A phone message claiming that the recipient has won the lottery, a gift, or an inheritance from relatives living abroad, or an article advertising a new “miracle drug” that cures all diseases at a low cost, are clearly recognized as scams by many internet users. However, for older adults who didn’t grow up as “digital natives,” such offers might sound like legitimate opportunities to solve their problems, making them easy targets for scammers and cybercriminals.
To combat this, young people in Korçë, one of Albania’s cities with the highest proportion of aging population, are teaching older adults how to recognize and avoid digital scams through awareness capaigns and media education.
Connecting generations to fight disinformation and scams
In the city of Korçë, around 20 percent of the population is over the age of 65 and more than 2,000 elderly people live alone. Against this backdrop, online disinformation and scams have become a serious threat to this vulnerable social group.
Fraudulent messages, attempts to steal personal and banking data through fake gifts and lotteries, as well as advertisements for medications and folk remedies with no scientific basis, are spreading rapidly, exposing older adults to manipulation and influencing important life decisions.
As a journalist who has followed community issues in the Korçë Region for years, I have observed how the lack of media education is increasingly exposing elderly people to disinformation and online risk. In April 2026, I decided to launch the initiative “Older Adults and Youth Against Online Disinformation,” to build cooperation between generations, increase digital knowledge, and develop practical skills for safe internet use.
In continuation of this initiative, I created the Digital Buddy platform as a simple, practical, and easily accessible tool to help older adults identify disinformation, verify sources, and strengthen critical thinking skills.
To bring this platform closer to the community and older adults in Korçë, five university students were trained as digital mentors. Although the young participants already had good technological knowledge, the training helped them better understand the most common forms of disinformation and common online scams, and they learned how to explain these risks to older adults through the use of the Digital Buddy platform.
During the training, one participant, Egi, shared a story which underscored how essential this project was for the community. She shared that her grandmother had received a message claiming she had won a gift from a famous businessman. Her story proves that online scams are not only related to a lack of media literacy, but also exploit the emotions and trust of elderly internet users.
When life experience is not enough
Fifty-six older adults over the age of 65, who were recruited from three elderly community centers in Korçë, participated in meetings with the young digital mentors. Most of them used smartphones and social media, mainly WhatsApp and Facebook, to communicate with their children, grandchildren, and other relatives.
They explained that while technology offers convenience, it also comes with hidden challenges, including avoiding scams scattered amid the vast amount of online content.
Conversations between mentors and participants revealed that health-related scams were among the most common forms of disinformation they encountered.
“Every time we open Facebook, we see advertisements for medicines,” said Pëllumb Mete, one of the meeting attendees. “I remember a video where the well-known doctor Tritan Kalo was advertising a medicine that completely cured diabetes. I believed the advertisement because I trusted the doctor and never thought the video could be manipulated,” he explained.
Another participant, Vasillaq Çiku, confessed he had ordered a medicine online that promised to cure arthritis. “I can barely walk because of arthritis. When I saw the advertisement on Facebook, I thought I had finally found the solution for my legs, so I bought it. I’ve been using it, but so far I haven’t noticed any improvement,” he said.
Online scams are not limited to health products. Donika Qendro said that a few months ago she received a message from an unknown number asking her to open a link. “I didn’t open it. I immediately went to the phone company and asked them to block the number. We are becoming afraid because we no longer know whom to trust.”
The stories shared by older adults revealed the scale of online disinformation and highlighted the importance of the Digital Buddy platform, whose functions and benefits were explained by the young mentors during each training session.
At the end of every meeting, all 56 participants completed a short questionnaire that will help assess their knowledge about disinformation, methods of protection against online scams, and the usefulness of the Digital Buddy platform.
Feeling safe online
Preliminary analysis of the questionnaires shows that the training sessions and guidance provided through the Digital Buddy platform helped participants feel safer while using digital platforms.
Most participants stated that after being trained by the young mentors, they found it easier to recognize fake news, misleading advertisements, and messages aimed at stealing personal data.
A small number of elderly participants admitted they still feel uncertain when facing messages promising gifts or financial benefits, showing that media education must remain an ongoing process.
The impact of this project is expected to go beyond the 56 older adults who participated in the training sessions. The five young mentors will distribute brochures containing summarized information about disinformation and the Digital Buddy platform.
They will continue sharing the knowledge they gained with their peers and remain engaged in promoting media literacy within their community, while older participants expressed willingness to share the platform’s practical advice with friends, family members, and other elderly people.
Even after the project ends, the Digital Buddy platform will remain an accessible source of information for older adults not only in Korçë, but throughout Albanian-speaking communities worldwide. Meanwhile, as a journalist, I will continue addressing the issue of disinformation through articles and reports, expanding the focus to include other social groups as well.
