The Worldwide Heart for Journalists’ (ICFJ) Disarming Disinformation initiative is a three-year program, supported by the Scripps Howard Fund, that goals to gradual the unfold of disinformation by means of a number of packages reminiscent of investigative journalism, capability constructing and media literacy schooling. ICFJ partnered with MediaWise from the Poynter Institute to develop and ship media literacy programming.
The media literacy training of trainers program accepted international members for 2 totally different cohorts. The members are neighborhood leaders who will educate others on the significance of media literacy and learn how to apply these expertise in actual life. The article beneath is one among 5 affect tales chosen from the primary cohort in celebration of media literacy week.
As a peacebuilder in Sri Lanka, Arzath Areeff has witnessed an alarming rise in hate speech and battle in his nation’s digital area. He has seen how people have misused the web and social media to unfold false data and incite violence, resulting in an increase in friction amongst residents.
Areeff felt compelled to cease the strained and fractured relationships that have been creating in his nation. Drawing on his background in data know-how, in 2017 Areeff co-founded digizen, a platform working to help digital peacebuilding, and thru which he and his staff have promoted media literacy of their neighborhood.
It was not till July 2023, nonetheless, that he jumped on the likelihood to boost his experience and deepen his data of media literacy in a coaching supplied by ICFJ and MediaWise on the subject.
“I discovered not solely from the trainers but in addition from the members themselves,” stated Areeff. “The coaching helped me enhance my strategies of partaking the viewers and delivering advanced content material in a relatable and impactful manner.”
Coaching held in Sammanthurai. (Courtesy: digizen.lk)
After finishing the coaching, Areeff got down to educate his neighborhood with media literacy expertise to assist folks higher discern reality from fiction. He selected to deal with coaching youth from underserved communities in Sri Lanka’s Central and Jap Provinces, such because the Malayaga Tamil neighborhood. To keep away from language limitations, he has carried out his workshops within the members’ native language.
For Areeff, understanding the native context and fascinating members by means of interactive strategies has been essential. “I used to be stunned by the lengths some members went to attend the workshops, with some touring lengthy distances as a result of they lacked comparable alternatives of their areas,” he stated.
Greedy the distinctive sociopolitical and cultural dynamics of the communities Areeff was working with was difficult, however this understanding helped him create related and impactful coaching supplies. He researched and met with native youth leaders previous to the workshops to tell the coaching content material in order that it higher mirrored the native context and addressed disinformation points pertinent to those communities.
“Most members have been stunned by the content material, particularly because it associated on to the misinformation they encounter day by day however typically overlook,” stated Areeff. “As I walked them by means of particular examples, members linked the dots and realized the prevalence of disinformation of their lives.”
Capturing the eye of any viewers for 2 and a half hours is a problem, and particularly so with regards to younger folks. To maintain the youth engaged, Areeff included quite a lot of interactive studying strategies reminiscent of group dialogue, role-playing and hands-on actions. In a single exercise, members acquired aggressive with each other as they carried out the disinformation debunking process they have been offered with — an indication, Areeff took, of how engaged and motivated they have been to study the brand new expertise.
Areeff has been heartened by the multiplying affect his trainings have had, particularly in nurturing management qualities among the many youth. Whereas greater than 160 members straight benefited from the workshops, the oblique affect has proliferated as many members have shared their new data with family and friends, spreading media literacy and significant considering expertise past the preliminary coaching group. Some members have taken on roles as “native ambassadors of reality,” organizing casual periods to impart what they discovered to others. One pupil organized a small workshop of their village, sharing key insights from the coaching program and demonstrating fact-checking methods to friends.
Areeff created a WhatsApp neighborhood for members to additional engagement and lengthen his trainings’ attain and affect. This group has grow to be an area for ongoing help, the place members share and confirm data collectively. It has fostered a way of neighborhood and collective duty, enabling members to collaborate in countering disinformation on the grassroots stage. The group has created a community of like-minded individuals who search details, serving to solidify the relationships constructed in the course of the workshops and permitting the data gained to have a long-lasting affect.
Norwood youth attend a media literacy workshop. (Courtesy: digizen.lk)
Vital considering is one media literacy ability that everybody ought to know, Areeff stated. It’s important for navigating in the present day’s digital world, empowering people to pause, query and consider data earlier than accepting or sharing it.
Since we can’t fact-check all data out there, and folks of their day by day lives could not confirm all the pieces they learn or obtain, the perfect we will do is to make them extra conscious of learn how to spot disinformation sooner or later.
Constructing folks’s media literacy is the easiest way to pre- and debunk disinformation. “By cultivating this ability, folks can apply widespread sense and reasoning to discern the accuracy and intent behind the content material they encounter on-line,” stated Areeff.
