About

How the idea came about

#FilterTheNoise was born out of two events.

First, the 2016 Brexit vote. With a French mother and British father, having benefited greatly from European integration, I watched with disbelief as the UK drifted away from mainland Europe. I set out to understand why, discovered a confused world of information, political manipulation, dark actors, powerful targeted ads and voter psychology.

When Covid-19 came around, affecting the very fabric of society, it was obvious how unequipped we were with dealing with the incessant of information on the web. We struggled to see what constituted a valid source, failed to distinguish between fact and opinion, misunderstood the nature of scientific knowledge. Misinformation and conspiracies grew, inflated by the emotions of our human nature, bots and an ad-driven model of the web.

In the intertwined world of media and politics, these both events laid bare our inability to rewire our critical thinking. This had direct consequences for society, citizens unable to filter the information thrown at them and take the best course of action.

➡️ A few years ago, I started creating learning resources for students and teachers on the topic of what is called media literacy, providing the basics on how to search, assess and source information online, but also covering important topics such as online bullying or net neutrality. These acted as the basis from which #FilterTheNoise was born.

The importance of education

The need to filter the noise of information has never been greater. The need to understand our democracies and reform them for the greater good has never been more pressing.

How do we go about it? We learn.

  • With more knowledge, we make better decisions for ourselves.
  • With more tools to decipher and analyse, we are capable of distinguishing between facts and commentary, truth and falsehoods.
  • Knowledge gives us perspective, makes us see the shades of grey, leads to less polarising thinking and, ultimately, to a less polarising world.

Accessibility & Privacy

  • Fully Responsive

    Website & emails are designed to appeal to a wide range of disabilities and be read on screen readers.
  • Free

    These resources will always remain free in order to reach the broadest audience possible.
  • Respects your data

    This website and service is GDPR compliant. There are no ads and no data collecting whatsoever.

Team

  • Profile photo of Jonathan Ketchell
    Jonathan Ketchell
    Educator, Founder
    I truly believe that education is the path to a better world. Passionate about improving our democracies.
  • Cartoon profile photo of a panda walking and listening to music.
    You?!
    Social media guru
    We are looking to hire someone to develop and execute a (social) media strategy to reach a wide audience. All profiles and experience levels welcome.

Contact

Any questions, suggestions, enquiries? Best way is to email us :)
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