ORF and Standard launch expensive educational initiative against fake news!

ORF and Standard launch expensive educational initiative against fake news!

At the beginning of the new educational initiative from ORF and Standard, reactions were divided. The initiative, which aims to train students and teachers in workshops, is intended to help identify fake news and critically question the content. How exxpress.at reported, the project costs 171,054.24 euros and runs from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr emphasizes the need for media literacy in an increasingly digitalized world. He points to Standard's journalistic experience, but there are also concerns about possible indoctrination in schools.

A controversial example of a political posting by the FPÖ that was deemed misleading led to sharp criticism. This posting was ultimately removed from the learning materials. The initiative's materials are free for all schools and participation is voluntary. Despite these positive aspects, ORF and Standard's choice of partners is under observation. Wiederkehr defends himself against further criticism and emphasizes that there is no collaboration with NGOs such as “Lie Detectors” and “Digitaler Kompass”.

Criticism of ORF and Standard

The ORF is currently under criticism. FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker describes the station as caught in a “deep structural crisis”. This was done by fpoe.at discussed in more detail. The problems include not only legally incorrect appointments to the board of trustees, which led to months of leadershiplessness, but also the presence of so-called “fake news” on the ORF, which is specifically intended to support a political direction.

In this context, Hafenecker is calling for a thorough examination by the Court of Auditors, particularly with regard to the ORF's renovations and personnel policy. He criticizes the “media literacy offensive” as one-sided and presents the government’s media funding reform as a funding cartel for media loyal to the system. Peter Westenthaler, a member of the ORF Foundation Board, also comments negatively on the situation and speaks of “days of chaos” and an inability of the supervisory body to make decisions that comply with the law.

Trust in the media

In the context of current debates about media literacy, people's trust in the media is a crucial issue. According to a study on iu.de was published, a significant proportion of those surveyed stated that their trust in the media has declined in recent years. 70.6 percent of those surveyed see the spread of fake news and deepfakes as a serious threat to democracy and freedom.

This crisis of trust means that more than half of people in Germany regularly check the facts about current news. While traditional media (radio, newspapers, TV) are still viewed as trustworthy sources of information, trust in social media is rather low. Over 89 percent of respondents are calling for action against fake news, including legal obligations to flag potential misinformation and AI-generated content.

The coming months will show whether the educational initiative by ORF and Standard helps to promote trust in the media or whether the existing concerns about possible indoctrination in schools will continue to exist.