Sabīne Bērziņa
Portfolio.
See a selection of my work here. I have covered a broad variety of news topics not limited to the articles you can see here. Please reach out through the "Contact" section if you'd like to discuss my work in more depth.
Media education projects
I am leading the English language content development for a media literacy app Mobile Stories and coordinating its user feedback and research strategy. Mobile Stories is an engaging media education platform that not only offers a course on discerning reliable content, but also allows students to publish their own journalistic articles providing the opportunity to learn by doing. Using the tool, students learn to be critical about the content they produce and spread and start applying journalistic principles. The project is funded by the European Commission's Creative Europe Programme. Mobile Stories has been used in many schools in Sweden since 2015, but the English version of this project is currently getting piloted in Ireland, Finland and Romania. Beyond the content creation, I coordinated the research in various aspects and made sure that user feedback is considered.
Educational articles, videos, worksheets, blended learning lessons, graphics, code of ethics and AI guide, coordinating research on learning outcomes, developing user experience survey, developing the internal evaluation survey of the project, coordinating the work of an advisory board
While working on the Mobile Stories project on behalf of News Decoder, I also got involved with its daily operations contributing to its global news coverage, journalism Top Tips content, doing newsletter reader analysis, leading webinars and moderating discussions.
News Decoder works at the intersection of media and education, publishing both experienced journalists and student reporters that work at the guidance of an editor and produce stories that are on a professional level. News Decoder also engages students through webinars, discussions and other opportunities.
I lead the content development for a media literacy online course VeryVerified.eu in five languages (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, English and Russian) for learners in the Baltic countries. I also lead the development of blended learning materials and lead webinars in schools for students at various education levels across the Baltics. I also developed the campaign to promote the course.
Editing and creating educational content, scripting videos, producing videos from the client side, worksheets, blended learning lessons, leading the promotion through e-mail, poster, social media, social advertising and influencer campaign, leading workshops
Information verification workshops
Throughout my career, I have hosted workshops and webinars where I have trained over 800 high schoolers, students, teachers, librarians and NGO representatives from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the U.S. and France. I have also developed training materials and media literacy tools that have served over 10 thousand learners globally, with a focus on Europe (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Ireland, Finland, Romania). Topics: information verification, disinformation, how traditional media and social media work.
Journalism
In English
How “Shrimp Jesus” and fake books help AI spammers lure users - News Decoder, 2024
Is this year of elections also the year of deepfakes? - News Decoder, 2024
Latvian youth like Europe. Voting not so much. - News Decoder, 2024. For a cross-border journalism project Wh-Y vote 2024 in France, Denmark, Latvia, Hungary and Poland.
Historic wounds reopen as Baltic states face new fear of war - News Decoder, 2024
The Rough Face of China’s Soft Power - Re:Baltica, 2019
Who Spreads the Vaccine Lies in the Baltics? - Re:Baltica, 2021
Oakland Diocese releases information on sexual abuse, but victim advocates are skeptical - Oaklad North, 2019
Books behind bars: An inside look at the Prisoners Literature Project - Oakland North, 2019
In Latvian
When parents become strangers - Re:Baltica, 2021 (the article explores the severed relationships as the result of the increased spread of conspiracy theories during the Covid-19 pandemic. The article and the series it was embedded in was shortlisted for a Latvian Journalists' Association award)
Schools are overloaded with submissions, samples of which have been obtained on Facebook and Telegram - Re:Baltica, 2021 (the article explores how school administrations are overburdened with various written requests and submissions whose samples parents found on conspiracy theorist Facebook and Telegram groups during the Covid-19 pandemic).
Opponents of vaccines threaten and lie about deaths, but the police is in no hurry to act - Re:Baltica, 2021 (how vaccine sceptics lie about deaths caused by vaccines and threaten doctors and journalists who provide factual information)
Is the state not telling us something? How side effects of vaccines are investigated and explained in Latvia - Re:Baltica, 2021 (an investigation on unsubstantiated rumors spreading online about deaths caused by vaccines, how it influences the families involved and how the causes of death are actually investigated)
The Internet Prophet Exposes the Satanist Elite. What is QAnon? - Re:Baltica, 2020 (an explainer on QAnon conspiracy theory and its spread in Latvia)
How Covid-era conspiracy theories are reviving anti-Semitic ideas - Re:Baltica, 2021 (the article explores the ties between viral conspiracy theories and anti-semitism)
Why don't they want it? People who plan to refuse the vaccine are talking - Re:Baltica, 2021 (an exploration of the reasons why people refuse the Covid-19 vaccine)
"Re:Check" investigates the impact of the Covid-19 vaccination coverage on morbidity and the police's fight against fake news - Latvian public radio, 2021
«Re:Check» investigates: What are cheapfakes and deepfakes? - Latvian public radio, 2021
The use of MPs' transport compensations difficult to monitor - Latvian public television, 2018
Stricter requirements could be set to protect gambling addicts - Latvian public television, 2018
KNAB: It will not be easy to detect "campaigning" on Twitter before the elections - Latvian public television, 2018
"Twitter" users in Latvia complain about the increase in the number of trolls - Latvian public television, 2018
What does Facebook know about you? - SestDiena, 2018 (an article about the data that Facebook gathers on its users)
Councilors do not show up for work for years - Diena, 2017 (a data journalism project that showed that many members of local municipalities miss over half of municipal sittings)
Diena investigates: Thousands of young people in Latvia - without work and education - Diena, 2016 (an investigation on young people that are neither studying nor employed; the article received an award for up-and-coming journalists)
In Estonian
Latvia considers prosecuting anti-vaccine parents - Postimees, 2024 (on the discussions after a young child died of diphtheria and two others in the same family were hospitalized)
Latvia's European elections were characterized by a lack of interest and familiar faces - Postimees, 2024
Latvian higher education institutions are having a #MeToo moment - Postimees, 2024
Latvian parliament gave same-sex couples the right to register cohabitation - Postimees, 2023
In Latvia, a storm caused powerful destruction, one person died - Postimees, 2023
Migrants trapped on the border of Latvia and Belarus freeze to death - Postimees, 2023
The Latvian parliament confirms the new government, which was assembled under the blanket - Postimees, 2023
Latvia was shocked by a brutal murder case - Postimees, 2023 (an article on brutal case of domestic violence and the spread of the issue in the country)
Floods in Latvia: everything changed in four days - Postimees, 2023 (an on-the-ground report on the consequences of devastating floods)
Latvian children played real elections - Postimees, 2022 (on how Latvian children are taught about civic engagement through play elections that happened alongside parliamentary election)
Ukraine war tensions have erupted into violence in Latvia - Postimees, 2022 (about tensions in the Latvian society after the full-scale war in Ukraine)
In Jelgava, efforts are being made to accommodate Ukrainian refugees - Postimees, 2022 (how Ukrainian refugees are accommodated outside of Riga)
Discussions and media appearances
From Newsrooms to Classrooms: Real Talk about Artificial Intelligence. A Decoder Dialogue - Moderator of a discussion about the impact of AI on journalism and education (with Sonali Verma, Nikita Roy, Johan Skold and student panelists), 2024
Making the news: educating young people through making media - Panelist at the discussion at the Media Literacy Matters conference in Brussels, 2024
Very Verified: A Tool to Teach About Bots, Trolls, Fake Experts, Fact Checking and More! - presenter at the NAMLE 2023 conference
The inexhaustible possibilities of artificial intelligence also affect the everyday life of the media - Latvian public radio, 2023
Expert: People tend to believe that they are gifted with media literacy skills - Jauns.lv, 2022
My Media Consumption Activity and Tips to Deal with Information Overload - presenter at the NAMLE 2022 conference
Discussion and open lecture "Media Literacy: Think! Use! Know!" - Expert discussion at the Turība University in Riga, 2022
Discussion "Is it easy to be a female journalist" - LAMPA, 2021 (a discussion about harassment of female journalists, including fact-checkers, at a democracy/discussion festival in Cēsis, Latvia, most popular event of this kind in the country)
Conspiracy theories tear families apart; vaccine factory in Latvia? - Podcast "Šķiltava" by the publishing house "Ir", 2021
