Critical thinking in the age of digital information

Nowadays, especially with the development of technologies, we are permanently confronted with a multitude of information. However, many of them seem unreliable or are even deliberately misleading, such as fake news. Thus, even if we have never been as well informed as today with the Internet and social networks, society is paradoxically facing a phenomenon of disinformation.

How to exercise one's critical thinking in this context and what are the stakes? Why are fake news and conspiracy theories so attractive ?

Throughout this course, consisting of videos, expert presentations and various activities, you will learn about the phenomenon of misinformation, understand its causes and ways to counter it. The first step of the course will be to identify the various cognitive biases that hinder critical reasoning and to recognize them in your own judgments. Then, you will analyze the dissemination of fake news: how do they circulate? What are their individual and collective impacts?