Why News and Social Media Literacy Matter

COVID-19 and the 2020 Election created a perfect storm for mass amounts of misinformation online. We know that 95% of teens have smartphones and 45% report being online almost constantly. Every day they are encountering misinformation on their social feeds, and they do not have the digital strategies or critical thinking skills to parse fact from fiction.

And adults aren’t in better shape. New studies from thew Pew Research Center found:

• 50% of U.S. adults say made-up news is a very big problem.
• 48% very concerned about the influence of made-up news on the presidential election.
• 49% say made-up news is causing a great deal of confusion about COVID-19 basic facts
• 48% of U.S. Adults have seen SOME made-up news about COVID-19
• Only 28% of U.S. adults feel very confident they could fact check COVID-19 news  

Over the last three years, Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, a journalist with 27 years of experience, has been working with teachers, students and senior citizens on these important skills. Her curriculum has been featured on CNN.com.

Giarrusso has taught in Montclair, North Arlington and South Plainfield school districts. She was awarded multiple grants from the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence to teach these skills to about 300 students in 7th to 10th grade during the 2019-2020 school year. The four high school classes taught completely online during the pandemic went from a D average to a high B average for a 32 percent improvement.

Giarrusso’s curriculum covers:

• The 5 types of Misinformation.
• History and motivation for misinformation.
• Why the environment is so perfect now.
• How to identify reliable sources.
• Lateral Reading Technique.
• SIFT.
• How to fact checking sites and media bias sites,
• Reverse image search and geolocation skills·
• Deepfake & cheapfake video and misinformation worldwide.

Learn more about Giarrusso’s News and Social Media Literacy program:

• CNN: Is that Video Real? Fake images and videos are everywhere. Here’s how to spot them.
• Buzz Aldrin students participate in pilot program on Media Literacy
• Students, teachers find new ways to teach during distance learning.
• MFEE News and Social Media Literacy Program