Teachers are at the forefront of the battle to fight misinformation and disinformation. Every day they have opportunities to help students learn to use critical thinking skills to analyze news and social media in their lives. However, they may not have the digital skills or knowledge of journalism to do this. The skills and tools they need to learn are not being taught by the school librarian.
My news and social media literacy program called “A Journalist’s Toolbox to Fight the Infodemic” can help educators learn:
- 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.
In the fall of 2018, I taught my program to 56 high school language arts and social studies teachers at Montclair High School in New Jersey. In the spring, the district invited me back to work with its middle school teachers and librarians. In the fall of 2019, I worked with South Plainfield and North Arlington School Districts as well.
Who Says Media 