It explores the emerging need to locate, verify, and ultimately manage online information, especially in an age where information is power.

1. MEDIA AND CYBER OR
DIGITAL LITERACY
Lesson 6

2. OBJECTIVES
• Develop a working understanding of Media and Cyber or
Digital Literacy and how they relate to one another;
• Appreciate the importance of developing Media and
Cyber/Digital Literacy both in ourselves and one another in
the information age; and
• Realize that practical steps must be taken to develop these
literacies early in children and cannot wait “until they are
older”.

3. MEDIA LITERACY
•Media literacy
- is the ability to identify different types of
media and understand the messages they are
communicating, including who is the intended
audience and what is the motivation behind the
message.

4. MEDIA LITERACY
•Media literacy
-exact type of media varies--- television,
radio, newspapers, magazines, books, handouts,
flyers, etc. But what they all have in common is that
they were all created by someone, and that
someone had a reason for creating them.

5. MEDIA LITERACY
•Media literacy
-exact type of media varies--- television,
radio, newspapers, magazines, books, handouts,
flyers, etc. But what they all have in common is that
they were all created by someone, and that
someone had a reason for creating them.

6. WHAT MEDIA LITERACY IS NOT
•The following is a list of actions that are often
mistaken for being representative of media literacy:
•Criticizing the media is not, in and of itself, media
literacy. However, being media literate sometimes
requires that one indeed criticize what one sees
and hears.

7. WHAT MEDIA LITERACY IS NOT
•Merely producing media is not media literacy
although part of being media literate is the ability
to produce media.
•Teaching with media (videos, presentations, etc.)
does not equal media literacy. An education in
media literacy must also include teaching about
media.

8. WHAT MEDIA LITERACY IS NOT
• Viewing media and analyzing it from a single
perspective is not media literacy. True media literacy
requires both the ability and willingness to view and
analyze media from multiple positions and perspectives.
• Media literacy does not simply mean knowing what and
what not to watch; it does mean “watch carefully, think
critically.”

9. CHALLENGES TO MEDIA LITERACY
EDUCATION
•How do we teach?
•How to measure media literacy and evaluate the
success of media literacy initiatives
•Is one of purpose- “Is media literacy best
understood as a means of inoculating children
against the potential harms of the media or a
means of enhancing their appreciation of the
literary merits of the media.

10. DIGITAL LITERACY
•Digital/Cyber Literacy
- is a subject of media literacy; the ability to
locate, evaluate, create, and communicate
information on various digital platforms. This
includes the ability to verify information as factual
as well as identify and avoid communication with
deceitful, malicious, and exploitative content.

11. DIGITAL LITERACY
1. TOOL LITERACY- competence in using hardware
and software tools;
2. RESOURCE LITERACY- understanding forms of
and access to information resources;
3. SOCIAL-STRUCTURAL LITERACY- understanding
the production and social significance of
informations;
4. RESEACH LITERACY- using IT tools for research
and scholarship;

12. DIGITAL LITERACY
5. PUBLISHING LITERACY-ability to communicate
and publish information;
6. EMERGINF TECHNOLOGIES LITERACY-
understanding of new developments in IT; and
7. CRITICAL LITERACY- ability to evaluate the
benefits of new technologies

13. CHALLENGES TO DIGITAL LITERACY
EDUCATION
•How it should be taught
•How it can be measured and evaluate?
•Should it be taught for the protection of the
students in their consumption of information or
should it be to develop their appreciation for
digital media?

14. INFORMATION LITERACY
•Information Literacy
- is a subset of media literacy; the ability to
locate, access, and evaluate information from a
variety of media sources.

15. •Of outmost importance to both literacies (media
and digital) is the ability to analyze and think
critically about what is being communicated. This
means making value judgements about the
message, and goes beyond simply comprehending
the what is being said.

16. MASS MEDIA
Mass media also referred as mass
communication may be defined as a
special kind of social communication
characterized by a unique audience,
communication experience, and
communicator.
The term media comes from Latin,
meaning “middle”, suggesting that media
serves to connect people.
Mass media occur as communications
technology (newspaper, then radio, and
television) spreads information on a
mass scale.
16

17. FUNCTIONS OF
MEDIA
• Warning
• Companionship
• Status Conferral
• Agenda Setting
• Reality
Construction
• Surveillance
• Socialization and
Education
• Propaganda
• Mainstreaming
• Entertainment
• Advertising
17

18. 18
WARNING
A primary function of
mass media is the
ability to warn of
impending danger.

19. 19
COMPANIONSHIP
Television has
produced a new
category of friend:
The media friend.
These people are
known to viewers who
feel a sense of
friendship with the
performer,
newscaster, and field

20. 20
STATUS CONFERRAL
A latent function of mass
media is to confer status on
those individuals who are
given high visibility.
Unknown individuals can
become household names
within a few weeks and
some will figure
permanently once media
attention is given to them.

21. 21
AGENDA SETTING
Media also set a
cultural agenda for
what is important.
Several media
agenda occurred for
civil disturbances.

22. 22
REALITY CONSTRUCTION
While agenda setting is
concerned with
emphasizing what is
important, reality
construction focuses on
the interpretation and
meaning of a media
event. Some broadcasters
invite people who are
experts in their field when

23. 23
SURVEILLANCE
Surveillance, another function of
the mass media, refers to the
collection and distribution of
information both within and
outside a society. The evening
television news is an overview of
the happenings of the day.
News reporters scan the
environment for new events and
report them in print or over the
airwaves.

24. 24
SOCIALIZATION AND
EDUCATION
Media also involve
socialization or
transmission of social
heritage to the audience.

25. 25
PROPAGANDA
• Merton (1986) defined propaganda as “any
and all set of symbols which influences
opinion, belief or action on issues regarded
by the community as controversial. He
emphasized that term propaganda, in the
mind of the public, tends to imply a deceit or
fraud. Merton observed that the most
effective propaganda is not to tell people how
to feel, but to provide them with selective
facts and allow them to draw their own
conclusions.
• Propaganda is an information, especially of a
biased or misleading nature, used to promote
or publicize a particular political cause or

26. 26
MAINSTREAMING
• Mainstreaming refers to a
common outlook and set of
values that exposure to
television tends to cultivate.
When heavy viewers of television
are compared to light viewers ,
there trends to be commonality
of outlook among the heavy
viewers.
• The ideas, attitudes, or activities
that are regarded as normal or
conventional; the dominant
trend in opinion, fashion, or the

27. 27
ENTERTAINMENT
The function of
television is the
purposeful
development of
programming for the
sole function of
providing entertainment
for viewers. Any artistic,
cultural, or educational
value is secondary.

28. 28
ADVERTISING
The fundamental economic
purpose of mass media is to sell
an audience to advertisers who
can induce the audience to buy
products. The primary target
audience is the affluent, fairly
well educated, and relatively
young. In effect, mass media
exist for corporations, which
market their product through the
media.

29. 29
MEDIA
ETHICS
o Accuracy
o Objectivity
o Fairness and Balance
o Truth
o Integrity of Sources
o Avoiding Conflict of Interest

30. 30
ACCURACY
The bedrock of ethics is
accuracy, the reporting of
information in context
that allows people to
understand and
comprehend the truth.

31. 31
HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS?
Consider the Source: Think about the actual
source of the news. A local blog will not be as
trustworthy as a major academic journal. What
does the source stand for? What are their
objectives?
Supporting Sources: Look at the sources cited
in the article. Are they themselves credible? Do
they even exist?

32. 32
Multiple Sources: Don’t just rely on a single article. The more
you read from various sources, the more likely you can draw
accurate conclusions. Also consider diverse sources and
perspectives, for example, news from different countries or
authors with different backgrounds.
Check the Author: Who is the author? Research them to see if
they are a credible author, their reputation in the community,
whether they have a specific agenda, or if the person posting is
a real person. Are they authoring within their field of expertise?
Check the Date: Make sure that the date is recent and that it is
not an older story simply rehashed.
HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS?

33. 33
HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS?
Comments: Even if the article, video, or post is legitimate, be
careful of comments posted in response. Quite often links or
comments posted in response can be auto-generated by
bots or by people hired to put out bad, confusing, or false
information.
Check Your Biases: Be objective. Could your own biases
influence your response to the article? A problem that we
humans often run into is that we only read sources that
simply confirm what we already believe in. Challenge
yourself by reading other sources you normally would not
review.

34. 34
Check the Funding: Even legitimate publications have
sponsors and advertisers who can influence an article or
source. Check to see if the article is funded, and if so by
whom.
Repost carefully: Fake news relies on believers to repost,
retweet, or otherwise forward false information. If you’re
uncertain as to the authenticity of an article, think twice or
hold off on sharing it with others.
HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS?

35. 35
OBJECTIVITY
Objectivity is reporting
facts without bias or
prejudice, including a
deliberate attempt to
avoid interpretation.

36. 36
AVOIDING CONFLICT OF
INTEREST
Outside business, social
and personal activities
and contacts can subtly
influence the ability of
mass media
professionals to conduct
objective reporting.

37. 37
FAIRNESS AND
BALANCE
Fairness and Balance means
providing equal or nearly
equal coverage of various
points of view in a
controversy. Fairness and
Balance often go hand in
hand with accuracy and
objectivity. Reporters
attempt to investigate the
many sides of a story.

38. 38
TRUTH
Although journalists
cannot always ensure
that their stories are
true, they can make an
extra effort to be truthful
and to avoid lying.

39. 39
INTEGRITY OF
SOURCES
• A journalist’s story is
only as good as his or
her sources.
• Reporters who become
too loyal to sources risk
the possibility of being
blinded and missing
important cues to stories.