US general consul praises Rurtal School for successful fake news competition!

US general consul praises Rurtal School for successful fake news competition!

On January 30, 2025, the US general consul Preeti V. Shah visited the Rurtal School in Oberbruch to successfully participate in the school competition "All fake?" to appreciate. This competition is part of the NRW USA year 2023/2024 and aims to train students in recognizing fake news. The contact between Shah and the Rurtal School was created in October 2024 during an event in the Düsseldorf state parliament, where the school newspaper "Hammer!" the winning prize as part of the competition, which was organized in cooperation with the NRW Ministry for School and Education and other partners rp online reports .

District Administrator Stephan Pusch, School head Dr. As part of the visit, Sonja Maurer and school administration manager Jochen Ciosz congratulated the students, teachers and the headmaster Markus Steinhauer. It should be emphasized that the Rurtal School took first place in the special school category. This success was achieved after the students spread false messages through an alleged conversion of the school into a McDonald’s restaurant. The satirical campaign included absurd sounding claims, how Ronald McDonald will become new headmaster and have to work students for McDonald’s

The competition "All fake?" is an answer to the increasing spread of false information on social networks. This problem was further tightened by the use of artificial intelligence, since many fake news is generated automatically. Especially at a time when fake news increasingly endangering public discourse, the competition offers a valuable opportunity to process the problem and to sharpen the skills of the students in dealing with digital media. The School Ministry NRW informs .

media education and education

The Rurtal School encouraged the students to deal intensively with the topic of fake news. In school lessons of media education, an article about the fake news that circulated in the school community was used to practically develop the topic. This not only promotes school thinking, but also makes a contribution to the media literacy of the students, which is essential in times of disinformation on the World Wide Web.

Overall, visiting the US general consul shows the importance of international education initiatives and its influence on the local school community. With its innovative approach to fake news, the Rurtal School not only gained recognition, but also set standards for other schools that are faced with similar challenges.