Gypsy Travellers have been persecuted for centuries. But despite a Scottish Government apology last June for the Tinker Experiment – which tried to assimilate them into settled culture – some claim their cultural rights are still being denied.
The Scottish Government has continued to back Ming Yang’s proposed investment at Ardersier despite national security concerns. It’s now being accused of a “staggering” failure of due diligence on the firm.
This summer we revealed that convicted loyalists from Belfast travelled to Glasgow for a far right protest. Further digging has unearthed a rapidly expanding anti-immigration network between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Young people in Scotland will be empowered to identify and challenge disinformation online thanks to a brand new project from The Ferret, backed by the National Lottery Fund.
Working in partnership with the professional body for librarians and information professionals in Scotland, CILIPS, and Scotland’s youth information organisation Young Scot, we will provide youth-designed training for librarians and young people across the country, enabling them to better engage with those at significant risk from disinformation online.
We know that young people are bombarded with false information from an early age online, particularly through social media. This can have negative consequences on trust, self esteem, mental and physical health, and can fuel radicalization. Recent statistics from Ipsos UK found 77 per cent of 16 to 34-year-olds find that fake news is prevalent in online news from influencers, while a US survey revealed that teens were more likely to believe online conspiracies compared with adults.
Our 12-month collaboration aims to tackle this through a series of sessions and online tools created alongside young people. Roundtable events will allow us to collaborate with those affected by mis- and disinformation online. Experts from The Ferret’s fact-checking arm, Ferret Fact Service, will then develop training informed by the experiences of these groups.
This will then be rolled out in a series of collaborative workshops with librarians in different settings across the country, empowering them to deliver training sessions to young people themselves.
The training will be focused on spotting mis- and disinformation, navigating online spaces responsibly in an age of fake news and AI, and will encourage young people to become digital champions of accurate information in their own communities.
This project is possible thanks to a generous grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.
Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
Footage of farmed trout suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
