Platform for news expertise "Usethenews.ch" is live

Strongly participatory democracies such as Switzerland depend on their population being able to make informed political decisions based on facts. Accordingly, news literacy - the ability to critically evaluate and verify news - is a key element of this, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. And these skills are still underdeveloped in Switzerland, as a representative study commissioned by the Federal Office of Communications in 2023 showed.

In the fight against fake news, disinformation and manipulation, Keystone-SDA, the SRG and the Swiss Media Publishers Association VSM founded the "Usethenews" association in spring (Markt-kom.com reported).

Now with the Platform Usethenews.ch the "central element of this initiative" online, the press release continues. The database already contains 60 educational offers, training courses, workshops and materials that are available in Switzerland in the field of news literacy and journalistic media education. The platform also offers further information from science and practice on journalism, media education and media research. Usethenews also aims to promote dialog and network the areas of education, media practice, science and politics with events such as roundtables and conferences.

"Anyone looking for, offering or wanting to know something about news expertise should be able to find their way around here in future," explains Managing Director Markus Spillmann. The platform is currently available in German and French, with an Italian version to follow later. Further functionalities and services are also planned.

More than a dozen organizations and universities throughout Switzerland are already involved in the Alliance for News Literacy Usethenews. The initiative is supported by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland. It builds on the international network of the same name. (pd/swi)