Listening First: ImmuniFact Conducts Focus Groups and Survey Across Three Territories
One of the core principles of ImmuniFact is that good methodology starts with real evidence. Before designing any tools or training, we needed to understand directly from the people who matter most what the actual media literacy landscape looks like for young people and youth workers in New Caledonia, Spain, and Croatia. That work is now well underway.
Focus Groups in All Three Countries
Each partner organisation has organised Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with youth workers in their territory. These small-group conversations are designed to go beyond statistics giving youth workers the space to reflect on what they actually encounter in their daily work: the manipulation tactics they see young people fall for, the barriers they face when trying to address disinformation, and the kinds of tools and approaches they believe would genuinely work in non-formal education settings.
The discussions have been rich, honest, and at times eye-opening. Youth workers across all three territories consistently pointed to the speed at which false content spreads on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp and the difficulty of addressing it in a way that is engaging rather than preachy. Several participants highlighted the particular vulnerability of young people in rural or remote areas, where access to quality media literacy education remains limited. Questions around deepfakes, emotionally manipulative content, and politically polarising narratives came up repeatedly in all three national contexts, confirming the cross-border nature of the challenge ImmuniFact is designed to address.
Survey Results Exceeding Expectations
In parallel with the focus groups, each partner has been running a digital survey targeting young people aged 18–30. The survey explores how young people access information, how they assess its credibility, what manipulation techniques they recognise, and how confident they feel navigating digital spaces.
We are delighted to report that the response has significantly exceeded our initial targets. The survey has already reached well over the 150 young people we committed to in our project plan, with participation continuing to grow through outreach by youth organisations, local schools, and social media channels. The data is proving richer than anticipated — providing not just numbers but granular insights into how media literacy challenges differ by age group, background, and territory.
Early findings are already pointing to clear patterns: while most young respondents report high daily social media use, confidence in identifying manipulative content varies considerably. Exposure to disinformation is near-universal, but the strategies young people use or do not use to verify information differ widely. These nuances will be essential inputs for designing a methodology that is genuinely responsive to where young people actually are, not where we assume them to be.
What Comes Next
All data from the surveys and focus groups will be analysed and compiled into a comprehensive Needs Analysis Report. This document will map skills gaps, learning preferences, and structural barriers across the three territories and will directly inform the design of the ImmuniFact Innovative Learning Methodology and Media Literacy Compass.
We look forward to sharing the key findings with you soon.
ImmuniFact is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
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