RETINA provides an overview of resources and activities for fighting disinformation

Digital roadmap

"Dutch libraries are good places for promoting knowledge and awareness of disinformation," says Erik. "However, they aren't always making the best use of the available teaching resources and workshops. And there's a shortage of interventions aimed at self-sufficient adults. One explanation is that it isn't easy for libraries to identify, select and implement appropriate interventions. Lack of time and funds can be an issue as well. So, early last year, we got together with the National Library, Rijnbrink and the Institute for Sound and Vision to develop a digital roadmap, where library staff can easily see what's available. We came into contact with the other organisations through the national digital citizenship programme. Our first step was to organise a series of sessions with about 11 libraries around the country, gathering input on the content and design of the platform. One of the standout findings was that library staff wanted something that would make it easy to find, publicise and implement suitable interventions. Using the input from the sessions, we created a prototype platform, which was then refined in a series of feedback rounds."

"RETINA is now up and running. Libraries can use the online roadmap to easily find tools by filtering on the basis of location, subject, target audience, age and so on. The language, duration, cost and provider of each intervention are shown. Platform users can 'like' a tool, just as you 'like' things on social media, to show that they think a listed resource is useful for their target audience. They can also record the pathway they followed to reach their chosen intervention. The RETINA database is populated with interventions aimed at fighting fake news and disinformation. The interventions include everything from lesson plans to workshops, from videos to educational games. As well as helping people build up their online resilience, we're hoping to promote debate about disinformation."

Support from SIDN Fund

"SIDN Fund's support enabled us to get RETINA started," affirms Erik. "The Fund awarded us a grant through its Internet and Society programme. But they didn't only provide financial support. They also gave us lots of ideas and input for the platform's database. We found the Fund's networking events very helpful as well. We made some useful contacts with teams working on related projects. There are lots of people out there developing relevant tools, which we may well want to add to the RETINA database in due course."

Elise van Schaik, Project Coordinator at SIDN Fund: "Digital citizenship is increasingly important. However, not everyone has the skills or resilience needed to independently navigate the digital world. Libraries have a vital role to play in terms of helping people develop appropriate skills and resilience. RETINA provides an overview of tools and resources for fighting disinformation, making it easier for libraries to help the public. Going forward, I think we can expect to see libraries doing more in the field of digital citizenship."

Low-threshold interventions

"Retinakaart.nl is currently a standalone website," explains Erik. "It's an open-source platform, meaning that other developers can make use of what we've created. For example, you could take our code and use it to build a platform for easily accessing resources linked to another theme. We're now working with our digital citizenship programme partners to find an online 'home' for the platform. We're also investigating ways of linking to the tool from other websites and content. In the period ahead, our focus will be on using and optimising RETINA, and on keeping the database updated. We'll be talking to library staff about how best to do that during the various Probiblio information sessions."

"While developing RETINA, we discovered that there aren't so many low-threshold activities for self-sufficient adults. There is plenty of scope for new interventions, therefore. The challenge is to make adults aware of disinformation, without making them feel personally threatened. That means it's important to present activities in an unprejudiced way, so that they encourage people to reflect on how they interact with news. We're working with our partners to decide what role we can play in the development of appropriate interventions."

Want to start using RETINA or learn more about the online roadmap? Visit retinakaart.nl of mail contact@retinakaart.nl.