For Ukrainian seniors, discerning disinformation gets easier

Before Yurii Volik, who is now 75 years old and lives near Kyiv, retired, he worked as a flight school instructor and taught high school mathematics and physics. By the time he got a personal computer in 2007, he'd already surfed the internet for more than a decade. Now, he said, he's on social media constantly. 

But even with all of his experience, what he often saw online would give him pause. Is this story legit? Who wrote it, and why? Are these facts or opinions? 

These questions form the basis of the course "Increasing Media Literacy Among Elderly People," which Volik took earlier this year in Kyiv. The course was developed and is taught by Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute staff, together with DW Akademie trainers, for Ukrainians older than 60 years of age. It is offered both on- and offline and takes a deep dive into social media culture, AI imagery and content, online deception and using a mobile phone to effectively communicate with others. 

The first casualty of war

"I learned new ways to use email, the internet, video recording and photography," said Volik, adding, "I've often come across disinformation while online, but I now pay closer attention to the author —  whether the person is anonymous, the source of the information and whether there are references. I see deception a lot in medical advertisements, in news reporting and in false information on topical issues such as the war, negotiations and politics." 

Disinformation proliferates in the chaos of war. In this sense, analyzing information becomes a first line of defense. The media and information literacy, or MIL, course Volik and other seniors took this summer met them where they are at technologically, challenged what they understood and then built on those skills.  

"Media and information literacy education is extremely important because we in Ukraine are living in a state of war," said trainer Inna Yermakova, "and not only an armed war, but also a war of meanings, information, narratives and history. And people are very reluctant to part with their opinions." 

Moreover, learning a new skill — and rejecting beliefs once one sees no basis for them — is hard for anyone, said Diana Dutsyk, executive director at the Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute. Age can make it even harder, and take longer, than when one is young. 

"Time is needed to build trusting relationships with the group," she said. "And, older adults in Ukraine grew up, studied and were shaped as individuals during the Soviet era. Accordingly, Russian propaganda today exploits certain nostalgic weaknesses of this audience and uses them to achieve its goals." 

While working on ingrained biases requires sensitivity and patience, the course trainers have observed that the older students are open and keen to learn. Their prior professions, and whether they are from urban or rural areas, influence their experiences with and toward the media and messaging. These aspects determine their learning skill and pace more than age does. 

Balancing lived experience and learning

"First and foremost, it is important to remember that they are far from being a Tabula Rasa," said Oksana Pochapska, one of the online course trainers.  

"At first, you are 'some kid who came to explain something to them,'" she continued. "It's important to maintain a balance between being that young person who is willing to listen to their life stories. For a trainer who will gently try to adjust those perceptions, show another perspective, provoke reflection and discussion, and encourage them to search for primary resources, keeping that balance is probably the hardest part." 

Examining and, if need be, changing one's bias was also a challenge in the course for Pochapska, particularly when being impartial feels impossible. 

"When drones and missiles fly over Ukrainian cities every night, when your loved ones are at war, it is extremely difficult to calm your emotions," she said. "Then you start grasping at any information that resonates with your emotional state. The hardest part is to [understand] what facts are, why fear and panic are the worst things we can allow ourselves, why it's important to find primary sources, and why we must think about consequences." 

But such training challenges were seemingly invisible to participant Lidia Malovana.  

At 78, she spent 30 years working as a safety engineer, but her phone's technology stumped her into embarrassment. She wanted to learn more but was shy with her questions. 

"It used to feel impossible for me," she said. "Children use it so easily, while I could only make phone calls. But now, after the training, and all those scam messages that come — I already know not to let myself be deceived. I feel emotionally uplifted that we, people of this age, are treated with such respect during the training. Everything is explained so clearly, simply and accessibly." 

The training, as Pochapska noted, is essentially impulse control, to learn to not respond quickly to news one sees or hears at a glance. And this urgency toward calm, as it turns out, is also helpful amid the chaos of war. 

"MIL is a vital skill that helps one navigate the turbulent information flows we face today," she said. "It allows people to remain calm, avoid spreading panic and maintain a clear understanding of the situation when it feels like the world is collapsing. Someone once said that to conquer a nation, it is enough to seize the minds of its people, and those same people will gladly welcome their conquerors." 

This project is implemented by the Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute NGO in partnership with DW Akademie and with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).