Bad News
Bad News is a free browser game in which players take the perspective of a fake news tycoon. It was released on February 19, 2018. The game is classified as a serious game and a newsgame aimed at improving media literacy and social impact.
Also recorded as Bad News Game
Bad News
- Genre
- serious game and newsgame.
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Bad News is a free browser game in which players take the perspective of a fake news tycoon. It was released on February 19, 2018. The game is classified as a serious game and a newsgame aimed at improving media literacy and social impact.
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wikidata · Q98072932
In this article
The object
The object
The game was produced by the Dutch media platform "DROG" in collaboration with University of Cambridge scientists. The game has been described by the media as a "fake news vaccine".
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Bad News • Developer — DROG and University of Cambridge • Platforms — Browser • Released — February 19, 2018 • Designer — Gusmanson
Gameplay
Gameplay
The purpose of the game is to immunize the public against misinformation by letting players take on the role of a fake news producer. In the game, players earn "badges", each of which correspond to common techniques used in the production of fake news, such as polarization, conspiracy theories, discrediting, trolling, and invoking emotion. The goal is to build your own fake news empire and gain as many followers as possible while maintaining credibility. The game is based on a psychological concept known as inoculation theory, where exposure to weakened doses of common fake news tactics is thought to help confer resistance or psychological immunity against fake news.
Localization
Localization
In 2020, localised versions of the game were released for Eastern European markets where Russian-backed disinformation is of particular concern. Debunk.org published multiple-language versions of the game in Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Polish.
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United Kingdom.
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Bad News is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Reception
The game received the 2020 Brouwers Trust Prize from the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and the Frank Prize in Public Interest Communications from the University of Florida's College of Journalism. The game was on exhibit in the London Design Museum for Beazley's Designs of the Year and the University of South Australia's Museum of Discovery and has been the subject of scientific research evaluating its impact on fake news discernment and recognition.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Social Impact Game. 5 April 2018.
- 2.About Bad News. 5 April 2018.
- 3.BBC News. Game helps players spot 'fake news'. 22 February 2018.
- 4.MIT Technology Review. This video game wants to be a fake news vaccine. 20 February 2018.
- 5.Bad News: the game researchers hope will 'vaccinate' public against fake news. The Guardian. 19 February 2018.
- 6.CNN. Researchers have created a 'vaccine' for fake news. It's a game. 4 July 2019.
- 7.Reuters. Fake news 'vaccine' teaches you to spot disinformation. 20 March 2018.
- 8.NPR. Spot Fake News By Making It. 19 March 2018.
- 9.Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen. Brouwer Vertrouwensprijs 2020: Online game tegen fake news wint 100.000 euro voor verdere ontwikkeling. 16 January 2020.
- 10.University of Florida. 2020 Research Prize in Public Interest Communications. 16 January 2020.
- 11.Design Museum. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, the world's first plastic-free shopping aisle, and the SpaceX Falcon Heavyrocket: Design Museum announces Beazley Designs of the Year nominees. 2018.
- 12.Museum of Discovery and Science. Bad News Game. 2020.
- 13.Roozenbeek, J. The fake news game: actively inoculating against the risk of misinformation. Journal of Risk Research. 22. 5. 570–580. 2018. 10.1080/13669877.2018.1443491.
- 14.Roozenbeek, J. Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation. Palgrave Communications. 5. 65. 2019. 10.1057/s41599-019-0279-9.
- 15.Basol, M. Good News about Bad News: Gamified Inoculation Boosts Confidence and Cognitive Immunity Against Fake News. Journal of Cognition. 3. 1. 2. 2020. 10.5334/joc.91.
- 16.Roozenbeek, J. Prebunking interventions based on "inoculation" theory can reduce susceptibility to misinformation across cultures. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. 1. 2 doi. 2020.
- 17.Roozenbeek, J. Disentangling Item and Testing Effects in Inoculation Research on Online Misinformation: Solomon Revisited. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 81. 2. 340–362. 2020. 10.1177/0013164420940378.
- 18.Delfi. Recognize disinformation: after this game, you will be expert in recognising fake news. 11 September 2020.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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