Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights gives everyone the right to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold and express opinions online and to access or impart information and the opinions of others.
We have the right to hold and express views – even ones that might be offensive to others. But that right is not limitless and has to be balanced against the right to privacy of others, and protection against discrimination, incitement of hatred and violence.
You have a brilliant idea for a viral video, but it means using images a private individual, the number 1 chart song and a brand of dogfood. What do you do?
(disruptor)Create the video, share and tag everyone!
(disciple)Forget about it and go have a lie down instead.
(detective)Consider copyright and the right to privacy and then decide if it is possible to make the video without breaching other people’s rights.
You can get 20% off your next purchase from your favourite online shop. But you must add the name and personal details of three friends to an online form. What do you do?
(Disruptor)Add the personal details. Twice. It will save you a fortune and you know your friends will really like getting emails from this shop.
(Disciple)Do nothing – you got distracted by something else.
(Detective)Contact three of your friends to see if they agree to having their details added.
You repost a list of interesting books to read about women's rights on an online platform and you start getting online sexist messages from someone who does not follow you.
What do you do?
(Disciple)Ignore the messages and hope they just go away.
(Disruptor)Post a screenshot of the person's account and their home address, calling them out for their behaviour.
(Disciple)Delete the account to avoid dealing with the abusive messages.
(Detective)Report the account to the platform, explaining why you think their account should be investigated.
A trending social media post is creating aggressive and threatening comments against minority communities. Your friend shares and endorses the post. What do you do?
(Detective)Privately message your friend and point out that the post might be inciting hatred and suggest they delete it.
(Disruptor)Immediately share their post and tag other friends and join in the calls for ‘direct action’.
(Disciple)Nothing, because if you point out that it is not true everyone will shout at you.
You are a Disciple: Oh dear, it can be hard to know what is the right thing to do online. Try to remember that Freedom of Expression does not allow us to:
You’re between Disciple and a Disruptor: Oh dear, sometimes our actions online can have unintended consequences. Try to remember that Freedom of Expression does not allow us to:
You are a Disruptor: Sometimes our actions online can have unintended consequences. Try to remember that Freedom of Expression does not allow us to:
You’re between Disruptor and Detective: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, Freedom of Expression does not allow us to:
You’re between Detective and Disciple: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, Freedom of Expression does not allow us to:
You are a Detective: Well done! You know your rights and responsibilities online and you know that that Freedom of Expression does not allow us to:
Publish or share private information about others without their permission, such as contact details (phone number, email address, address) or personal details (family members, sexual orientation, financial, medical, etc.
Express opinions in a manner that does not respect the rights of others.
Express opinions in a manner that incites hatred or discrimination of others.
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights gives everyone the right to seek and receive information and ideas of your choice, without interference and regardless of frontiers.
Everyone has the right to information. Information provided by the media should be accurate and reliable. But not all information is equal, true, accurate or reliable. Our information systems are being polluted with disinformation, misinformation, biased, unethical and misleading information.
You see that your friend has reposted a video which shows a politician stumbling over his words and unable to answer the interviewer’s questions. You suspect it might be manipulated. What do you do?
(Disciple)Roll your eyes and leave the platform where the video was reposted. Enough for today.
(Detective)Check a reliable news source to see if the video has been manipulated. Then message your friend with links to the original video and, suggest that they remove their post to avoid more confusion.
(Disruptor)Repost the video. Even though it looks manipulated, it is really funny.
(Disciple)If the video was manipulated, surely it would have been taken down by now. You shrug and decide that it must be true.
You keep seeing an article online about hormones in tap water which can over time lead to infertility and change a person’s physical appearance. How do you respond?
(Disciple)Worry that it might be true and share it with friends just in case.
(Detective)Think it sounds fishy so you try to find out what evidence it is based on and reflect on why it might be circulating online.
(Disciple)Try to forget about it, but avoid tap water, just in case.
(Disruptor)Share it of course! All my friends need to hear this important medical information.
You are a Disciple: Everyone has the right to information, but not all information is equal, true, accurate or reliable. We can help to minimise the pollution of our information systems by developing positive online behaviours such as:
You’re between Disciple and a Disruptor: Everyone has the right to information, but not all information is equal, true, accurate or reliable. We can help to minimise the pollution of our information systems by developing positive online behaviours such as:
You are a Disruptor: Sometimes our actions online can have unintended consequences. We can try to minimise the pollution of our information systems by developing positive online behaviours such as:
You’re between Disruptor and Detective: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, you can try to minimise the pollution of our information systems by:
You’re between Detective and Disciple: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, you can try to minimise the pollution of our information systems by:
You are a Detective: Well done! You know your rights and responsibilities online and you try to minimise the pollution of our information systems by:
Cross-referencing or checking sources of information.
Considering the accuracy and reliability of information before sharing it.
Not sharing or amplifying information that is inaccurate, untrue, or biased.
Considering the motivation behind information that triggers an emotional response.
Challenging information that is inaccurate, untrue, or biased, so that it does not amplify the information.
Article 14 prohibits discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
Discrimination occurs when a person/group is treated less favourably than another person/group because of their background or certain personal characteristics.
Social media posts or online harassment or bullying by posting discriminatory content or comments can amount to incitement to hatred or discrimination in some circumstances. For example, racially offensive material posted or shared on social media can be a form of racial hatred.
Disinformation is sometimes designed to incite hatred, discrimination and violence.
A video is being shared online which shows one man attacking another man. Lots of people on your timeline are sharing the video and celebrating the attacker and saying that the victim was a thief and doesn’t belong here, with the hashtag #gohome attached. What do you do?
(Disruptor)Be part of a community movement and immediately share the video and the hashtag.
(Detective)Wait until more information about the incident emerges from reliable sources like police or reputable news agencies before making any comment.
(Disciple)Despair at the state of the world and find a video of some kittens playing with puppies.
You are on your favourite social media site and there’s a heated debate going on about an incident in your local community. Both groups are demanding that people #chooseaside. What do you do?
(Disciple)Find out which group your friend agreed with and choose that one.
(Disruptor)Find out which group your Uncle Joe agrees with and then choose the other one.
(Detective)Choose neither because there’s usually more than 2 sides to a story and people who try to force you to pick a side might be simplifying the story or trying to manipulate you.
(Disciple)Choose a different social media platform.
Your friend has posted a message online suggesting that he has been overlooked for a job because of his nationality. It triggers a lot of hostile comments about discrimination. What do you do?
(Detective)Privately message your friend and ask them if they are ok and encourage them to consider removing the post or editing it to avoid potentially inciting hatred or making false accusations.
(Disruptor)Immediately share their post and tag other friends with #notfair!.
(Disciple)Nothing, you don’t want to get involved in this.
Your friend leaves an online review of a local shop and suggests that the service would be better if ‘only locals’ were employed there. What do you do?
(Detective)Talk to your friend and explain that what they have said could be discriminatory.
(Disciple)Dump your friend.
(Disruptor)Leave a similar review because your friend is correct.
(Disciple)Leave a similar review because your friend needs support.
You are a Disciple: We all have to take care to minimise the risk of unintentionally amplifying or inciting hatred, discrimination or violence by:
You’re between Disciple and a Disruptor: We all have to take care to minimise the risk of unintentionally amplifying or inciting hatred, discrimination or violence by:
You are a Disruptor: Sometimes our actions online can have unintended consequences. We can help to minimise the risk of amplifying and or inciting hatred, discrimination or violence by:
You’re between Disruptor and Detective: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, you can help minimise the pollution of our information systems by:
You’re between Detective and Disciple: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, you can help minimise the pollution of our information systems by:
You are a Detective: Well done! You know your rights and responsibilities online and you try to minimise the risk of amplifying and or inciting hatred, discrimination or violence by:
Not sharing or amplifying information or claims about groups of people or activities without fact-checking and verifying the claims and sources of information.
Considering the motivation behind the information or claims we read, see or hear online.
Considering the accuracy and reliability of information before sharing / amplifying it.
Recognising our own unconscious biases about certain groups when engaging with online content, and/or generalising negative encounters with individuals of different race, colour, language to entire groups
Click here and here for more information about how to counter discrimination, hate speech and divisive rhetoric.
Article 8 gives everyone the right to respect for their private and family life, home and correspondence. This includes personal data.
We all have a right to private and family life – even online. This includes the right to keep our personal data private, and to keep our personal communications and correspondence private.
Every time we use the internet for searching, purchasing, viewing, browsing, scrolling, sharing, liking, commenting, messaging or storing, we leave a trail of personal data behind us. This data can be processed and packaged and used to target us individually with specific ads and information – based on our individual interests and personality traits. While some personalisation of content can be useful and helpful, such as entertainment recommendations, other content, such as disinformation, can be very accurately targeted to influence and manipulate our views, opinions and actions based on our personal data.
You and your friend are both watching the same video online, at the same time, in different locations. You both get an advertisement, but for different products. Why is it different?
(Detective)Because the data collected about each of you individually determines what ads you see based on your interests and previous online experiences.
(Disciple)Because you are slightly older than your friend.
(Disciple)No reason, it is just random.
(Disciple)So what? I don’t care as long as I get the free video.
You see a post on social media asking for help to track down a stolen bicycle. It is a very distinctive bicycle and you have just seen it in the front garden of the house next door. What do you do?
(Detective)Call the authorities and say that you think you have seen the stolen bicycle.
(Disciple)Nothing, it is not my business.
(Disruptor)Take a photo of the bicycle in the garden and post it online along with the name and address of the house owner.
(Disruptor)Privately message the original poster and give them the name and address of the house owner.
Everybody is playing an exciting new game online and it is free! As you are downloading it a box pops up with ‘Terms and Conditions’ explaining what data will be collected and how it will be used. Do you..
(Disruptor)Quickly scroll to the end of box and tick all the boxes.
(Detective)Try to make an informed decision about what data you want to share in return for free access to the game.
(Disciple)Close the box and leave the site.
(Disciple)Skim through the information and then go ahead anyway.
You’ve been searching for a new coat and think you have found the perfect one online. You click on the link and it takes you to a new website where you can purchase it, but first a box pops up asking you to ‘accept all cookies’. What do you do?
(Disruptor)Accept everything. That coat will look fabulous in a selfie.
(Disciple)Log off and go to a store.
(Detective)Make sure you understand the impact of accepting cookies and only agree to the ones that you are comfortable with.
You are a Disciple: Oh dear, some of our online actions increase the risks to our data protection and privacy. To minimise this try to:
You’re between Disciple and a Disruptor: Oh dear, some of our online actions increase the risks to our data protection and privacy. To minimise this try to:
You are a Disruptor: Oh dear, some of our actions online makes it easier for bad actors to gather more information about us. To minimise this try to:
You’re between Disruptor and Detective: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, you can help protect your data and privacy by trying to:
You’re between Detective and Disciple: So close! You are almost there. As a reminder, you can help protect your data and privacy by trying to:
You are a Detective: Well done! You know your rights and responsibilities online and you protect your data and privacy by trying to:
Be careful about the information that you share about yourself, or others, on social media.
Make an informed choice about the cookies that you will accept. Often we unknowingly ‘trade’ our data in return for a free service via the use of cookies.
Be careful about using ‘free’ online services without understanding how your information is gathered and used. The collection of personal data might be the cost of ‘fun surveys’, ‘free offers’ or ‘free games’.
Not automatically accept the Terms and Conditions for the services you use.
Not share private information about others without their permission, such as contact details or personal details.
Click here for more information about the right to private life and data protection and here to learn about users’ right to privacy on the internet.
Disinformation is understood as information that is false and deliberately created to harm a person, social group, organisation or country. The purpose of disinformation can be to erode trust in institutions, in facts, in science, and in rule of law. Disinformation plays on our own biases and is designed to trigger powerful emotions in us such as fear, anger, outrage, doubt and betrayal. These emotions make us more likely to share, like and comment, and as a result, we might inadvertently become part of the disinformation infrastructure.
Your Uncle Bob has just shared something on social media that is not true and if left unchallenged might be believed by other friends and family members. What do you do?
(Disciple)Ignore it and hope nobody realizes you are related.
(Detective)Kindly, but firmly, respond to him online pointing out the facts that are incorrect.
(Disruptor)Share it. Everybody knows he is a bit mad so it will be funny.
You read a story from a reputable news agency reporting that your favourite celebrity has done something wrong. How do you react?
(Disruptor)Immediately decide the story is all lies and resolve to never read anything from that website again.
(Detective)Don’t want to believe it but accept that the news website is usually fairly objective and that it might be your own biases that make the story hard to believe. Cross-check with other news websites.
(Disciple)Assume that website on this occasion simply got it wrong.
(Disciple)Wouldn’t happen. You don’t have a favorite celebrity.
You are doom scrolling on social media when you come across a story that makes you feel angry and upset at a particular group of people. You want to react to the story and express how strongly you feel. Do you…?
(Detective)Check whether the information in the story is accurate and reliable by checking out other sources of information about it, and thinking about the motivation of the person who posted the original story before commenting in a respectful and informed way.
(Disruptor)Immediately compose a comment expressing exactly how you feel right now and what you think and how upset you are.
(Disciple)Close your social media account and never go online again.
(Disruptor)Hit share along with an angry face emoji.
You are a Disciple: Oh dear, sometimes we all fall for disinformation. To minimise the risk try to:
You’re between Disciple and a Disruptor: Oh dear, some of our actions online means that we can unknowingly amplify disinformation. To avoid becoming part of the disinformation machine try to:
You are a Disruptor: Oh dear, some of our actions online means that we can unknowingly amplify disinformation. To avoid becoming part of the disinformation machine try to:
You’re between Disruptor and Detective: So close! You are almost there. To avoid becoming part of the disinformation machine try to:
You’re between Detective and Disciple: So close! You are almost there. To avoid becoming part of the disinformation machine try to:
You are a Detective: Well done! You know your rights and responsibilities online. To avoid becoming part of the disinformation machine you:
Avoid responding to opposing or different opinions and views in an aggressive, reactionary manner.
Watch out for information that is likely to cause an emotional response and don’t share it with others unless you have fact-checked or verified it.
Fact-check or verify information that you think might be inaccurate, untrue, or biased before you challenge it.
Consider the motivations behind the information that is triggering an emotional response.
Recognise your own confirmation bias which makes us more vulnerable to believe disinformation that confirms what we already believe.
Seek out and consider other points of view.
Use multiple sources for your information.
Recognise that just because a website or source of information looks genuine, does not mean that the information is accurate or reliable.
Appropriately challenge disinformation when you have fact-checked or verified it and know it is untrue.
Click here for more information about disinformation and the Council of Europe’s approach and policies to counter this phenomenon.
Congratulations! You scored [[FINALSCORE]]% and are a Digital Detective. You know your digital rights and responsibilities. Now challenge your friends by sharing this game with them.
Congratulations! You scored [[FINALSCORE]]% and are a Digital Detective. You know your digital rights and responsibilities pretty well. Check out these easy tips about understanding your digital rights and responsibilities and then challenge your friends to beat your score.
Oh no! You scored [[FINALSCORE]]% and are a Digital Disruptor. Check out these easy tips about understanding your digital rights and responsibilities and get to know more about the impact of some of your online actions. Then challenge your friends to beat your score.
Oh no! You scored [[FINALSCORE]]% and are a Digital Disciple. Check out these easy tips about understanding your digital rights and responsibilities and improve how you navigate the online world. Then challenge your friends to beat your score.
