You’ve overslept. Again. Okay, it’s kind of understandable, it is Saturday morning after all, and for the past month you’ve been choosing to spend 2 hours of your precious weekend hitting the books. In order to promote 21st century skills, a local school is offering weekend classes focusing on different competencies. You figured this was a good opportunity, these things always look good on a CV, plus you would like to apply for a job which is actually motivating soon. And hey, maybe you’ll learn something useful from it - you never know, right? Anyhow, considering your regular weekly routine, you have a bit of a hard time getting up early on Saturdays as well. “Just one more month, keep it up” is the mantra you repeat to yourself as you storm down the corridor towards your classroom. How embarrassing though, you were late last week as well. You come to a halt before the door, you hand freezing above the door handle. What if you spared yourself the embarrassment and just called in sick? Tempting, especially since you haven’t even had your morning coffee, and the smells from the bakery you passed on your way here were really appealing. Should you just skip the class?

If you have taken responsibility as a skill, go to 1. If not, ROLL A DIE. If the result is 1-2, go to 1. If you rolled 3-6, go to 2.

You head into the classroom. It’s your lucky day. The teacher had just cracked a hilarious joke and the whole room is shaking with laughter, so no one notices you sneaking in. You manage to silently lower yourself into a chair in the empty back row. This course is covering media literacy, and recently you’ve been learning about disinformation. Let’s see what today’s topic is! You notice everyone has received a handout, and the pile of extras is next to the guy in front of you.

If you want to tap on his shoulder and ask for a copy, go to 26. If you would rather just start taking notes and catch up, go to 25.

You slowly step back and leave. You head to the bakery, order your coffee, and, still not feeling fully awake or sharp enough to do anything meaningful, start scrolling through some social media feeds on your phone. Amongst the countless selfies, travel photos, gorgeous cakes, and screenshots of people’s running routes (some more impressive than others), one of the articles catches your eye. It’s about the government decision to make the chickenpox vaccine mandatory for babies. Your hand drifts unconsciously to your forehead, to the scar of a spot you scratched as a 4-year-old when you had the skin rash from the disease yourself. You click on the article. A pop-up suggests you should “get notifications about the hottest news that will blow your mind”.

If you click on YES, go to 6. If you say NO, go to 5.

Okay, wait a second. At first sight, this seems quite harsh. Also, have you seen those spelling mistakes? And what is this website anyways? On the bottom of the page, the suggested articles include: “He was digging in his garden, you would never guess what he found” and “Lose 10 pounds in a week without dieting”. Obvious clickbait articles. You would have probably found these titles fishy even before attending a media literacy class, but now you can nicely label them in your mind as well: articles with a title that you almost cannot resist opening should never be opened. And yes, titles that contain the word “YOU” should usually be treated with suspicion. They probably just want you to click, and then apart from some nonsense you might even encounter attempts to make you gamble or buy stuff. Not to mention that the article itself comes from a website called 9090.net. There is a widely read paper called 6060. com, no doubt that this other site is trying to get more readers by choosing a similar sounding name.

ROLL A DIE. If the result is 1 or 2, you go to the comment section: go to 4. If the result is 3 or 4, you simply close the article and return to your coffee: go to 9. If the result is 5 or 6, you leave the site and Google “chicken pox vaccine dangerous”: go to 32.

You remember what you learned two weeks ago in your class about clickbait articles. You smirk a little as you remember the examples and that one of the strategies for articles that want to trick us into clicking is to use “you”. “10 things you…”, “You won’t believe…”. You click away the pop-up.

If you do not have critical thinking or reading comprehension, add either one of them to your skills. Go to 29.

You are immediately redirected to a website called youwontbelieve.net and notifications start popping up on your phone. “This is how parents can get rid of stress”, “He was digging in his yard, you won’t believe what he found”, “10 things you should eat to lose weight without dieting”, “Instagram celebrity reveals how to get 1 million dollars in a week”.

ROLL A DIE. If the result is 4-6, go to 8, if the result is 1-3, go to 7.

Shoot. Reading those headlines starts ringing a bell. A few weeks ago at the introductory class there was something… When the teacher showed examples of why media literacy is important… To avoid for example… click-something articles… clicktrap… or clicklure… NO, clickbait! Okay… skipping class was maybe not a great idea after all. Realizing that you are not as on top of the curriculum as you thought you were, you quickly chug your coffee and storm out of the coffeeshop, annoyed as you try to find the setting to turn off the crazy amount of notifications flooding your phone while you hurry back to the classroom door. One more moment of hesitation at the door. Now you are really really late.

Go to 1.

You order one more coffee while happily browsing through the articles that somehow never seem to be as interesting as their title suggested. You are in the middle of a piece entitled “10 Reasons Why Cheese Is Good For You” when you get an email from the electronic system of your Saturday school.

"Dear Madam/Sir,

This is a message to notify you of the result of your exam on ‘Media literacy - Reading and Analyses’. Please see your grade below.

Sincerely,
Amadeus Amicalus
Study coordinator

Grade: F (FAIL)"

Reading this message, you snap out of the mysteries of cheese. You realize that you might fail the entire course.

If you think skipping one more class was a really bad idea, go to 1. If you think whatever, you’ll think about it tomorrow, go to 9.

You see a message from your friend Marvin in Messenger. He is asking what’s up. You are happy to have a chance to vent a little and to complain about the workload at your Saturday class. You point out how annoying it is that you have to get up early every weekend, and you also have a lot of assignments and stuff… anyhow… Marvin is a good friend and usually a good listener, but now he seems preoccupied. He says that they’ve recently had a lot of problems at work. He works for a newspaper, and one of his close colleagues published a satire blaming the Freemasons for the recent economic regression. Not understanding the genre, someone took the sarcastic message seriously and attacked a young man on the street who was wearing a T-shirt with the all-seeing eye symbol on it.

"So a psycho stabs this random guy 3 times in the chest, and now WE are being sued! When the police interrogated him, this nutjob said that it was the right thing to do and he read about it in our paper. Now we will have a lawsuit on our neck, because apparently the article was, as they say, “deceptive and creating confusion”, and therefore against the Law of Transparency and Ethics. The entire office is upside down."

If you have at least 3 points on empathy, go to 12. Otherwise go to 13.

You get the point about the differences between misinformation and disinformation. Great, but the teacher seems to think he is surrounded by rather dim-witted individuals, since he won’t stop going in circles around the same point. You start to get really bored. You take out your phone and open messenger.

If you have taken Focus or Motivation as a skill, add an extra point to your intelligence as a reward for successful multitasking, and still paying attention to the lesson while being on your phone. In any case, go to 9.

Wait what? Let’s see. What’s the difference again between misinformation and disinformation? You look at your notes to compare. Here it is: MISinformation is false or inaccurate info, but DISinformation is false info that is actually intended to be misleading. Here, you jotted down some examples too. Misinformation is for example sensational tabloid journalism, clickbait articles, or… wait… satire? Hm, right. So they do not want to deceive but kinda say false things. Okay. And so DISinformation is like propaganda in the media or stuff like that. Also, recently there was a whole thing when the Leftrightleft party started to say that aliens wanna come to settle here and invade our culture and take our jobs. They even put up posters with the face of a rich entrepreneur, Gregor Boros, saying that he wants to ruin our civilisation by inviting the aliens to come in. Wild idea, but you have actually overheard people on the bus debating the issue, suggesting that they tend to believe the… yes… the propaganda.

Okay - you got a bit lost in thoughts, back to the class.

ROLL A DIE. If you rolled 1-3, go to 10. If you rolled 4-6, think a bit longer: say one example of misinformation and one example of disinformation from your own experience. Then go to 10.

Offer to meet Marvin in person for brunch the next day. There is a cute little café that offers those amazing blueberry pancakes, not to mention their delicious Eggs Benedict… You already feel the taste of it in your mouth, but Marvin says:

"Thanks for your support buddy, but I have to start work early tomorrow… :("

If you want to have a delicious brunch tomorrow anyways by yourself, go to 14. If you don’t feel like going alone, and you prefer to skip the pancakes this time and work from home instead, go to 42.

You set your phone aside for a bit. Knowing Marvin, it is best to let him just blow off a little steam. In these kinds of instances, furious, he hardly notices that the discussion turns into a monologue. Fine guy otherwise, Marvin, but you know that sometimes it is better if you just let him get his problems out of his system. Feeling slightly guilty that you really weren’t doing your best lately, you take out the course syllabus of your class and you skim through it. You see that for the next class everyone has to bring an authentic source, written or audiovisual, that can be an example of one of the following: deepfakes, clickbait articles, tabloids, alternative facts, propaganda.

Okay, what the hell are deepfakes? You might have missed that in class…

If you Google it, go to 21. If you decide to message one of your classmates to ask, go to 22. If you think whatever, you will choose one of the other topics, go to 23.

The next morning looks like a particularly promising start for a beautiful Sunday. Not only is the weather great, but you are going for a nice brunch. A little bit of well-deserved Me Time after a long week. You take a light jacket and walk to your favorite brunch place. Eggcellent Eatery has a nice terrace, and you spot a small round table in the corner that seems just perfect. You get comfortable and open your mail. You have 3 new messages. The 1st one is from an unknown sender.

If you open this one, go to 18. The second message is from school, probably a reminder about the upcoming tasks. If you open this one, go to 15. The third message is from your friend Kim. If you start by reading her message, go to 20.

As you suspected, here comes a reminder about the upcoming homework assignment:

"Bring an authentic source, written or audiovisual, that can be an example for one of the following: deepfakes, clickbait articles, tabloids, alternative facts or propaganda. Analyze it and make a presentation that you will deliver in class. Slides are required, and have to be sent to the teacher at least 2 days prior to the lesson."

So, if you understand it correctly, you have to look for an article or a video that contains misinformation or disinformation.

If you decide to start working on your assignment, go to 42. If you rather read the e-mail from your friend first, go to 20.

You type Poe’s law into Google. One of the first matches is a Wikipedia article. Not exactly a scientific source, but perfect to get an overview. You click on the article and skim through its contents:

Reading the comment section always leaves you with a slightly uncomfortable feeling in your stomach. Such discussions usually get nasty and rather uncivilized no matter the topic or the participants. There are always the trolls, the smartypants, the sarcastics, some actual crazy people… And so on. Your eyes are struck by this comment:

"F**** newish go die"

If you think the newish might really be up to something, go to 60. If you think this is just a stereotype, go to 9.

The message that you received is from kakinoaya@docomonet.jpj. It reads:

You read: “The eighth circle of hell is reserved for those guilty of fraud.” You are standing there, puzzled, and you just really cannot make sense of all this. Whatever. It crosses your mind that you could actually just leave. Now that you’re out of this horrible taxi…

If you want to go and save Marvin, go to 57. If you decide to leave, go to 58.

You open Kim’s message. There is no subject, which you find rather annoying, but she does that all the time. You open the message and it contains nothing but a link to an article, with no further comment. You told her a million times to send individual links in messenger rather than via email, especially when she sends them with no explanation whatsoever. Despite her being from Generation Z, she can be really digitally illiterate sometimes. Anyways.

Here is the link she sent: www.bbc.id/mewish_millionaire_taking_over

If you have taken focus or agility as a skill, AND you have at least 3 points on intelligence, go to 35. Otherwise go to 37.

You open a browser and look for Google results for deepfakes. The first couple of results include Top stories entitled “Mother ‘used deepfake to frame cheerleading rivals’” (BBC news), “Pennsylvania Woman Accused of Using Deepfake Technology to Harass Cheerleaders” (The New York Times), “Woman allegedly made deepfakes to kick rivals off daughter’s cheerleading squad” (yahoo!finance). Wow, that sounds interesting… You usually read the BBC, so you click on the article, and skim through it.

Mother ‘used deepfake to frame cheerleading rivals’

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to doctor images and video [...] Mrs X is believed to have used the girls’ social media accounts to generate the deepfake images [...] was arrested and charged with harassment and cyber- harassment [...] could soon become easier to detect whether an image has been created using deepfake technology [...] a tool that can identify whether an image has been doctored by analysing light reflections in a person’s eyes [...] ”

After looking at this rather shocking example, you also skim through the next search result, Wikipedia’s first sentence without even opening it:

Deepfake

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deepfakes (a portmanteau of “ deep learning “ and “fake”) are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness.

If there are a couple of words that are still difficult but overall the examples made the concept clear, go to 23. If you need further help, go to 22.

You open messenger and contact Olivia, the best student in the class and a very kind individual. You explain that you don’t really understand the concept of deepfakes. She sends you an example: a video of Barack Obama. You watch it, and your jaw drops, because you hear the former president say: “President Trump is a total and complete dipshit.” In no time, it reveals that it is an actor who made this whole speech, which was manipulated to make it look like president Obama said it to show how technology can mislead us. This is crazy!

After this very clear and shocking example, she sends you the definition from Oxford languages, saying this was the one she found the most clear:

deepfake

Pronunciation /ˈdiːpfeɪk/

NOUN

A video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information.

You thank Olivia for the explanation, and go back to thinking about what to do with this assignment.

Go to 23.

On the way home, walking along the big shopping street of the city, you notice that every single bus stop and billboard is covered with campaign posters for the upcoming elections. You do not have to stop to read them carefully, even from a glimpse it becomes clear that each party communicates radically different information from the others, often regarding the same problem. Boy, it’s difficult. I mean, okay, some of them are really far-fetched but some of them are really problematic to judge. You just see what you wanna see after all. There is no ultimate truth. There is no right choice. Oh, the meaning of life…

If you have 1 point on intelligence, you say: “Damn!” If you have 5 points on intelligence you say: “But we must cultivate our garden!” In any case, you decide that tomorrow you are going to work on the assignment in your favorite café. If you do not have it yet, take time management as a skill and go to 14.

As he recognizes you, his face softens. You kindly ask him for a copy, pointing to the pile of papers next to him. He gives you one, winks, and turns back. You look at the handout.

Example of misinformation

“From next January, the vaccination against chickenpox is going to be compulsory for all babies, the government has decided. While it seems like just an addition to the many other compulsory vaccines, potential side-effects and underlying motifs behind the vaccine are hidden from you.

First of all, the health hazards. Its important to understand that they will kind of give babies the disease, this is how the vaccine works. It is nonsense then that they say that getting the disease is not good even if it gives only mild symptoms for kids, therefore the vaccine is necessary. We can see this is basically the same thing then, not to mention that the vaccine can produce many serious side effects, such as seizures. Also, we have all had the pox as children, our parents just sent us to play with the kids who had it, and before we knew we were done with it. Why would they spend the taxpayers money on this then?

We went after who’s interest it is: The company making the vaccine is owned by members of the newish people, a group owning most of the big companies and the majority of real estate in the country. It is commonly known that they are responsible for the housing prices sky rocketing, by controlling the market and gaining more power. Here is another way for them to make they’re fortune even bigger, by selling an unnecessary and potentially dangerous shot for everyone: a granted income forever, really smart. Why did our government agree to this and how they have infiltrated the parliament, is to further investigate, and the question remains… What else might be in the injection that all our children are bound to receive?”

(source: 9090.net)

While reading, you notice some spelling mistakes, and that the information sounds quite harsh and judgemental. You don’t know the site it comes from, but it looks like a ripoff of the legit news site called 6060.com.

If you do not have it yet, gain critical thinking or reading comprehension as a skill. Then go to 25.

You take out your notebook and a pen. You skim through the notes of the previous class, which was about disinformation. You wrote down the following definition:

Disinformation: “False information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Example: propaganda.

You start a new page for today’s lesson in your notebook. You look at the board to copy what’s there. This is what it looks like:

Misinformation: “Incorrect or misleading information. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).”
Examples: ‘alternative facts’, …”

If you have 5 points on intelligence, or you have reading comprehension AND focus as a skill, go to 10. Otherwise go to 11.

You try to get the attention of the guy in front of you. You whisper “hi, sorry” and “excuse me”, but he doesn’t seem to hear you. You gently poke his shoulder with your finger. He turns back, looking annoyed.

If you have at least 2 points on charisma, go to 24. Otherwise go to 27.

“Sssshhhhhh!” Says the guy, with a really unkind expression on his face and he turns back. Okay, okay… Whatever then.

You take out your notebook and a pen. You skim through the notes of the previous class, which was about disinformation. You wrote down the following definition:

Disinformation: “False information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Example: propaganda.

You start a new page for today’s lesson in your notebook. You look at the board to copy what’s there. This is what it looks like:

Misinformation: “Incorrect or misleading information. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).”
Examples: ‘alternative facts’, …”

If you have 5 points on intelligence, or you have reading comprehension AND focus as a skill, go to 10. Otherwise go to 11.

You sit there torn between cold logic and the doubt slowly crawling up your spine. The phone ringing snaps you out of your thoughts. It’s Marvin. His voice is shaking as he says: “They are after us. After me. Gregor Boros. Have you seen the news??? This whole thing that I told you about,” he gasps “the Freemasons and the newish actually planned the whole thing! Found this crazy guy, made him do the dirty work, only to blame us, frame us and take the paper down! But my colleague Peter figured it out and now they took him! And I also got a letter! I’m so scared and please…“

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The line is broken.

You are petrified. What’s happening??? As freaked out as you are, you try to pull yourself together and help your friend.

Go to Marvin’s apartment. If you do not have it yet, gain agility as a skill and go to 41.

You start reading. The article goes as follows:

From next January, the vaccination against chickenpox is going to be compulsory for all babies, the government has decided. While it seems like just an addition to the many other compulsory vaccines, potential side-effects and underlying motifs behind the vaccine are hidden from you.

First of all, the health hazards. Its important to understand that they will kind of give babies the disease, this is how the vaccine works. It is nonsense then that they say that getting the disease is not good even if it gives only mild symptoms for kids, therefore the vaccine is necessary. We can see this is basically the same thing then, not to mention that the vaccine can produce many serious side effects, such as seizures. Also, we have all had the pox as children, our parents just sent us to play with the kids who had it, and before we knew we were done with it. Why would they spend the taxpayers money on this then?

We went after who’s interest it is: The company making the vaccine is owned by members of the newish people, a group owning most of the big companies and the majority of real estate in the country. It is commonly known that they are responsible for the housing prices sky rocketing, by controlling the market and gaining more power. Here is another way for them to make they’re fortune even bigger, by selling an unnecessary and potentially dangerous shot for everyone: a granted income forever, really smart. Why did our government agree to this and how they have infiltrated the parliament, is to further investigate, and the question remains… What else might be in the injection that all our children are bound to receive?

If you have at least 3 points on intelligence, or you have critical thinking as a skill, go to 3. Otherwise ROLL A DIE. If the result is 5-6, go to 3. If the result is 1-4, go to 4.

You have a group of friends from primary school that you always hang out with and still meet with them most weeks. There is going to be an event tonight as well and you are really pumped to go and have some well-deserved fun. At 7:30 you leave to meet the guys at your favorite bar that just opened its terrace for the summer season.

By the time you arrive, some of them are already sitting there talking about politics. Finding the topic generally depressing and rather unnerving, you really do not feel like wasting a nice evening on that. Normally it isn’t that bad, because everyone in this group unanimously hates the Leftrightleft political party. In theory the situation should not escalate, but ironically the more they agree, the more they get into this passionate and borderline aggressive discussion, adding fuel to each other’s fire. You also dislike the Leftrightleft party, but sometimes you wish there was someone at the table with another opinion. In class for example, there is this really smart guy who recently presented two articles, one from what is considered to be the Leftrightleft propaganda paper, and the other from the newspaper of the opposition. Listening to the comparison was actually much more fun, and this endless bubbling about the same things you already believe is just annoying. Plus, you kinda thought deep inside your heart that tonight would be an occasion to have a drink for your upcoming birthday. Apparently not. You leave a bit earlier than usual, so you arrive home a few minutes before midnight. You grab your phone to browse around a bit more and you see that you have an unread email from your friend, Kim.

If you read it, go to 20. If you rather skim through your presentation for your class and then sleep, go to 38.

You click on the link. Shoot. You immediately start getting firewall messages and pop-ups that invite you to play roulette in online casinos, and well… porn. Great. You realize that you have fallen for a scam, but you have no idea what to do now. One thing is sure: you cannot work like this.

If you have at least 3 points on social network, go to 33. Otherwise go to 34.

You type “chickenpox vaccine dangerous” into Google.

The first result (“Safety Information for Chickenpox (Varicella) Vaccines” ... - CDC) reads:

Chickenpox vaccine is safe and effective at preventing chickenpox. Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. The most common side effects are usually mild and go away on their own. Severe allergic reactions following vaccination are rare, but can be life threatening.

Ok, fine. So you could technically die from it but otherwise it seems pretty straightforward: the vaccine is perfectly fine and safe. You are about to do a more extensive search to find other sources as well, and you are about to type “chickenpox vaccination WHO”, when a message pops up.

If you don’t have it yet, take reading comprehension as a skill, then go to 9.

You have to call your friend Victoria… again… Victoria is an IT developer, and as such she always has to deal with everybody’s computer-related problems. You feel really bad about constantly bugging her, but this is kinda urgent. You call and explain the situation. Luckily this is not the first time Victoria hears about something like that, so she can guide you through the steps of fixing the problem. Teaching a man how to fish. Not that next time you will remember how it went... You thank her for always being so helpful, and you order her a box of macarons to be delivered from her favorite French confectionery. Then you open your messages again.

If you read the message from the school, go to 15. If you read the message from your friend, go to 20.

You have to call the IT shop close by. They tell you to bring in your laptop, which you do immediately. The girl who works there looks at the issue and says that they have a lot of work so it can be done in 3 days, they will call you when it’s done. Oh yes, and it will cost $45. Great, money down the drain… Anyways, next time you will be more careful. Now you go home and open your messages again, this time from your phone.

If you read the message from the school, go to 15. If you read the message from your friend, go to 20.

You look at the website’s name again:

www.bbc.id/newish_billionaire_taking_over

Wait a minute. What is this ‘.id’ thing? The BBC website is bbc.co.uk or bbc.com. Come on Kim… This is not a real BBC article. You message her saying that she should watch out when she checks her sources. You don’t want to read fake news, or download a virus, right?

If you simply click away the message, go to 38. If you want to report the issue, go to 36.

These fake news websites were always pushing your buttons, especially since you had a really engaging discussion about the topic a few weeks ago in class.

You cannot help it, you are really curious, so you skim through the article. It is a pretty short one:

Reliable sources suggest that members of a traditional newish free-mason group are planning assaults against innocent citizens. They are encouraging psychologically unstable people to execute their plans. Recently a young man was stabbed. Our informators have confirmed that G. Boros, the well known newish billionaire is behind the whole. What can he be up to? As historical examples show, the newish were traditionally behind economic depression, war and murder.

For Pete’s sake... You really feel strongly about people being exposed to these kinds of misleading websites, filled with misinformation and disinformation. Sometimes your grandmother sends you articles from dubious sources, and it really makes you angry that she is being tricked and so vulnerable to cyber crime. Not cool. You decide to report the page on the police’s Action Fraud website. No one messes with granny.

If you don’t have it already, take responsibility as a skill. Then go to 38.

You open www.bbc.id/newish_billionaire_taking_over.

The headline reads: “Newish billionaire Gregor Boros taking over by framing troubled man”.

You start reading the article itself, it is a pretty short one:

Reliable sources suggest that members of a traditional newish free-mason group are planning assaults against innocent citizens. They are encouraging psychologically insatiable people to execute their plans. Recently a young man was stabbed. Our informators have confirmed that G. Boros, the well known newish billionaire is behind the whole. What can he be up to? As historical examples show, the newish were traditionally behind economic depression, war and murder.

You click on the embedded video. It is only 15 seconds, it is Gregor Boros saying simply: “The Freemasons are here to reverse history. Enemies of the heirs, beware.” And then an evil laugh that gives you the heebie-jeebies.

The video is over, but you sit there for another 15 long seconds. A single word bounces around in your brain: whaaaat?

If you are convinced that the BBC is a reliable source, go to 39. If you think something is off, go to 40.

You are about to go to the bathroom, when your phone starts ringing. It’s Marvin. His voice is shaking as he says: “They are after us. After me. Gregor Boros. Have you seen the news??? This whole thing that I told you about,” he gasps “the Freemasons and the newish actually planned the whole thing! Found this crazy guy, made him do the dirty work, only to blame us, frame us and take the newspaper down! But my colleague Peter figured it out and now they took him! And I also got a letter! I’m so scared, please…”

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The line is broken.

In shock, you forget to lower the phone from your ear. The guy is becoming totally paranoid. This is quite worrying. Go to Marvin’s apartment to check on him.

Gain a point on empathy and go to 41.

You are staring in front of you, totally shocked. If the BBC covers it, it must be true. Your phone ringing gives you a jolt. It’s Marvin. His voice is shaking as he says: “They are after us. After me. Gregor Boros. Have you seen the news??? This whole thing that I told you about,” he gasps “the Freemasons and the newish actually planned the whole thing! Found this crazy guy, made him do the dirty work, only to blame us, frame us and take the journal down! But my colleague Peter figured it out and now they took him! And I also got a letter! I’m so scared, please…”

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The line is broken.

You are petrified. What’s happening??? You are really scared, but you try to pull yourself together and help your friend. Go to Marvin’s apartment.

If you do not have it yet, gain responsibility as a skill and go to 41.

You really see the BBC as an authority when it comes to covering the news. But this article is so weird. I mean, okay a lot of people believe that Gregor Boros is the devil, and frankly you have heard it so many times that even though your brain tells you that it is just a stupid conspiracy, you get a strange feeling about it which kind of makes you doubt your own judgement. Ultimately you think believing in conspiracies is stupid. The Holocaust happened, men landed on the Moon, and Paul McCartney did not die and get replaced by an impersonator. Okay, those are obvious ones. But what if there occasionally is something to these political intrigues?

If you had politics as a skill, lose it, then go to 28.

You call a taxi and you give Marvin’s address to the driver. On the way, you try to Google the article that brought this whole thing down on Marvin’s head. Weirdly enough the search results are not showing the expected page. You gaze out the window, thinking about what to do now. And then you notice them. Those huge yellow posters were appearing everywhere, but you never actually cared. They all display a very unpleasant photo of a man with a vicious smile on his face. Gregor Boros. The Leftrightleft party always said that he was up to no good… And you have actually read something about Gregor Boros trying to microchip us or something… And now this whole thing with Marvin, the article and the stabbing and the Freemasons… Could there be actually something to it? Were your parents right all along when they said that those newish people are capable of anything? A sudden left turn snaps you out of your thoughts. Wait. This is not the way to Marvin’s apartment. What is happening?

If you have at least 2 points on charisma you may confront the driver if you want. If you do so, go to 47. Otherwise go to 48.

You know that it is time to man up and rock this media literacy course. You crack your fingers and start working on the assignment. You start Googling, this time purposefully looking for fishy news sites and strange headlines. You read a whole bunch of articles, mainly about political issues. You look at the coverage of the same story in multiple sources, fishing for a good article to analyze.

If you do not have it yet, you get time management and politics or critical thinking as a skill. Go to 43.

You have decided to make a short presentation about tabloid journalism, and you choose an article entitled “The dark side of Gill Fates - murder, perversion and newish propaganda”. You are delighted that you’ve found this article. It has everything that someone analyzing problems in media literacy could possible ask for: tabloid journalism with a sensational title, along with stereotypes about newish people.

Check whether you have any (minimum) two of the following skills: politics, history, critical thinking, reading comprehension, presentation. If so, go to 44. Otherwise go to 45.

It seems that this assignment is a piece of cake for you. You’ve got the flow. Put on your headphones with your favorite music and start writing your analyses and making your slides. To start with, the source of it is a cheap tabloid famous for being constantly reported for spreading misinformation, plus next to the headline on the front page there is a really badly manipulated picture of Gill Fates holding a knife and a bag of dollar bills. Doing content analyses and tearing apart such articles is kinda fun. In just one afternoon, you get the assignment done. Your presentation stands ready: notes written, slides made and proofread, and the whole thing submitted to your teacher. You feel really good about this, since tomorrow is your birthday, and this will allow you to just kick back and relax.

If you have at least 2 points on social network, go to 30. Otherwise go to 46.

You start working. You create some slides and start analyzing the article. You are collecting the different elements that make the article a source of fake news. To start with, the source of it is a cheap tabloid famous for being constantly reported for spreading misinformation, plus next to the headline on the front page there is a really badly manipulated picture of Gill Fates holding a knife and a bag of dollar bills. Analyzing such articles is kinda fun. You make good progress but after 2 hours of intensive thinking you get pretty tired and your motivation starts to decline. You will have to continue tomorrow. But tomorrow is your birthday... So maybe the day after tomorrow.

If you have at least 2 points on social network, go to 30. Otherwise go to 46.

You think about your evening plans. You have a group of friends you’ve kept in touch with since primary school, but lately you haven’t been too social. They organize hangouts on a regular basis, but the last couple of times you decided to pass. There was supposed to be an event tonight as well and you actually planned to show up, but you just got a message that it was cancelled. Unbelievable. Despite the fact that you were not the most reliable friend lately, you kinda thought deep inside your heart that it would be an occasion to have a drink for your upcoming birthday. Apparently not.

You take your phone, and open your favorite social media platform. Another evening of just scrolling. You start to feel really depressed seeing all those pictures of other people being happy, pretty and successful, when you see that you have an unread email from your friend Kim.

If you read it, go to 20. If you rather keep scrolling, go to 38.

You address the driver: “Excuse me, sir…”

He probably didn’t hear you, so you clear your throat and repeat: “Excuse me!”

Okay, there is no way that he did not hear that… Is he ignoring you? What the heck’s up with people these days? “Sir, this is the wrong way!” You are almost shouting.

Just then you arrive at a red light. The car stops and the driver slowly turns around to look at you. Your mouth dries out, and you sit back in horror. The man is wearing a clown’s mask, with the symbol of the Freemasons, the all-seeing eye, painted on the forehead.

What is happening? You become completely numb.

Lose a point on physical strength, then go to 48.

You really have a very bad feeling about this. You are grasping the fabric of your seat with both hands so neurotically that they become completely white. This is absolutely the wrong way. You should have listened to your parents. Now you see it everywhere. In the news, on the posters, and now intruding in your life. The newish… The Freemasons... The cab turns into a small cul-de-sac, and the driver hands you an envelope over his shoulders. You reach out a shaking hand, and take the envelope. It contains a piece of paper with one sentence on it: Salvare voluerit, ire octavo circulo inferni.

If you have taken language as a skill or you have 5 points on intelligence, go to 49. Otherwise go to 56.

You have never thought that those Latin classes would one day come in handy, but here we go. You are staring at the paper for a little while, but then Eureka, it all comes together! If you want to save him, go to the eighth circle of hell. A whole regiment of blasphemous words is rushing through your head when you understand the kind of trouble you are in. Finally you come to your senses and you jump out of the car. You find yourself in front of a 10 story apartment building with no other than a gigantic billboard on the side: “HELLthy food Ltd. Our eggs are deviled and our seitan is biting”. If it wasn’t for you being in the middle of the most horrible mess of your life, you probably would have giggled. But now, your eyes are fixed on the word HELLthy. You look up, and search for the eighth floor. It crosses your mind that you could actually just leave. Now that finally you’re out of this horrible taxi…

If you want to go and save Marvin, go to 57. If you decide to leave, go to 58.

You find yourself in the middle of a dark room. You’ve totally got the chills. You are hesitating: should you just stand here and pretend you don’t exist, or should you turn on the torch on your phone and face whatever is in the room?

If you turn on the torch now, go to 51. Otherwise go to 52.

“Surpriiiiise!” You look around. All your friends are standing around you along the wall. There are balloons everywhere. You wish you could see your own face. Kim, Victoria, Charlie, Elenor, Johnny, they are all coming to hug you, while Marvin is lighting the sparklers on the cake, accompanied by the most out of tune “Happy Birthday” ever, sung by the rest of the group.

Go to 55.

You stumble forward and you feel a body moving close to you.

If you have at least 3 on physical strength, go to 54. Otherwise go to 53.

You try to hit the body but all you manage to do is give a little pat on somebody’s upper arm. You are totally freaking out now, and you let out the highest-pitched of all possible shrieks. Someone turns on the light. You look around. All your friends are standing along the wall, staring at you. There are balloons everywhere. A few seconds pass in silence, but then everyone starts laughing uncontrollably. Kim, Victoria, Charlie, Elenor, Johnny, they are all coming to hug you, while Marvin is lighting the sparklers on the cake, accompanied by the most out of tune “Happy Birthday” ever sung by the rest of the group, who are still choking with laughter. You cry and laugh at the same time, not sure if it’s still the shock or the overwhelming emotions flooding your heart.

Go to 55.

You surprise even yourself with how accurately the punch has landed in the dark. You swing your fist annnnd right into the face! The other person in the room lets out the most agonizing roar possible. Someone turns on the light. Marvin is bent over in front of you, grasping his bleeding nose. You look around. All your friends are standing along the wall, staring at you. There are balloons everywhere. Five incredibly long seconds pass. Then Marvin gasps: “Happy birthday.”

Go to 55.

Summer breezes and winter storms have alternated three times since you had the craziest, most adventurous birthday of your life. The story of your incredible birthday extravaganza (as you like to call it) was told and retold what feels like hundreds of times over shared meals and drinks. Your friends knew what your weak points were, and this bunch of teachers, IT developers and journalists could put together the perfect fake news minefield for you. Let’s say that it taught you a lesson, but in the end maybe not as much as your media literacy class proved to do so. You have graduated from the course with a respectable B-, and you have put together a pretty cool profile that granted you a 3-month paid internship at Marvin’s newspaper. You are mainly filtering potentially misleading information, working on promoting transparency and raising awareness to media bias. Each Thursday after work you go meet your friends at this amazing new tapas place. Those friends… Who presented you with the worst day of your life! Naah, fake news. It was awesome.

THE END

Ok, this is ridiculous. What’s that? Latin? You take out your phone, open the translation app and translate the sentence: If you want to save him, go to the eighth circle of hell. A whole regiment of blasphemous words is rushing through your head when you understand the kind of trouble you are in. Finally you come to your senses and you jump out of the car. It drives away. You find yourself in front of a 10 story apartment building with no other than a gigantic billboard on the side: “HELLthy food Ltd. Our eggs are deviled and our seitan is biting”. You roll your eyes. That’s just great. A stupid pun. You look up, and try to find the eighth floor with your eyes. The eighth circle of hell… What’s that? You decide to do a quick search on the internet. Knowing is half the battle, after all.

If you do not have it yet, take motivation as a skill, then go to 19.

Thinking that you’re an idiot for doing this, you walk towards the entrance and gently push the door. To your surprise, it isn’t locked. You step into the elevator that is standing right there, as if it’s waiting for you. You press 8 on the control panel.

If you do not have it yet, take responsibility as a skill and add a point to your empathy and to your social network. Then go to 59.

You turn around and you start walking away. What an absurd situation! You decide to call 911, report what you know, and competent and trained people from the police will do what needs to be done. You are just about to take out your phone when you notice three dark hooded figures running towards you. Shoot. You have no other option but to go back to the dead end, to the hell house… You run as fast as you can, and despite the fact that you know that the gates of apartment houses are usually locked, you push it with all the force you can muster. To your great surprise, it swings open, and you almost fall on your face. Regaining your balance, you jump into the elevator that is standing right there, and press 8.

If you do not have it yet, gain agility as a skill, then go to 59.

The elevator stops on the 8th floor with a loud “BING”. You step out and look around. There are three apartments on this floor. Weirdly enough, the doors don’t have numbers but symbols on them: a triangle, a square and a circle… The 8th circle of hell. Here we go. While you are turning the handle, you realize that you should have called the police from the elevator… But the door has already clicked open.

Go to 50.

To tell the truth, in your childhood you heard quite a couple of times your parents making improper, sometimes even vulgar remarks about the newish people. In your media literacy course you had a whole session about stereotypes, and you know very well that judging a group as a whole is wrong. In theory. But frankly it’s really hard, when you see that their name comes up all the time when it comes to fishy stories and rumors about bad stuff. There is this New World Order thing for example. How could we be sure that with the help of technology we are not being followed and secretly manipulated?

If you have critical thinking as a skill, lose it. Go to 9.