Two teenagers hold a dark-skinned boy tightly. His name is Neo, his eyes are scared. He desperately tries to fight back, but the big guy and the bald girl are stronger. A young man comes up and swings. Just before he strikes, he pauses and speaks into a camera: “Dear community, we are a community format here and your opinion is very important to me,” says the young man. “So you can decide now. Should this ‘criminal element’ be brought to justice or should I release him?”
The young man’s name is Constable Truth and he’s an influencer with a thriving video channel. Under the motto “Open your eyes!” he presents himself as an activist who is committed to nature in his homeland. But subliminally, in his environmental protection videos, he agitates against refugees and those who think differently. Neo managed to hack Constable’s webcam, exposing his far-right agenda. Neo is accused of being a mole and a traitor. Hacking into computers is criminal, according to the young people. Should Neo be punished for this?
Pupil Sebastian Kraus, ninth grade.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
That’s what the ninth-grade students at the Dominik-Brunner-Realschule in Poing have to decide now. And even if the scenario with Neo and Constable looks deceptively real, it is only an online game for use in school lessons. Aim of the interactive game “Open your eyes!” of the Bavarian State Center for Civic Education (BLZ) is to inform schoolchildren about dangers on the Internet – and to draw attention to the strategies of extremists in social media. Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (Free Voters) and Rupert Grübl, Director of the BLZ, are presenting the project at the Poinger Realschule. It’s Thursday morning and actor Felix Bredow, who plays the protagonist Constable Truth, is also present at the performance.
Pupil Samuel Volkwein.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Students influence the course and outcome of the game
The students can choose between different answer options: punish Neo, spare Neo or take the police joker? The group decides to “spare Neo” – but they didn’t expect what followed. “You losers!” says Constable. “Now I’ll show you what happens to traitors like you! You died for me! The Fatherland doesn’t need you anymore!”. Then there are shaky camera shots. You can hear thuds and Neo’s groans. But how could this have been prevented?
Back to top. Before the game begins, the students are divided into four groups. Videos of Constable Truth rescuing little hedgehogs from carelessly discarded plastic packaging follow. But if you listen closely, you will discover populist and extremist messages in the first film excerpts. There is also a community chat where Constable Truth fans can post their opinions. After each video, the groups of students have to complete tasks and thus influence the course and outcome of the game. For example, they decide what message to post in the chat, whether to like or share posts, and whether to buy Constable Truth fan merchandise. Then suddenly everything happens very quickly: There is a traitor in the community chat who should be exposed and punished. Neo.
The game is running. Sylvia Schnaubelt, the headmistress of the Realschule Poing, is in charge of the game.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
“You pay much more attention to an interactive online game like this.”
How was the game received by the students? “The first two videos by Constable Truth were okay, but then we realized that something wasn’t right,” says Sebastian Kraus. The 16-year-old is himself active on social media such as YouTube and Instagram and thinks it is important to educate people about dangers on the internet. He likes the format as an online game. “I know from myself that you don’t always pay attention in class,” he admits. “You pay much more attention to an interactive online game like this.”
Rupert Grübl, Director of the BLZ, and Bavaria’s Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (from left) in Poing on Thursday.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Paying attention – that’s the be-all and end-all when surfing the Internet, Minister Piazolo appealed to the students. He’s a little late and misses the online game, but that’s not so bad because he already knows the game. “I have the impression that similar scenarios can also occur in real life,” he says. That is precisely why it is important to take action against hatred and hate speech on the Internet with projects like these. The game is so far unique in Germany, emphasizes BLZ director Grübl. Both hope that the students will learn how to deal with extremist messages, such as fake news and propaganda, on social platforms. After all, young people are increasingly exposed to such dangers on the Internet.
56 percent of 12 to 19 year olds are confronted with extreme attitudes
In the JIM study, 56 percent of 12-19 year olds said they had been confronted with extreme postures – an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year. 14-year-old Samuel Volkwein also reports black humor content in previous WhatsApp groups. The game got him thinking. “I’ll try to question content on social media more critically and always check sources first,” he says.
Also present: actor Felix von Bredow, who portrays “Constable” in the video.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Actor Felix Bredow is happy about the positive effect of the online game. “Most of the time, acting is just for entertainment,” says Bredow. “With the role as Constable Truth I can make a difference.” In the end, everyone has the realization: not only, but also on the Internet, everyone always has the choice to share content, report extremist messages and check information. In retrospect, the students would have decided differently: “Next time we’ll take the police joker!”