Critical thinking resources, media literacy

I’ll add more soon.

Games and quizzes that can reveal vulnerability to disinformation.
Test yourself, and send to friends and family.

• Find the fake! “This fun, interactive quiz provides a way for families to improve, discuss and test their knowledge of fake news”.

• Go Viral! game, supposed to reduce susceptibility to Covid misinformation for up to three months (UK)

Learn more about misinformation and disinformation.

• Introduction to Media Literacy (US)

• Navigating Digital Information (US - 10 video episodes)

Go deeper - learn more about psychological warfare, misinformation and disinformation.

• A guide to prebunking (US)

• Media Literacy Index (Bulgaria)

• Decision Education - for children (US)

• Facts, frames, and (mis)interpretations: Understanding rumors as collective sensemaking (US)

Examples - challenging misinformation and disinformation

• Robust local public service media should be a good source of pre-bunking as proximity can encourage trust.

• National public service broadcasting - for example BBC Radio 4’s More or Less dismantling YouTuber John Campbell’s claims about excess deaths from the covid-19 vaccine.

• Crowd-funded lobbying - Stop Burning Stuff

• Target advertisers - make disinformation as unprofitable as possible.
  Stop Funding Hate.

• Fact-checking on social media can lead to corrections (but pre-bunking is better). Net Zero pamphlet.

• Détournement / format hijacking. E.g. Using traditional song to undermine organisations that claim to be traditional. Suella Braverman's Wrong by the MarshFamily.

Organisations

• Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington

News notes

• Kate Starbird, key researcher in the fight against election misinformation – who herself became the subject of an intensive misinformation campaign – has said her field gets accused of “bias” precisely because it’s now mainly rightwingers who spread the worst lies.

TV shows

• The Truth vs Alex Jones is a very good documentary - it lays out the financial incentives behind horrifying disinformation. Trailer.