UNESCO published a Handbook on fake news and disinformation in media

The UNESCO Tashkent Office jointly with the University of Journalism and Mass Communication of Uzbekistan published a Handbook on "Fake news: disinformation in media", within the framework of the project "Enhancing the Capacity of Uzbek Media to Serve the Public Interest – Phase II"*. This project was generously funded by the UK Government.

The Handbook is intended for journalism students and media professionals and is available in three languages: Karakalpak, Russian and Uzbek.

Fake, misleading information can have a negative impact on the audience's consciousness and affect public attitudes. Under the current circumstances, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem of fake news has become one of the most important subjects in modern journalism.

To date, no academic literature on fake news has been published in Uzbekistan. Therefore, the Handbook on "Fake news: disinformation in media" is the first step in creating special literature on fake news. It contains theoretical material on the concept of fake news, its origins, nature, harm, and describes methods and tools of fact-checking.

*The UNESCO project "Enhancing the Capacity of Uzbek Media to Serve the Public Interest. Phase II" was launched in March 2019 and completed in May 2020. The project was financed generously by the UK Government in the amount of $ 190,450.