“Raising awareness of the interested public through presentations on fake news and conspiracy theories in the field of gender equality: Despite technological and social progress, even in the field of gender equality, fake news and conspiracy theories exist. Based on their characteristics, fake news can be classified into several subgroups, such as: false information, which refers to inaccurate information or manipulated truth with the aim of creating sensational stories; bias, which refers to the fact that people will prefer to share and believe fake news that is consistent with their beliefs and biases; the spread of false information through the platform, with the help of which the information spreads faster; manipulation through which the creators of false information only want to spread it for various reasons such as political goals, financial gain or entertainment.

As a well-known example, we can take the difference in pay for the same work between men and women, many still deny this fact and do not attach any special importance to it. In the field of science, there is often misinformation or stereotypes about what men and women can do, or what abilities one group and another have. Stereotypical claims are also often seen in the fields of technology, mechanical engineering, computer engineering and mathematics. Some misinformation often tries to relativize and minimize the magnitude of the problem of violence against women or falsely state that most allegations are false, even though research indicates that the proportion of false allegations in cases of sexual violence is relatively low.

We can still find news stories and messages from celebrities stating that feminism is part of a global conspiracy to devalue traditional values and the family and place men in a subordinate position. We also witness in many cases when they use conspiracy theories to try to convince others that feminism is hostile to men and promotes the dominance of one gender over the other. That is why it is important to recognize fake news and conspiracy theories and to be able to check the source of the information, or to find out where the information is coming from and if we have found it within a credible source that supports or refutes the stated facts.

Various research projects dealing with gender equality can play an important role in raising awareness. We would especially like to present the AGRIGEP project within Horizon Europe. The aim is to make the general public aware of the importance and benefits that research in the field of gender equality brings”