a question of truthmaking
Manila, 17 March—Not too long ago, I sat in a room full of youngsters and thought that the best thing our team could contribute to their summer was to teach them media literacy alongside the basics of journalism writing, layout and design. At the time, we were already maturing out of our staple youth program and were thinking of ways to address the slightly older kids who could now be taught more things on top of love for reading.
Also, it was 2016. In an era of fake news and deliberate misinformation in public spaces like social media, how else were we supposed to pitch in in the entire effort to equip the youth so they won't be victimized by false information?
Perhaps this was why my heart broke spectacularly when Junior Inquirer announced they were printing their last print edition last month, because I believed that more than losing a youth journalism program, we were also losing one of the country's best venues for training young critical thinkers.
I toyed with various solutions to fill the gap, and among them was the thought of pushing for an online youth journalism camp. It would be hosted on a platform like Teachable and the modules would cover the basics of news and feature writing, the basic principles of design, maybe a bit of basic data visualization and of course, media literacy. I came across Google's Applied Digital Skills curriculum and thought it would be a good start off point. I specifically liked their Research and Writing curriculum, which contained a module on vetting the credibility of online sources. I also can't help but remember The Guardian's Education Centre, which allowed students to experience making a newspaper front page, among other workshops. I wish I had these kinds of opportunities as a student when I was younger.
I was so set about the idea of Media Literacy x The Youth = Saving the World when I came across this article that has now effectively changed all my existing hypotheses about approaching the media and the spread of disinformation, and all pre-existing notions on how to address them.
Simply put, it asks just one question: Do you really want media literacy?
Medium article: You think you want media literacy... do you?
Some key points:
"Media literacy is the “active inquiry and critical thinking about the messages we receive and create.” The field talks about the development of competencies or skills to help people analyze, evaluate, and even create media. Media literacy is imagined to be empowering, enabling individuals to have agency and giving them the tools to help create a democratic society. But fundamentally, it is a form of critical thinking that asks people to doubt what they see. And that makes me nervous."
"We’re not living through a crisis about what is true, we’re living through a crisis about how we know whether something is true."
"We live in a world now where we equate free speech with the right to be amplified. Does everyone have the right to be amplified?"
"The difference between what is deemed missionary work, education, and radicalization depends a lot on your worldview. And your understanding of power."
"So when youth are encouraged to be critical of the news media, they come away thinking that the media is lying."
That last point gave me pause: Why are we encouraging the kids to develop a mindset that everything is likely untrue and must be doubted?
The article is generally grim, which matches my mood about our entire media situation, BUT it does offer a few actionable suggestions, and it starts by suggesting to go inward, meaning teaching our kids to appreciate differences in world views, and to ask questions like, Why do people from different world views interpret the same piece of content differently? This approach touches on something more core. Beyond merely identifying what credible sources are, or what "suspicious things" to watch out for, the article proposes encouraging students to be aware of how content interpretation is socially constructed, and understand how that can be manipulated.
Put that way, it seems like everything else—from the principles of writing to the foundations of design—is just gravy.
Movie rec alert: Annihilation (Available on Netflix)
Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Oscar Isaac all in one hella trippy movie. Natalie Portman is Lena, a biologist who embarks on a journey into a supernatural phenomenon called The Shimmer, to find out the truth about her husband's disappearance a year prior (Oscar Isaac's character, Kane). Saying anything more would spoil the thing, and trust me, I do not want to spoil you for this. It's a little bit like Stranger Things, a little like Westworld, a little like Black Mirror, a little like Orphan Black. It feels a lot like Arrival, I almost expected Amy Adams to be on here.
P.S. I hate bears.
Plugging space
The Ledger is a dedicated bills/financial wellness planner, designed to be straightforward and clear.
I'm sorta selling this thing to interested people. Let me know.