Handout for attendees at the pre-departure orientation for Fulbright scholars and ETAs (2021-22). You can view the presentation at: 10.13140/RG.2.2.21505.17762

1. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Understanding Media Literacy
and Managing Misinformation
Damian Radcliffe
Carolyn S. Chambers Professor of Journalism
University of Oregon
15th July 2021

2. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Key Takeaways

3. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Misinformation
comes in many forms
Key Points
1. Often material (e.g. images and videos) taken out of context.
2. Purpose and intent of misinformation is important to
understand. Is there an agenda?
3. Misinformation from public figures - such as politicians
and celebrities – can gain considerable traction.
4. Can also come from ordinary people too, especially in
breaking news situations.

4. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Five key challenges
1. Fake news and online news looks the same online.
2. Social networks are major vectors of misinformation.
• Designed to show content which reinforce existing points of view (confirmation bias
/ filter bubbles).
• Don’t / Seldom fact-check.
• Takedowns (if they happen) can take a long time.
3. Speed / Expectations for news and information.
• Ease with which false/inaccurate/misleads content can be reshared.
• Misinformation spreads in information vacuums.
• Pressure journalists are under to publish breaking news.

5. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Key challenges (cont)
4. Ability to fact-check politicians
(often labelled “Fake News” by said politicians)
5. Challenge when public figures may be
major sources of misinformation.

6. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

7. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
1. Learn the basics of verification

8. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
2.
Consume
media –
including
social
media -
critically

9. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Especially during a public health crisis
3. Identify and find trusted sources

10. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Remember

11. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Essential
Resources

12. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Resources for you, your
research and students
1. First Draft: How to use reverse image
search to verify stories on your phone
(video)
2. Also sign up for First Draft’s newsletter
to keep across examples of emerging
issues and analysis about misinformation.
Their website also has lots of interesting
articles and training videos:
https://firstdraftnews.org/subscribe/
3. UNESCO also has many useful resources
e.g. https://en.unesco.org/fightfakenews
4. 2012, but still a good overview of how
verification works)

13. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Resources (country level)
1. Digital News Report 2021: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University –
profiles of media + audience habits for 46 countries.
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021
2. BBC Country profiles: includes overview of media, political landscape etc. produced by BBC
Monitoring. Indexing isn’t up to date, so use Google!
e.g. Moldova profile https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17601580
3. We Are Social / Data Reportal: detailed insights on digital habits for every country in the world!
https://datareportal.com/library
4. Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders: Country profiles and assessments
https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores
https://rsf.org/en

14. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Wider research tools
1. Journalist’s Resource: Tips and insights based on
academic research.
2. UNESCO handbook on Journalism, 'Fake News' and
Disinformation: available in multiple languages.
3. Poynter: A guide to anti-misinformation actions around
the world (2019 summary = most recent)

15. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Journalism-orientated tools
1. First Draft – world leading online training programs, reports + research
2. International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) – best practice and idea
exchange led by the Poynter Institute in the USA.
First Draft and IFCN also have recommended weekly (and FD also daily) newsletters.
3. Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) – articles, resources,
available in multiple language editions.
4. Google News Initiative – free training in Google products, including
specific modules on verification.
5. Journalist’s Toolbox – links to tons of tools and resources on every topic
imaginable, including trust and verification.

16. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
There’s lots of other great resources
(and not enough time/space to name them all)
Please feel free to share your recommendations:
damianr@uoregon.edu