In 2025, the Mieroszewski Centre, in cooperation with the Demagog Association, is once again organizing the HUMBUG fact-checking workshop series.
HUMBUG is a training program for teachers who want to better understand the mechanisms of disinformation and teach young people how to think critically and recognize manipulation.
Rzeszów and Zielona Góra — these are the cities that hosted the first two sessions of this year’s edition. Together with teachers from all over Poland, we explored topics such as disinformation, manipulation techniques, media literacy, and the tools that help build informational resilience in schools.
The participants left no doubt — the topic is both timely and essential:
"The media overwhelm us with information, and I can see that it’s not just me — my students feel overwhelmed too. I need tools to help distinguish truth from falsehood."
"I wish children would base their arguments on facts, not on slogans they read online."
Over the course of two-day workshops, participants explore practical methods for working with students, learn how to verify information online, and analyze real-world examples of disinformation — including those related to artificial intelligence, the war in Ukraine, and public health issues.
The HUMBUG sessions are not only a space for learning but also a place for exchanging experiences, building connections, and co-creating educational tools that will later be used in schools.
As one participant summarized:
"It was a truly valuable experience. Great energy, excellent organization, meaningful conversations."
Two more sessions are still ahead — in new cities, with new participants who want to foster critical thinking and resilience against manipulation.
The Mieroszewski Centre, together with the Demagog Association, organised a series of Humbug fact-checking workshops for male and female primary and secondary school teachers in 2024.
Through the workshops, educators were equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to develop students' critical thinking skills and assess the credibility of information.
The two-day training took place in four locations in Poland, allowing access for teachers from different regions:
- Olsztyn, 26-27 April 2024
- Katowice, 7-8 June 2024
- Szczecin, 25-26 October 2024
- Rzeszów, 22-23 November 2024.
Topics covered during the training:
- fake news and other types of false information
- reliable sources of information
- fact-checker's toolbox, i.e. verification tools
- how to react to false information in conversation and on the web
- disinformation around the war in Ukraine and the refugee crisis
- how to address disinformation in the classroom - methods and tools
It was a great experience. Thank you for a great atmosphere, wonderful and professional, perfect organisation, taking care of all our needs. Thanks to the workshop with Demagog, I feel equipped with knowledge, new working tools, ideas. I am also charged with the positive energy of networking - new contacts, interesting acquaintances, inspiration, exchange of experiences. It was a great time,
- said one of the participants after the training.
The HUMBUG fact-checking workshops organised by the Mieroszewski Centre and the Demagogue Association are aimed at teachers who want to help their pupils deal with disinformation.
Thanks to them, participants of the first edition in 2023 learned how to recognise disinformation, protect their pupils from the influence of false information and shape critical thinking.
Social media, while serving many positive functions, has become an ideal environment for the spread of disinformation. The rapid flow of information, the lack of verification of content and the so-called information bubbles that segregate our beliefs make it easy to believe false information and share it widely.
During the workshop, male and female teachers learned how to use fact-checking tools and analyse the credibility of information sources. Our aim was to equip participants with the tools to effectively identify disinformation.
In 2023, the workshop was held in Warsaw on two dates: 12 June and 16 October. The project ended with the presentation of certificates, which will certainly be helpful in their future teaching careers.
‘There needs to be more training like this’ - is the opinion of one of the workshop participants.
