by Denise Callan, Momentum Consulting
When trying to empower people with the skills to spot misinformation, a challenge can be identifying a false narrative rather than a false fact. The ARENAS Learning Platform has been developed to address this problem.
The ARENAS Learning Platform is a free, openly accessible digital library developed as part of the ARENAS project, a four-year EU Horizon Europe research programme examining extremist narratives, with 12 participating partners from 9 European countries. As part of the project, Irish consortium partners, and Media Literacy Ireland (MLI) member Momentum developed the ARENAS Learning Platform in collaboration with the team from the University of Lorraine, based on research carried out by the entire project consortium.
The platform compiles and shares research, case studies, analyses, strategies, guidelines, training materials and educational resources on extremist narratives and their three core themes: Science, Nation and Gender.
Continuously updated with the latest research papers and resources, the content can be filtered by topic, resource type and the key target users including:
- Second-level students, educators and teachers looking for structured resources on identifying and discussing extremist narratives with students
- Youth workers and community trainers who need accessible, adaptable materials
- Journalists and media professionals seeking research-backed context on how narratives circulate in political and media discourse
- NGOs and civil society organisations working on social inclusion, counter-disinformation or democratic resilience
- Citizens and members of the public who want to understand the information landscape around them
Ireland’s National Counter Disinformation Strategy (April 2025) calls explicitly for evidence-based media literacy tools. The ARENAS Learning Platform directly answers that call, offering materials relevant to the themes of gender narratives, nationalist rhetoric, and science scepticism that Irish practitioners encounter most. The platform translates EU-funded academic research into usable formats, booklets, training materials, guidelines and case studies, removing the barrier between what researchers know and what practitioners need. For media literacy trainers and those reporting on misinformation, this means ready-made content grounded in rigorous cross-European evidence.
A series of interactive role-play activities has been developed for the platform, specifically for second-level students. These support the ‘think’ step of the MLI ‘Stop, Think, Check’ framework, helping students to recognise not just if a claim is true, but whether the story surrounding it is structured to manipulate. Research on framing, emotional rhetoric, conspiracy logic and in-group/out-group construction gives educators concrete language and examples to work with.
MLI members are invited to visit the ARENAS Learning Platform to access and use resources that complement or support their work. Denise Callan of Momentum welcomes feedback on the Learning Platform, its published resources and what other tools or resources could be added, as we share the MLI mission to equip people in Ireland, and across Europe, to navigate the information landscape with confidence.
