The Gesellschaft für Medienpädagogik und Kommunikationskultur (GMK) was founded in 1984 in Bielefeld as an umbrella for German media‑education professionals. With roughly a thousand members drawn from schools, youth work and academia, it publishes the journal Merz, runs annual conferences and drafts position papers on digital policy. In 2021 -24 GMK formed part of the federally funded Kompetenznetzwerk gegen Hass im Netz; from 2025 it re‑emerged inside “toneshift – Network Against Online Hate and Disinformation,” funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, a six‑organisation alliance that includes HateAid and Das NETTZ. GMK’s workshops cover so-called fake news, hate speech and conspiracy theories for audiences ranging from integration‑course tutors to vocational students. Recent articles argue that emotion‑driven disinformation erodes public trust and call for a national media‑literacy offensive rather than bans. The association finances its work through member dues, project grants and state contracts; it discloses key data on its transparency page. Its annual budget is €1,390,079.
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Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK)
German Federal Program 'Living Democracy!' [Demokratie leben!], State Government of...See all
German Federal Program 'Living Democracy!' [Demokratie leben!], State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), German Federal Agency for Civic Education [Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (BpB)], "Ministry for Children, Youth, Family, Equality, Refugees and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKJFGFI)" See less
#DigitalCheckNRW
Toneshift - Network Against Online Hate and Disinformation, Digital Opportunities Foundation [Stiftung Digitale Chancen (SDC)], Klicksafe
Commentary:
GMK’s remedy for disinformation is classic Bildung: teach critical reading, train teachers, hope enlightenment follows. The method dates to the 1980s video‑recorder scare – updated now for Telegram memes and AI voice clones. Workshops dissect headline trickery yet seldom touch the advertising metrics that make outrage lucrative. As part of the toneshift network, GMK gains federal backing and a louder policy megaphone, but also drifts toward the managerial language of "infrastructure" and "best practice." The curriculum stays voluntarist: empower educators, encourage reflection, trust the process. This stance underplays the asymmetry between classroom time and industrial‑scale amplification. GMK’s papers warn that fake news fuels division, yet treat division as a by‑product of ignorance, not of conflicts over political power or wealth. The association remains pedagogical, but its literacy model edges toward piety when set against algorithms designed to monetize political disorientation at mass scale.
GMK’s remedy for disinformation is classic Bildung: teach critical reading, train teachers, hope enlightenment follows. The method dates to the 1980s video‑recorder scare – updated now for Telegram memes and AI voice clones. Workshops dissect headline trickery yet seldom touch the advertising metrics that make outrage lucrative. As part of the toneshift network, GMK gains federal backing and a louder policy megaphone, but also drifts toward the managerial language of "infrastructure" and "best practice." The curriculum stays voluntarist: empower educators, encourage reflection, trust the process. This stance underplays the asymmetry between classroom time and industrial‑scale amplification. GMK’s papers warn that fake news fuels division, yet treat division as a by‑product of ignorance, not of conflicts over political power or wealth. The association remains pedagogical, but its literacy model edges toward piety when set against algorithms designed to monetize political disorientation at mass scale.
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