Fact-checking Odyssey: Evidence Unleashed

ANNIE held its first student conference in Ho Chi Minh City in Dec 2024

A very Happy New Year to our fellow news literacy educators and students!

As some of you might have heard, ANNIE School Net held our very first student fact-checkers’ conference at Van Lang University in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of last year. Our conference, entitled Fact-checking Odyssey: Evidence Unleashed, brought together university and high school students from eleven institutions in seven Asian countries, namely, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The two-day event was designed to foster cultural exchange and collaboration among the participating students, and it was so lovely to see them all there. They showcased their campus-based fact-checking projects, competed in online games that tested their skills, and discussed pressing issues of misinformation in their own countries. We also had a workshop on deepfake (AI-generated misinformation), visited a newsroom, and took an amazing Saigon River dinner cruise!

You can watch a recap video made by students at Van Lang University below:

On-campus fact-checking projects

The conference was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to share their unique approaches to fact-checking. We have schools making websites, broadcasting radio shows, producing social media videos and memes, publishing magazines, and even making a movie!

The students not only shared their experiences and methodologies, but also discussed the challenges they faced in their communities. It was genuinely inspiring to see the diversity of projects and the common aspiration of enhancing information integrity across the Asian region, which is what ANNIE is all about.

Students’ presentations were engaging and inspiring

Jeopardy competition, workshop on AI, Ray’s blog

In addition to the presentations, we all had a great time playing some fun games, starting with the fantastic Ray’s blog that many ANNIE Connect readers are familiar with. Our main competition was a Jeopardy-style quiz show. Students teamed up with their peers from other countries and demonstrated their fact-checking techniques, critical thinking skills, and logical reasoning ability.

Even the workshop on generative AI, which was slightly more lecture-heavy, included some fun quizzes and challenging activities, as well as some relevant news and influencer videos to make it more engaging.

Games like these get students work together and learn from each other

ANNIE's teaching philosophy is all about learning through hands-on experience. These games are designed to help students apply what they've learned in their fact-checking projects. They also provide opportunities for students to collaborate and connect with each other. By working together with others who share similar interests, I hope participants were able to make new friends and strengthen their connections.

Nuanced conversations about national stereotypes

One of the key reasons why we incorporate fact-checking into our news and media literacy education is to make students understand the limitations of this field. Lots of information we encounter in our daily lives are not easily verifiable. But even so, we believe fact-checking training prepares them to pause, reflect, investigate, share, and monitor (PRISM) when they encounter any type of statements.

In the conference, I gave each school to ponder the following statements about their own countries on the first day as a take-home (or hotel, rather) assignment. One of the highlights of the second day was for the students to give nuanced responses to these mean-spirited stereotypes and/or oversimplified views.

Hong Kong

• “Hong Kong no longer has any freedom of speech. Political expressions against the authorities can be deemed illegal.”

India

• “Corruption is the defining feature of Indian governance with no effective anti-corruption movements in the country.”

• “Caste system is practiced in reality, which is one of the reasons why many Indians aspire to live abroad.”

Indonesia

• “Bali feels like a different country. Most tourists coming to Indonesia just go to this island.”

• “Government officials in Indonesia are so corrupt. You cannot get anything done quickly unless you pay them a little bribe.”

• “Indonesian women have limited roles in society.”

• “In Indonesia, non-muslims are discriminated against at all levels from schools to offices.”

Japan

• “Most Japanese people are xenophobic. They don’t welcome immigrants.”

Malaysia

• “Malaysians view themselves primarily through ethnic lenses; all aspects of life are governed by race-based ideology.”

The Philippines

• “Filipino culture is overly influenced by Western ideals, especially by Spain and the United States (e.g. language and basketball).”

Vietnam

• “Child labour is a big issue in Vietnam. Many children have no choice but to work due to poverty.”

• “Dog meat is widely traded and consumed in Vietnam but many restaurants hide it from foreign tourists.”

Final thoughts

ANNIE’s first student conference, Fact-checking Odyssey: Evidence Unleashed, was a significant step forward for our initiative across Asia. Participants, thank you for bringing all your enthusiasm and creativity to the event. By combining presentations, interactive games, an AI workshop, an unannounced assignment, and networking opportunities, I hoped you would walk away with fresh insights and a spark of inspiration to dive deeper into your future fact-checking projects.

As misinformation and populism continue to proliferate globally, initiatives like ours are facing tougher obstacles ahead in our region. Despite the increasingly adverse environment we’re confronted with, ANNIE is determined to keep the collaborative spirit fostered during this event alive. Building a sense of community among young students—or even among educated adults—across Asia is difficult. With our diverse languages, cultures, religions, political systems, and other factors often getting in the way, it’s not always easy to find common ground.

But this conference was so much fun! The energy in the room was contagious, and it was heartwarming to see students from different backgrounds coming together with a shared purpose. The laughter and excitement reminded me why I am in the field of education, honestly.

Lastly, I would like to thank our colleagues and volunteer students at Van Lang University for their hospitality and a great organisation of the conference.

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P.S.

We also created a music playlist and blasted our songs during the break. The participating students suggested songs about fact-checking or being factual in advance. We will keep it and continue to add songs :) You can listen to all of them on YouTube.