Helpful Media Literacy Tools
Introduction
In this article, we will be taking a look at two tools that have been created with the goal of informing the public on ways to be more media literate in today’s climate, as well as how to counteract and recognize tactics used to spread disinformation.
What is Rumor Guard?
Rumor Guard is a tool produced by the News Literacy Project that has its primary goal the advancement of news literacy for the average American so that the public is better informed on daily topics.
Rumor Guard defines news literacy as “the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and to recognize the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on.”
How to Use Rumor Guard
The Rumor Guard homepage features various stories (“rumors”) that have been fact-checked and debunked as false. When clicking a certain story, a screenshot of the story is displayed ( i.e.. tweet, IG post etc.) with the various hashtags that can be associated with it.
Included is a Quick Look section that provides a short synopsis on why the rumor is false as well as a few bullet points to highlight the main takeaways.
The next section highlights which of the 5 “factors” or “tools” that are used by the News Literacy Program to determine if a rumor is true or false. If it is marked as No, the rumor has been determined to be false. If it is grayed out, the factor was not used to evaluate the rumor.
The next section highlights various techniques that can be used in determining the factors around the rumor. Some of the options to learn more about these skills include watching a video or reviewing a lesson/pdf.
Evaluation/What Does it Teach Participants?
The News Literacy Project has created this resource as a practical way to teach users how to increase their media literacy skills. Through the use of viral stories that most who frequent social media will have seen, the outlet provides clear guidelines on what steps ( factors) were taken to fact-check the story, while also providing tools for users to educate themselves on how to better research the information that they are shown. I find this very helpful especially since most of the stories listed on the homepage, I have seen around the web at some point, which makes this tool very relevant to the average user.
What is Bad News?
Bad News is a role-playing game created by the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, that puts the player in the role of an online user that is seeking to gain followers by using various disinformation techniques to cause chaos to the local community.
How to Play Bad News
What Does it Teach Participants?
The purpose of this game is to show the various methods that are used to trick the public when disinformation is being shared. Through the efforts of games like this, the hope is that people will be more cognizant of these tactics when they are seen in the wild and will be less susceptible to being fooled by them.
Evaluation of Bad News
I find this tool to be moderately effective at showcasing the disinformation techniques that are used online in order to generate buzz around a certain topic. It is fairly simple to navigate and understand, and while it does give you two options to pick for your next move, it generally tries to steer you towards the more negative option, so that you can see the full effect. It is helpful that it does that as many ( myself included) would never honestly think to try to dupe people like this online.
Conclusion
Per a January 2024 media survey conducted by the Boston University School of Communication only 42% of respondents claimed to know how to access training about media literacy online; a later statistic shows that 68% of them would like more training about it. This survey alone gives a good picture of how receptive people would be to being better educated. Additionally tools like the ‘SIFT’ strategy are useful in that there is an easily rememberable acronym to associate with the steps needing to be taken.
I find interactive tools and games like these based on teaching about misinformation to be helpful and extremely necessary in our world. One reason is the practicality of seeing real world articles debunked with verifiable data (Rumor Guard) that lets average users know that they cannot blindly believe every story that they see online. On the other hand, another reason is that it can create a teaching environment to see the practical progression of disinformation ( Bad News) without having to cause it in the real world.
