Fakescape: an educational escape game about fake news

Fakescape came about as a response to the need to bring media literacy to young people in an interactive, playful way. As co-founder and game designer, I was there at the birth of a concept that, at the time, didn’t yet exist on the Czech education market. Together with my fellow students, we created an escape game in which students learn to recognise disinformation, verify sources, and critically evaluate content in a safe environment that simulates real situations from the world of digital media.

The project’s impact quickly grew beyond the classroom. Fakescape became an example of an innovative approach that caught the attention of the international expert community too. Its success was confirmed by 2nd place in the international P2P Digital Challenge competition, organised by Facebook. Through the project, I represented Czech innovation in education at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., and I also spoke about our approach to media education in an interview for DVTV.

Rather than a one-off awareness campaign, we laid the groundwork for systemic change in how we talk to young people about manipulation and digital safety. The project proved that when you connect education with game design principles, critical thinking stops being an abstract concept and becomes a practical skill.

I’m delighted that Fakescape continues to run successfully even after the founding team moved on, and that it keeps evolving.

Key topics

• Media literacy, critical thinking, and disinformation.
• Gamifying education: designing and facilitating escape games.
• Responding to current societal challenges in the digital space.
• Experiential methods connecting theory with hands-on simulation.
• Building community and spreading innovative methodologies internationally.