For those who don't want to simply leave the debate columns to populism:Our chatbot e-Bert shows how to successfully argue for a strong Europe. Half game, half political education programme, the chatbot, designed and implemented by wegewerk for and together with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, tests convinced Europeans on how to deal with agitation and propaganda, while also imparting a lot of background knowledge on the European Union.

Is this perhaps a right-wing bot? And how do you recognise them?

e-Bert ist per Facebook oder Facebook-Messenger zu erreichen. Nutzer*innen werden mit nachgestellten Posts aus den sozialen Netzwerken konfrontiert, die beliebte Vorurteile und Mythen über Europa verbreiten. Dann die Frage: Wie reagiert man auf solche Anfeindungen? Zurückpöbeln? Fakten zitieren? Verständnis zeigen?

What are Chatbots and what can they do for socio-political communication? Read our blogpost >

Depending on the answer chosen, the conversation with the foes of Europe develops in different directions. A complex evaluation system runs in the background: points are awarded for content-related competences on the one hand, and on the other hand, users are evaluated on how well they deal with hate speech and the relevant communication strategies of trolls and mood-makers.

At the end, e-Bert will evaluate the content-related and communicative skills. For those who still haven't had enough, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung offers more in-depth courses. Or another round with new questions?

A game with e-Bert takes no longer than a ride on the Underground. Proof that political education and the teaching of online skills do not always have to be boring text work.