On October 18th, the Aveiro Media Competence Center (AMCC), in collaboration with the Aveiro
Science and Innovation Park, the Portuguese Press Association, and the University of Aveiro,
launched a new game – Data Defenders – that aims to help young people (from age 11 to 16) to
better understand and evaluate the media they consume. With fun gameplay and a unique story, the
game focuses on media literacy and the way social media influences our understanding of events.
Data Defenders is a tower defense game where players can step into roles like politicians, journalists,
scientists, or influencers. The game introduces young players to media-related challenges and
teaches them to spot credible information.
In Data Defenders, players protect global data servers from an alien invasion during a pandemic,
where AI-powered alien robots try to spread misinformation. Players must think strategically to defend
the servers. This setup introduces young players to the importance of trusted sources.
Besides this, the game combines a fun mix of learning and competition, allowing players to make
critical decisions and analyze media credibility through its Data Analyzer tool. Another feature,
the Crisis Impact, brings urgency by highlighting the spread of misinformation, encouraging players to
stay alert while developing media literacy skills.
This project is part of YO-MEDIA, a European initiative born out of recent events, like political and
health crises, which have flooded the media with mixed messages. These experiences showed the
need for young people to develop skills to better understand what they read and see online. YOMEDIA,
aims to give educators, journalists, and young people tools to recognize reliable sources and
spot misinformation.
Led by the University of Aveiro, with scientific support from Professor Nelson Zagalo at DigiMedia,
the Data Defenders game will be available free on October 18th on the YO-MEDIA project’s site
(https://yomedia.a-mcc.eu/) and on the AMCC website. It’s a valuable resource for educators,
journalists, and anyone interested in media literacy, designed to be used in schools and other learning
spaces.