Fake news and critical literacy in the digital age: sharing responsibility and addressing challenges
How can we tackle the ongoing challenge of so-called ‘fake news’? Gianfranco Polizzi, PhD Researcher in the Department of Media at Communications at LSE, argues that we all have a responsibility to learn critical literacy to help us better to evaluate information, both on- and offline, and here sets out the responsibilities held by the different actors involved. This post was first published on the London School of Economics' Media Policy Project Blog on May 21, 2018. Social inclusion and democratic participation rely on opportunities to access, express and share information as citizens. The extent to [...]
Digital citizenship needs to be a group effort
The following article was written by Sarah Stoeckl, senior project manager in the ISTE Standards Department. She worked as a writing and literature teacher before becoming an administrator, writer and project wrangler. A student shares his email password with a friend, who shares it with another friend, who sends an inappropriate picture to everyone in the students’ contacts list. It was a joke! But that doesn’t mean there won’t be repercussions. Who failed to teach these kids password safety and email etiquette? Another student wants to fund a film project that combines digital art with music. [...]
Where do we draw the line?
With the recent Cambridge Analytica revelations, will we finally draw the line on Facebook's invasions of privacy, especially when it has acted as a platform of mis- and dis-information for so long? In the last three hours on my Facebook newsfeed, I have witnessed: Two people boasting about illegal activity on community pages; A petition to end an animal welfare issue that has been illegal for 9 years; A misogynistic joke straight out of the 1950s. It wasn’t funny then, either; An overtly racist meme (adding idiocy to insult, it said burka when it [...]
European Commission: Fake News and Online Disinformation
The European Commission has published its High Level Expert Group (HLEG) Report to advise the EC on fake news and disinformation online.
Get Them While They’re Young – Facebook Messenger for Kids
In December 2017, Facebook launched it’s standalone Messenger Kids app, targeting children under 13. The app is used via the parents’ Facebook account, and comes with strict parental controls, including safety filters, screened content and contact approvals. The app was developed with online safety experts and is designed to allow children to connect with friends and relatives through the service. Data collected via the app is not used for advertising purposes. A Facebook spokesperson said: “We worked to create Messenger Kids with an advisory committee of parenting and developmental experts, as well as with families [...]
MyStory: Media, Migrants & Refugees
The #MyStory: Media, Migrants & Refugees project was an initiative to raise awareness, promote discussion and assist journalists, migrants and refugees and the organisations working with them, to contribute to improve the media narratives of displaced peoples in a fair way. The project (577396-CITIZ-1-2016-1-BE-CITIZ-CIV) was funded with the support of the European Union under the Programme "Europe for Citizens" Within the project we organised ten events in seven different countries. Our debates have been very well received including at the highest level at the European Parliament. Many quality videos have been produced and they are [...]
The European Commission Media Literacy Experts Group
The European Commission representatives stressed the importance of media literacy and framed this debate around fake news and social media
EAVI in the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition Conference
Coding is a digital skill, decoding a media literacy skill. Media education is the process to become media literate.
Visual literacy: 5 key questions
When we think about information, we might assume it will come in a written or audio format. But what about the information we get from visual imagery?
EAVI Roundtable Debate at the European Parliament – Democracy, Journalism and Literacy
In December EAVI together with the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom held the Democracy, Journalism and Literacy event at the European Parliament. The event was hosted by MEPs Barbara Spinelli and Curzio Maltese. The event focused on the dangers posed to media pluralism presented by new media and the threat to democracy this creates, as well as the role of media literacy and other initiatives to combat this. Barbara Spinelli opened the discussions by sharing her observations of media freedom – namely the level of self-censorship among journalists, protections afforded to whistleblowers, and [...]
