Building media literacy and stopping the spread of misinformation

Photo by Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash

As we consume news, social media and various forms of content daily, the challenge lies not just in finding information, but in discerning what is credible and what is not. WCC professor of mass communications, Rayan Salam, offers some tips on how to develop stronger media literacy. 

In her course, students not only learn about the historical evolution of mass media, but also when to spot fake news and how to combat its spread. 

Salam’s first tip is to always check for credentials. “You don’t have to be a journalist to check for credentials today. Everybody is a journalist. Everybody is part of the news cycle, everybody’s part of the information that’s relayed.” She suggests reading articles from .gov, .edu and .org websites and doing a little research into the authors of information. 

“Watch out for biases and stereotypes and misrepresentation,” Salam warns. “Watch out for sensationalism or clickbait headlines, that’s a big red flag.” Although eye-catching, sensational headlines often draw readers with emotional manipulation. “The media uses heavy emotional language,” Salam said. 

In an article denouncing misleading headlines, Medium used this example: “31 Percent of Children in Florida Have Tested Positive for Coronavirus.” The headline is definitely an attention-grabber. 

It is scary to think that 31% of all children in Florida (1,309,161 kids) got COVID-19. As Medium further explains, the headline “was missing some keywords.” In fact, the headline was fully misleading, as the actual statistic was that 31% of children tested for Coronavirus in Florida were positive, reducing the number to nearly 17,000. 

“Many research studies have shown that a lot of individuals can’t tell the difference between an article or advertising,” Salam explained. This is something Salam reports seeing a lot of on social media. “You have an individual who’s sitting there and speaking about the importance of doing something or using a certain product.” 

To become more media literate, Salam suggests people ask themselves these three questions before sharing a post: Do you have biases that you are trying to confirm to yourself? What are you trying to show to the world on your social media? Have you done the research to ensure the news you are sharing is accurate? 

When Salam was studying media in college she remembers that the field was reserved for people who are going into journalism as a profession. “Today, I call everybody a broadcaster… because we’re all producing media and it’s important to know about the ethics of media… before we start producing [content] on a daily basis,” she said. 

Hopefully, the suggestions Professor Salam offered can help young people understand their media landscape better. It is important to know what’s real, why it’s being shared, and how to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Originally published October 2024 in The Washtenaw Voice