The Youth Café is honored to be invited as part of the Steering Committee for the Media Literacy Week happening in October. The Media Information and Literacy (MIL) week is organized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in conjunction with other organizations to commemorate the steps organizations and individuals are taking towards advancing media literacy for all. A healthy approach towards information sharing in digital spaces is a practice that requires recognition of the shift in information use and sharing. It is about carefully choosing information to share and responsibly processing information. Media literacy is a habit that needs to be created and emphasized among kids, youths, and adults. It is easier to handle disinformation issues when people are accustomed to a culture of healthy digital media literacy and respect in the digital space.

The MIL week is an opportunity to broaden the discussion on media literacy past fake news and identification of authentic information. Oftentimes, we equate identification of fake news to media literacy while, in reality is only a segment in the broad topic. Bias, credibility, and references are all part of the media literacy conversation that should be understood. There are five standard media blocks during past Media Information and Literacy Week, including access, analysis, evaluation, creation, and action when dealing with any information on the internet.

Access

The access of the information in media literacy refers to the ease of use of technology products. Understanding how media and the internet works is still a challenge for many people. With improved additions of apps, icons, and functions, people are forced to adapt fast. Adaptation may not be easy for many people who may not be well conversant with specific technologies or devices. Even with the enormous benefits that the internet may bring forth, young people may not fail to take advantage of such opportunities. The way people consume information is also related to the access they have and how they convey that information. Limited access means limited information is received, which may then limit decision-making.

Analysis

When the internet became widely available, billions of people gained access to a potent tool without the necessary training to navigate it. The anonymous, monetized, and viral nature of the internet makes it a cesspool for misinformation and conspiracy theories. It is perhaps no surprise countries worldwide are facing information crises that threaten to destabilize their societies seriously. In the short term, several steps can be taken to mitigate these crises. For example, Facebook has utilized artificial intelligence to flag false information and offer users more accurate content, but it remains a highly imperfect solution because they fail to address the problem at the root: Most people still do not know how to navigate the internet.

Evaluation

Since most people think of media literacy as merely learning to read sources and fact-check, promoting internet-literate practices requires a mental shift. Media literacy should be thought of as a national security priority and approached in a multimodal fashion. Rather than focusing solely on consuming written information more consciously, recognizing doctored pictures and videos is equally essential. Many social media websites are built to show content that often confirms our own biases. By implementing comprehensive media literacy education, more people will understand that algorithms often recommend heavily sensationalized and emotionally provocative content over factually accurate content. Outside of school curriculum, misinformation and disinformation can be treated as an epidemic.

Creation

Adults often hold the impression that young people are well versed in how the internet functions, as we are considered digital natives. And to a certain extent, we are. Our familiarity and comfort with the internet, however, also make us susceptible to letting our guard down. Most of us never learned the actual skills necessary to think critically about every part of the web we encounter, and that must change. Developing an effective media literacy curriculum for youths is the way forward to teach them how to conduct themselves on social media and create valuable and authentic content. Implementing media literacy campaigns in education to effectively resist malicious content online is the first and most crucial step toward treating the spread of misinformation.

Action

There’s a very real issue when people, no matter what age they are, can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction online. Identifying online falsehoods could include tactics such as looking for the original source of a claim, doing a reverse image search, or searching Google to see if the claim has already been debunked and checking whether other reputable sources are reporting on it. If we can all just take some small steps and understand what’s happening and how it works, that can clear up a lot of confusion and help us make it a better, happier, healthier place for everyone.

What does this mean for us?

With our own project on media literacy and civic reasoning ongoing, this opportunity means better articulation, support, and involvement of key stakeholders in the process. We also plan to have a media literacy week as well in Kenya, which the experience will then inform of this international planning committee. With the electioneering year approaching, we trust that learning more about digital literacy will impact our attitudes and thought process as we participate civically.

For further information, clarification, contributions, comments and questions please send us an email.