths about the environment. The real novelty is that the section is made up of articles written by the students of the Luiss Master’s degree in Journalism, who have selected the most widespread fake news on the environment and processed the fact-checking of each one. ‘Has the climate always changed? And do chemtrails exist? Are electric cars good for the environment? What about soya for vegans? How many questions do we ask or get asked every day when we talk about ‘green’ issues. Unfortunately, we are not prepared for the correct answers, so that false myths and fake news are able to propagate quickly’. These are the objectives of an initiative that aims to counter the main narratives of one of the most widespread and most dangerous strands of disinformation: climate denialism. The project was coordinated by La Stampa journalist Nicolas Lozito, who taught the Environmental Journalism course last two years. Analyses, comments, exercises and discussions culminated in the final exam: a 500-word text explaining why denialist theories are unfounded. 29 ‘tasks’ that La Stampa then collected in a ‘handbook against disinformation to read and “browse”’. Discover Climate Check!
Climate Check: Luiss Master in Journalism and La Stampa against climate disinformation
