Lie Detectors will deliver 51 classroom visits in the schools of Cologne in the course of March-April.

Lie Detectors is an independent journalist-led news literacy project that connects journalists, schools and the best of media literacy to help young people spot and resist manipulative media crowding their social media accounts as they start to forge an independent world view.

Professional journalists and media experts are trained and deployed to teach the 90-minute sessions in the presence of a teacher, offering follow-up material where desired. Sessions include an overview of fake news, methods of testing for misinformation, and analysis of drivers of the fake-news phenomenon. Interactive sections – designed to suit the relevant age group – help children understand how mainstream media selects news and may insert bias to present a picture of reality that is often incomplete. Material for homework or follow-up sessions – where – allows children to develop deeper a understanding of selective storytelling and perspective. All services offered to classrooms are free of charge and aim to reach a broad and diverse range of schools in Europe.