News and Insights
The Importance of Digital Skills and Media Literacy for Identifying Fake News
19/02/2023
Greater engagement with social media platforms may yield greater participation in political discussions. These platforms can also offer the possibility for people to share stories that are important to them, and so give space to voices that are rarely heard in established media outlets. At the same time, many have raised the concern that ongoing digitisation and the growth of social media have become a breeding ground for fake news and disinformation.[1] This trend was observed in relation to Brexit[2], and more recently exemplified by “negative messaging around vaccination” during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
What helps fake news spread and why is it that fake news seemingly flourishes in our digitalised age? Although this is an emerging area of research, some studies have identified digital literacy as an important factor for understanding this phenomenon. Indeed, Lloyd’s Bank 2022 Consumer Digital Index found that 15% of UK citizens are unable to assess the trustworthiness of news sources and associated companies.[4]
However, the good news is that fairly simple, small steps are required to combat this problem.
A study focused on America and India evaluated the role of digital skills shortages in regards to misinformation, as well as the effectiveness of digital media literacy interventions in order to improve citizens’ ability to identify unreliable sources and outlets.[5] The study sought to evaluate the effects of exposure to Facebook’s (now META) “Tips to Spot False News”, consisting of ten strategies that readers can use to identify either false or misleading stories and posts.[6] The study’s results showed that the exposure to these strategies was surprisingly successful, in that this digital and “medial literacy intervention reduces people’s belief in false headlines”.[7]
Although the accuracy of this study can be critiqued due to the small sample size, as acknowledged by the authors, it still provides important insights into how digital literacy interventions could be used as effective tools for combating misinformation in an increasingly digitalised information sphere.
This study shows the broader relevance of digital skills for navigating the polarising environment of social media, and how simple steps can be taken to increase digital media literacy in diverse contexts.
Valuable Resources on Digital Literacy and Fake News:
https://www.theguardian.com/newswise/2020/jan/31/why-digital-skills-are-critical
https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/how-to-identify-fake-news
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/digital-media-literacy/what-is-fake-news/1/
[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/final-say-brexit-referendum-lies-boris-johnson-leave-campaign-remain-a8466751.html. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-48356351.
[3] https://www.chronicle.gi/social-media-breeding-ground-negative-messages-vaccines/
[4] https://www.lloydsbank.com/banking-with-us/whats-happening/consumer-digital-index.html
[5] Guess, Andrew, Lerner, Michael, Lyons, Bejamin, and Neelanjan Sircar. (2020). “A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India.” Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America 117(27): 15536-15545.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
