UPDATE: Factitious 2018 has now been launched at http://factitious.augamestudio.com/#/
The 2018 version includes new articles, while the old site remains up for those who have not yet played the game.
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Real or fake? At a time when the reading public daily grapples with the question of fake news, the American University Game Lab/JOLT has created an accessible, easy-to-play game that helps you sort fake news from real.
The brainchild of former AU JOLT Fellow Maggie Farley, she pitched the concept more than a year ago, before the 2016 presidential campaign brought the challenges of fake news to the spotlight. For purposes of the game, “fake news” is defined as stories fabricated for fun, influence or profit, as well as satire, opinion and spin.
“Fake news is impossible to stop, so we wanted to playfully teach people how to recognize it,” said Farley. “But the game is fun to play in itself.”
The game engine in the next phase should also be available to newsrooms, schools, or groups that want to adapt a version for their own use.
PS: My first crack at the game yielded 93%. Second crack, not so much. I highly recommend you try this game! It’s fun, enlightening and horrifying. I am especially excited to hear it will be available as a teaching tool. My nephew asked me this week if I had read the warning that “people are injecting the AIDS virus into bananas.”–Gretchen Mullen, Editor, Skeptic Review
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PLAY FACTITIOUS HERE:
http://factitious.augamestudio.com/
In addition, a crowdfunding campaign is now active in order to create Factitious: Classroom Edition. For more information, or to make a contribution, visit
https://ufund.american.edu/?cfpage=project&project_id=22859&t=1540664539
For a great summary on the project’s growth and its future, read the following article available on Medium: