Fake news is not a new phenomenon, but it has gained interest in the last several years, due to the magnitude, the multimodality and the multiplicity of its manifestations and consequences in the digital post-truth era. Because the term fake news itself is problematic and open to abuse, other different concepts have been proposed for describing the phenomenon: disinformation, information manipulation, information disorder, information influence, etc. There is a distinction concerning fake news types [10] among false information without the intention of causing harm (mis-information), false information with the intention of causing harm (dis-information) and real information with the intention of causing harm (mal-information). Fake news can be considered a form of disinformation, comprising, cumulatively false or misleading information and the intention of causing harm to individuals, social groups, organizations or countries.

Fake news is created and disseminated with increasing speed, expertise and effectiveness in the digital context [11], thus being more difficult to detect and resist. The fake news exploits the gullibility of media users, who frequently are not only biased, but also irrational and lazy. Framing (selecting some aspects of a perceived reality and making them more salient) is a particularly effective discursive device of fake news, because it is hardly discernible. It is difficult to differentiate on digital and social media among true, misleading, or false content. One important way of addressing this problem is media literacy, which equips individuals with powerful tools and strategies of resilience and resistance to fake news [12]. Media literacy creates and develops an adaptable and critical toolkit for detection of the fake news and protection from the harm they may cause [13].

Media literacy comprises a set of critical skills and competencies, which enable users to find, analyze, evaluate and interpret various forms of media messages [14]. The main media literacy skills are: analysis, evaluation, grouping, induction, deduction, synthesis and abstracting [15]. Media literacy stimulates the understanding of the methods of message construction and framing, of the different types of media genres, of the various ways of experiencing the messages, of the embedded values and perspectives in media messages, and of the purposes of media producers, whether profit, power or some other aim. Media literacies (digital, visual, textual, aural) promote critical thinking applied to messages and awareness of the media processes and impacts. One important component of media literacy is news literacy [16]. News literacy is the ability to analyze and critically assess news, from the sources of information to the final form with which news stories are presented. As stated by numerous researchers of the issue, the recognition and verification of “fake news” and potentially manipulative content in the media (and social networks) represent significant competences in the contemporary digital environment^[2]. Such a competence enables users to evaluate the credibility of information and to examine the structure of that information. Young people’s lack of interest in news and their disconnection from politics increases their vulnerability to fake news. As the fake news repertoires are ever-increasing, so are the counteracting techniques [16]. 

Media literacy education (MLE) can be construed as a sustainable remedy to the contemporary disruptive media content, which provides users of all ages (especially college students) with lifelong critical tools for analyzing and assessing information and images [17]. Sustainability is a multidimensional concept, which can be understood or framed differently across the various higher education disciplines. Sustainable education provides enduring solutions by academic participation concerning societal and environmental issues. Sustainable teaching guides individuals, through aligned efforts and connected interventions, to be able to acquire new skills and adapt continuously during their lives [18]. In the media studies field, this diversity of focus involving sustainable education upholds complex cultural practices and forms of knowledge [19]. The principles of sustainability, as empowerment action tools, have permeated the media education on different levels, but the research in this area is rather scarce. Sustainable education in a mediated world is a crucial aspect in the development of savvy, informed and engaged citizens as consumers of multimodal media messages [20]. The habit of critical interrogation of media messages can be formed via sustainable education methods. Media coverage and filtering of different issues is a major factor in framing and responding to them as risks, threats or crises [21]. Sustainable media education expands the ability of individuals to interpret and construct dynamic representations of the real-world processes and to access and evaluate information across multiple media platforms and engage actively and critically in a turbulent media environment [22].

Game-based learning gained momentum due to Johan Huizinga’s “Homo Ludens” [23], which brought to public attention the fact that adults picking up narrations, game metaphors and game elements succeed to better understand culture and society, understand complex issues and deal with uncertainty or conflict. Another line goes outside gaming and playfulness, into Erving Goffman’s theory that each social interaction remains, in and of itself, a type of performance, each person enacting a prescribed role on the stage of social expectation, shifting one’s sense of identity as demanded by circumstance [24]. The assumed role brings changes in posture, lexical choices, attitude, etc. Most of the time, individuals shift from one social role to another without a conscious effort, mimicking consecrated types of behavior for a given situation. Role-playing is, on the other hand, not only a learned activity, but a path towards personal and/or professional success. Role-playing games are viewed as forms of cultural rituals, appealing either to fantasy, or to non-fictional strategies, depending on the stake and purpose of the game. In the effort to innovate educational practice and re-ignite people’s appetite for learning, gamification was proposed, in the last decade, as a process capable of motivating individuals to stay committed to lifelong learning, although the outcomes of game-based learning are not always enduring [25,26]. Nevertheless, game-based learning tools and gamification are perceived as effective ways of transferring knowledge on complex topics not only to students, but to broad audiences and such tools are proposed in a variety of packages and durations. Literature on the topic [27] mentions frameworks on gameful design such as RECIPE (Reflection, Exposition, Choice, Information, Play, Engagement) and playful design such as TANC (Theme, Activities, Narrative, Components), alongside emphasizing the meaningfulness of playing and memorable experiences that win the intrinsic interest of students. Sarah Lynne Bowman makes a compelling case towards using role playing in a variety of contexts, mentioning business, education, military training, improvisational theater, drama therapy, health care and leisure. In her view, role-playing enhances a group’s sense of communal cohesiveness by providing narrative enactment within a ritual framework, encourages complex problem-solving and provides participants with the opportunity to gain experience, while being capable of offering participants a safe space to enact alternate personas [28]. She demonstrates that role-playing encourages creativity, self-awareness, empathy, group cohesion and “out-of-the-box” thinking. For the specific case of combating fake news and raising resilience against disinformation, Jon Roozenbeek and Sander van der Linden [29] propose the fake news game, explaining how the inoculation theory proves effective for developing participants’ ability to recognize and resist fake news. The game is freely accessible on the internet under the title “Bad news game,” with brief indications regarding the inoculation theory—a “vaccine against fake news”—role playing in producing fake news messages and guidance to post-game debriefing, to reflect upon the experience. Other models and games are described in literature [30], but the one developed and studied by Roozenbeek and van der Linden seems to be a forerunner, highly recommended as a verified tool for combating disinformation^[1]. A semester-long playing and debating a Roozenbeek and van der Linden-inspired game in a communication studies classroom led to the conclusion that inoculation lessens in power and needs reinforcement, until the desired behavior is consolidated in the participants and becomes part of their way of reasoning. In using this method, educators need to keep in mind that while the gaming experience stirs students’ interest and enthusiasm, their resilience against fake news seems to need repeated and more complex efforts.