Bad News

Making headlines with a serious game about fake news.

What we did

Serious game, Concept, Naming, Design, Development

Challenge

Bring a scientifically proven method to combat disinfo to a global audience.

Solution

A serious game that’s seriously fun to play, letting players experiment with common disinformation techniques. Based on inoculation theory.

Distort the truth, command a bot army, gather a million loyal followers!

The inner workings of fake news

A serious game about fake news, made in collaboration with DROG (a group of researchers, journalists and media-experts) and the University of Cambridge. The game teaches players the inner workings of fake news.

Inspiration

For the game’s visual identity we took inspiration from the “tacky” and “over-the-top” aesthetic of tabloid newspapers and clickbait media sites.

Verified to be effective

The game is scientifically proven to be effective: playing the game increases your resistance against fake news. This makes the game a powerful tool in the fight against disinformation. It’s being played in class rooms all over the world.

The Guardian
The Times
MIT Tech Review
Mashable
The Telegraph
The Verge

Bad News was nominated for Beazley Design of the Year 2018!

You can play the game here.

An award-winning serious game that makes players more resilient against disinformation

View case