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Published on 2024-12-03
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Big Van Ciencia have launched the second edition of the 'Cazabulos' program. The initiative encourages students in 1st and 2nd year of compulsory secondary education (ESO), as well as their equivalents in Latin American countries, to get involved in detecting scientific hoaxes on social networks, especially on TikTok.
To achieve this, 'Cazabulos' offers three educational proposals: a science and humor show where participants learn to identify misleading content, online training, and a short video contest in which they must debunk hoaxes they have detected on the internet.
Although in Spain the legal minimum age to create a social media account is 16, its use is very common among students in the first cycle of ESO (aged between 11 and 14 years). According to a UNICEF report, 88.9% use YouTube, 76.7% TikTok, and 69.7% Instagram.
“Disinformation on these types of platforms has become a global-scale problem that is contributing to a growing social insensitivity to evidence,” stated Pura Fernández, Deputy Vice President of Scientific Culture and Citizen Science at CSIC. “Just on TikTok, 20% of search results yield false information; that’s why through Cazabulos we want to propose a critical approach to social networks for young people through activities that do not require having a profile on them or owning a mobile device,” she added.
CAZABULOS TOUR
Starring the Big Van Ciencia team, the Cazabulos show will tour Spain in the first quarter of 2025. Thanks to the collaboration of the Department of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity, and Sports of the Canary Government, it will visit Lanzarote (February 18), Gran Canaria (February 19), La Gomera (February 20), and Tenerife (February 21). Three weeks later, it will arrive in Zaragoza (March 10), Madrid (March 11), and Mérida (March 12).
The Cazabulos training consists of six modules that address questions such as what echo chambers are, what the most common types of scientific hoaxes are, or how to determine whether a source is reliable or not. Each module includes activity proposals, real examples of good and bad practices extracted from social networks, and videos in which scientific influencers like 'El físico barbudo' or 'Bioindignada' share tips to avoid falling into disinformation.
Additionally, a contest invites students to take action by applying the knowledge acquired in the show and training. Students will have to create a TikTok-format video with a maximum duration of three minutes in which they debunk a hoax.
Proposals can be made individually or in teams of up to five participants and must be submitted by their teacher through the form available on the Cazabulos website. The deadline is open from February 11 until 11:00 PM (peninsular Spanish time) on April 11, 2025. Up to eight of the submitted videos will be selected for the final gala, which will be held on June 11, 2025, at the CSIC headquarters in Madrid.
All educational institutions participating in this event will receive a batch of popular science books, and the creators of the three winning videos will be gifted an audiovisual creation kit, which includes accessories such as light rings, solar batteries, or wireless microphones. Additionally, the first prize will include a trip to a unique CSIC facility, such as the Doñana Biological Station or an oceanographic vessel, for the students and teacher who presented the best video.
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