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Media & Information
Propaganda & verification
Transparency
Hate speech
Cyber
Personal data & privacy

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Media & information literacy

Technological advancement, namely, the development of Web 2 and social media has qualitatively altered a traditional understanding of media. Today, people have direct access to information sources; they may be creators as well as disseminators of media content and even more so, they are not required to have either special academic background or working experience in journalism.

The technological advancement has changed the power of control over the dissemination of information: traditional media no longer enjoys the monopoly on agenda setting, something that posed additional risks in the conditions of media ownership concentration. While the traditional media identifies, based on professional criteria, what information is important and worthy for society, citizens today are able to search information sources on the Internet and share that message which they deem proper themselves. These changes have resulted, on the one hand, in making the realm of information more pluralistic and accelerating the cycle of information, and on the other hand, in easing the spread of misinformation and hate speech.

To overcome existing challenges it is important to develop media and information literacy skills which, using all forms of communication, include the following components:

  • Accessing media,
  • Analyzing media,
  • Evaluating of media,
  • Creating media content,
  • Acting. 


Media and information literacy is the skill of using all types of media comprehensively and evaluating media content critically, while a critical reasoning is the skill of analyzing facts and evidence in an objective, rational, skeptical and impartial manner.

The United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) views the media and information literacy in the context of equality and human rights and places emphasis on the necessity to ensure equal access to information and knowledge and promote free, independent and pluralistic media and information systems.

UNESCO's 5 Laws on Media and Information Literacy

 
UNESCO suggests the following Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy. They are:

  • Law one – Information, communication, libraries, media, technology, the Internet as well as other forms of information providers are for use in critical civic engagement and sustainable development. They are equal in stature and none is more relevant than the other or should be ever treated as such. 
  • Law two – Every citizen is a creator of information/knowledge and has a message. They must be empowered to access new information/knowledge and to express themselves. MIL is for all – women and men equally - and a nexus of human rights. 
  • Law three – Information, knowledge, and messages are not always value neutral, or always independent of biases. Any conceptualization, use and application of MIL should make this truth transparent and understandable to all citizens.
  • Law four – Every citizen wants to know and understand new information, knowledge and messages as well as to communicate, even if she/he is not aware, admits or expresses that he/she does. Her/his rights must however never be compromised. 
  • Law five – Media and information literacy is not acquired at once. It is a lived and dynamic experience and process. It is complete when it includes knowledge, skills and attitudes, when it covers access, evaluation/assessment, use, production and communication of information, media and technology content.