Abstract The emergence of misinformation and disinformation have led to a mistrust of information in general, from politics to science to pop culture. Mistrust often gives way to apathy, creating a lack of desire to even distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information. A study of student surveys across multiple semesters and courses supports the notion that … [Read more...] about Building Civic Competencies: Design and Outcomes in Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Instruction
Misinformation
Film Criticism of Documentary Movies as a Media Literacy Tool
Abstract The documentary production is seen as an open space for different genres and styles, contributing to creating an intense spirit of experimentation. Despite this, a large part of the public mistakenly considers that documentaries are limited to the journalistic and dissertative format, based on a supposed objectivity that would be capable of leading to the definitive … [Read more...] about Film Criticism of Documentary Movies as a Media Literacy Tool
The Colors of Disinformation: Disinformation and the Literacy Landscape
Abstract We are now living in an age of “fake news,” which is not a new phenomenon, but its current iteration has highlighted the various dimensions of how people interact (or do not) with information - information consumption is so much more than people's immediate cognitive processing. This video essay will address some of the colloquial language that can be applied to … [Read more...] about The Colors of Disinformation: Disinformation and the Literacy Landscape
A Generational Change in Information Consumption: Approaches for Teaching Information Literacy
Abstract 20th century generations grew up with a worldview predicated on epistemological methods that enabled the discernment of concrete realities. With the emergence of the internet in the early 2000s as the primary means of information consumption, the 21st century’s concrete realities became less structured and more opaque. Generation Z and Generation Alpha now face a rate … [Read more...] about A Generational Change in Information Consumption: Approaches for Teaching Information Literacy
You Won’t Believe the Media’s Biggest Issue
Congratulations! You’ve just been clickbaited! If you spend any time on the internet, whether it’s browsing Google, YouTube, or even social media platforms, you’ve 100% come across articles or posts with titles that would be considered ‘clickbait.’ Clickbait is a form of media propaganda which includes a title that is often misleading and far off from the … [Read more...] about You Won’t Believe the Media’s Biggest Issue
Elon Musk Purchases Twitter
On October 28 of 2022, Elon Musk officially purchased Twitter. With all of the built up anticipation, soon after came confusion. Immediately, Twitter saw new problems. Misinformation flooded the site, and hate speech plagued Musk’s new reputation as Twitter’s new owner. According to Darrell Etherington of techcrunch.com, “he fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, General … [Read more...] about Elon Musk Purchases Twitter
A Metacognitive Approach to Reduce the Spread of Online Misinformation
Abstract When addressing the spread of misinformation, online media literacy programs have mostly emphasized an approach that seems to ignore the influences of individual emotions and social goals. However, when online, individual emotions are manipulated and users are directed to seek to fulfill social needs. This distracts from our obligation to fact check when online. … [Read more...] about A Metacognitive Approach to Reduce the Spread of Online Misinformation
The Influence of Social Media on Children
Social media has had a huge influence on children of all ages. There are many positives and negatives to social media. Starting with the positives, social media gives children the ability to connect with their friends and their family members as well. Social media turned into something very positive when the pandemic started. When the pandemic started, young children were able … [Read more...] about The Influence of Social Media on Children
The Harm and Cost of What Misinformation/Fake News Is Doing to Us as a Nation
We live in a world with misinformation, and fake news exists and is at an all-time high. From social media to the internet as a whole, the number of people making fake accounts with false information to get views and money is rising rapidly. For example, on a website like Wikipedia, you can edit and put whatever information you want, and an unsuspecting visitor to that page … [Read more...] about The Harm and Cost of What Misinformation/Fake News Is Doing to Us as a Nation
Heuristics (…why we’re susceptible to disinformation)
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation, or mistaken information, and disinformation, intentionally falsified information, became increasingly pervasive. Conspiracy theories saturated corners of the internet, wholly emerging into both political discourse and kitchen-table gossip. From outlandish claims that 5G cell phone towers spurred the pandemic to overtly … [Read more...] about Heuristics (…why we’re susceptible to disinformation)
Fake Climate News: How Denying Climate Change is the Ultimate in Fake News
Download full article pdf >> After the 2016 US-presidential election and Brexit referendum, fake news emerged as a quintessential democratic problem that media literacy was tasked to solve. The broad social concern about fake news acknowledges that the public sphere is a kind of commons that requires tending, and reminds us of the human (and civic) need for … [Read more...] about Fake Climate News: How Denying Climate Change is the Ultimate in Fake News
