Digital Media Literacy

How to be media literate:

• Be curious: Independently verify the source (by performing a separate search) and independently verify the information (through mainstream news sources and fact-checking sites).
• Be reflective: If you have an immediate emotional reaction to a news article or source: pause, reflect, investigate. Exciting an emotional reaction is a primary goal of fake news producers. Do not be part of a viral fake news spiral!
• Actively investigate your news sources: Select news sources known for high-quality, investigative reporting. Search these sources directly. Don't settle for web search results or social media news feeds. Social media algorithms are designed to present the news that reinforces your current views, not a balanced view.
• Look for in-depth coverage: Look for lengthy articles--long-form reporting--that better capture the complexity of topics and events. One or two paragraphs is not sufficient. Take a look at this article from Slate as an example of a longer, in-depth article.

Becoming an astute user of news content in the media means learning to understand the proper use of data and statistics in the news.

• Watch Mona Chalabi's TED talk, "3 Ways to Spot a Bad Statistic" (see embedded video below).
• Read this brief article, written for journalists, to increase your general media literacy. Learn to spot the misuse of numbers! "Become Data Literate in 3 Simple Steps."

Health Literacy:

• Identifying Credible Sources of Health Information in Social Media

Credits: TEDNYC talk recommended by Amelia Kallaher. Article from Understanding Data, part of The Data Journalism Handbook, Version 1.0 beta online.