Kicking disinformation out of play
DisOut Media Literacy Project Wins 32nd Annual Communicator Awards
The project received the highest honor — the Award of Excellence — in the Campaign-Non-Profit category. It is awarded to entrants whose work demonstrates their position as the best in the field. The same award in various categories was also received by The Walt Disney Company, PepsiCo, PwC, Marriott International, Lenovo, and other leading brands.
DisOut, a project by NGO Internews Ukraine, is a nationwide media literacy campaign designed to help people recognize and resist disinformation. At its core lies a creative concept of sport as a metaphor for truth — where the fight against disinformation is a team game. In this competition, everyone has the power to train their mind like a muscle and defeat fakes by thinking critically.
As part of the campaign, interactive exhibitions were held in four cities across Ukraine — Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, and Kyiv. Over 2,000 visitors completed a quest across seven thematic zones, where they generated deepfakes, tested how easy it is to be manipulated, knocked out fakes in mega-darts, and explored the origins of well-known fakes and viral memes.
In addition, a network of 16 media literacy clubs was launched across 13 regions of Ukraine. Their teams held 135 educational events — from workshops to media forums — for schoolchildren, university students, older adults, and other audiences.
A dedicated digital campaign served as a separate component of the project. Video explainers, infographics, articles in national and regional media, and podcasts produced in collaboration with English-language outlet UkraineWorld encouraged online audiences to spot manipulations and challenge false narratives.
"The creative approach, vibrant visual identity, and gamified formats made an urgent and complex topic genuinely engaging. And it worked: nearly 95% of club visitors said they had improved their media literacy skills, while 81.5% of exhibition visitors plan to continue applying what they learned," says Nadiia Ushchapivska, Head of Communications at NGO Internews Ukraine.
About the Award
The Communicator Awards is an international award recognizing excellence, effectiveness, and innovation in communications. The award is administered by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA), a community of over 1,100 industry leaders.
In 2026, the competition received over 3,000 entries from around the world, with jury members representing Netflix, FedEx, National Geographic Society, The Andy Warhol Museum, and other leading organizations.