Relevant for people who need to assess information under pressure
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Security professionals
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Operational personnel
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Risk and resilience teams
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Open-source information users
Spotting deception
Why this course matters
In increasingly complex information environments, misinformation and manipulated narratives can influence behaviour, shape perceptions, affect decision-making and undermine organisational trust.
This practical course helps professionals recognise deceptive content across digital and open-source environments. Participants use critical-thinking techniques, examples and discussion to assess information more effectively and navigate uncertainty with greater resilience.
Course focus
What participants will explore
Why misinformation and manipulated narratives spread rapidly
Behavioural and psychological influences on perception
Techniques used to manipulate information and shape narratives
Practical methods for assessing credibility and verifying sources
Organisational awareness and resilience against misinformation
Case studies, discussion and practical analysis exercises
Operational outcomes
What participants can take back to work
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Improved confidence in assessing information credibility in fast-moving environments
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Faster and more effective decisions through improved information awareness
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Reduced operational risk associated with misleading or manipulated information
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Greater resilience against misinformation, rumours and deceptive narratives
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Better awareness of how information influences behaviour and trust
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More informed and defensible decisions in complex or ambiguous situations
One-day structure
A practical route from awareness to action
01
Understand the information environment
Why misleading narratives spread and how they influence perception.
02
Recognise deceptive techniques
Fake news, bias, manipulation, impersonation, clickbait and propaganda.
03
Assess credibility and evidence
Practical checks for sources, claims, images, context and intent.
04
Apply the approach operationally
Case studies, discussion and analysis exercises linked to trusted decisions.
Organisational value
What the course helps protect
Trusted decisions
Reduce the chance of acting on unverified or manipulated information.
Operational confidence
Improve awareness and judgement when the picture is incomplete.
Organisational resilience
Strengthen the ability to recognise, discuss and respond to deceptive narratives.
Information taxonomy
Recognise the patterns
The course uses practical categories to help participants describe what they are seeing before deciding what it means.
Clickbait
Conspiracy theories
Fabricated content
False context
Imposter content
Manipulated content
Misleading content
Propaganda
Satire or parody misunderstood as truth
Bias by omission
Selection of sources
Story selection
Placement
Labelling
Spin
Photos, captions or visuals
Statistics or crowd counts
Word choice or tone
Time or context
Clickbait + misleading content
False context + manipulated content
Fabricated + imposter content
Propaganda + conspiracy theories
Satire or parody + false context
Manipulated + misleading content
Fully synthetic AI-generated images
Identity deepfakes
Traditional photo manipulation
Staged or posed “fakes”
Real base with AI additions
Splice blends and head/face grafts
Copy–move with context
Video-frame blends
Delivery options
Adapt the course to your organisation
Delivered online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, or in-company for organisational teams. Course fee available upon application.
A useful question to carry forward: what feels true enough to believe?
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