Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

Exploration and exploitation in strategic decision-making entail decisions about whether and where to search for new alternatives to improve the status quo. Prior research has not explored how decisions about whether to continue search (vs. stop search or satisfice) and where to search (near vs. far) are interrelated. We report laboratory experiment results on how individuals decide whether and where to search in a complex, combinatorial task. We find that different feedback variables influence the decision to stop search from decisions regarding how broadly to search. Our results suggest that not accounting for the decision to continue (or stop) searching, separately from breadth of search, can lead to incorrect predictions regarding how feedback influences search behavior.

Although access to Internet health information can be beneficial, solving complex health-related problems online is challenging for many individuals. In this study, we investigated the performance of a sample of 60 adults ages 18 to 85 years in using the Internet to resolve a relatively complex health information problem. The impact of age, Internet experience, and cognitive abilities on measures of search time, amount of search, and search accuracy was examined, and a model of Internet information seeking was developed to guide the characterization of participants’ search strategies. Internet experience was found to have no impact on performance measures. Older participants exhibited longer search times and lower amounts of search but similar search accuracy performance as their younger counterparts. Overall, greater search accuracy was related to an increased amount of search but not to increased search duration and was primarily attributable to higher cognitive abilities, such as processing speed, reasoning ability, and executive function. There was a tendency for those who were younger, had greater Internet experience, and had higher cognitive abilities to use a bottom-up (i.e., analytic) search strategy, although use of a top-down (i.e., browsing) strategy was not necessarily unsuccessful. Implications of the findings for future studies and design interventions are discussed.

The Internet has become a fundamental source of information exchange in the 21st century. In particular, online social media platforms are becoming increasingly important tools for communication and political discourse in the United States and abroad. This medium presents a novel, unprecedented way for people to become more informed and civically involved, but simultaneously opens democratic societies up to potential interference by foreign, malevolent actors who manipulate the information that social media users consume and use to make decisions. As an example of social media influencing the opinions and actions of U.S. residents, foreign Russian actors were able to organize a protest and a simultaneous counter-protest in Houston, Texas during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign using Facebook groups operated by a Kremlin-linked troll farm from Saint Petersburg.1 Other instances of foreign influences include individuals abroad selling American political advertisements for monetary gain, social bots being used to give the false impression of grassroots public support, and in general, the rapid spread of false, sensational media. Given the ubiquitous role that online platforms play in shaping socio-political discourse and outcomes, we propose a government-supported approach for combating the spread of fake news online by verifying the identities of U.S. residents on social media platforms.

Information literacy has been a subject of interest for academic librarians for nearly thirty years, however special librarians have written comparatively little on the topic of information literacy in the workplace. It is an important issue as it provides an opportunity for special librarians to enhance their role in their organisation. This paper discusses the need for training in information literacy in the workplace and highlights the latest research and studies being undertaken in the field.

Social media environments and online communities are innovative collaborative technologies that challenge traditional definitions of information literacy. Metaliteracy is an overarching and self-referential framework that integrates emerging technologies and unifies multiple literacy types. This redefinition of information literacy expands the scope of generally understood information competencies and places a particular emphasis on producing and sharing information in participatory digital environments

This study used the Delphi method to engage expert practitioners on the topic of threshold concepts—core ideas and processes in a discipline that students need to grasp in order to progress in their learning, but that are often unspoken or unrecognized by expert practitioners—for information literacy. A panel of experts considered two questions: First, is the threshold concept approach useful for information literacy instruction? The panel unanimously agreed that the threshold concept The approach holds potential for information literacy instruction. Second, what are the threshold concepts for information literacy instruction? The panel proposed and discussed over 50 potential threshold concepts, finally settling on six information literacy threshold concepts.

Organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) put a lot of effort in advocacy and policy making for information literacy (IL). Their ambition to foster IL can be seen as a part of a multinational educational project. By exporting a Western IL model focused on textual information sources and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into non-Western contexts that to a great extent lack ICTs, the educational project for IL runs the risk of turning into an imperialistic project. A discursively oriented analysis of two prominent policy documents discussed in the light of the so-called new imperialism and the idea of invisible technologies—indicates a standardized onesize-fits-all-model of IL. Through establishing a close contact between the policy-making strand and the research strand in the IL literature and by adhering to the broad concept of information literacies, the risk of imperialism and oppression might lessen.

Information literacy educators are daily challenged by an environment in which colleagues and students bring very different perspectives to curriculum design, teaching and learning, and by the need to apply theories of learning to information literacy education in coherent ways. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model, Six Frames for Information Literacy Education, as a tool for analysing, interpreting and understanding these challenges; and to explain the relational frame in more detail. In the first part of this paper we provide an overview of the different ways in which teaching, learning, and information literacy may be approached. We also introduce the Six Frames for information literacy education. In the second part, we explore some challenges and techniques of applying the relational frame for information literacy education in more detail. Finally, we suggest some ways in which using the six frames may assist practice.

Librarians regularly encounter students who struggle to understand and apply information literacy concepts. A qualitative survey administered to information literacy practitioners asked about troublesome content and analyzed results using the threshold concepts pedagogical framework first described by Jan Meyer and Ray Land. A threshold concept transforms the learner’s view of content and helps integrate previously learned material; threshold concepts are portals that, once traversed, bring insight into how to think and act like a practitioner within a discipline. This project uses the data collected to propose seven threshold concepts for information literacy.

Introduction. Information literacy and critical thinking are discussed as distinct concepts by authors in different disciplines. This paper seeks to analyse their conceptions to determine the extent to which they overlap, and identify areas for collaboration across disciplinary lines. Method. A hermeneutic literature review was conducted, followed by a content analysis of information literacy papers discussing content evaluation, and critical thinking papers from key authors. Analysis. Proportions of identified themes represented within the two groups of papers were compared. Similarities and differences were assessed in conjunction with findings from the hermeneutic literature review. Results. Though divergent in their basic underpinning skills, critical thinking and information literacy conceptions pertaining to content evaluation were found to be strongly overlapping in their broader conceptions. Modern pressures giving rise to content evaluation concerns such as the ‘fake news’ phenomenon suggest a need for strong sense conceptions, and an avenue for integration between information literacy and critical thinking when evaluating information. Conclusion. Taken in their strong sense, information literacy and critical thinking conceptions show a high degree of overlap. Engagement across disciplinary lines could offer an enrichment to both concepts

This study aimed to collect input for the definition of a conceptual framework of digital competence for information literacy to be developed in the context of doctoral programs in Education. A systematic literature review methodology was adopted, and several steps were developed that included: preliminary readings and initial mapping, which allowed to define the search terms and expressions; the definition of inclusion and exclusion criteria; the research in databases and aggregators; the pre-selection of articles; and the selection of the corpus of analysis, which included seven articles published in scientific journals with peer review. The studies are mainly focused on information literacy. The two concepts are addressed simultaneously in only three articles. Digital competence is related to the mastery of digital tools, namely to search for information in databases or to define alert strategies. We infer that this competence seems to be closer to more operative concepts, such as digital skills. Information literacy requires the effective use of information involving information search, selection, evaluation and communication. We conclude that it is necessary to crossreference and triangulate existing studies in order to define the digital competences for information literacy that doctoral students in Education should develop. This is the object of an ongoing doctoral project.

The culture of assessment in higher education requires academic librarians to demonstrate the impact of information literacy instruction on student learning. As a result, many librarians seek to gain knowledge about the information literacy assessment approaches available to them. This article identifies three major assessment approaches: (1) fixed-choice tests, (2) performance assessments, and (3) rubrics. It maps the theoretical and educational assumptions on which these options are grounded and charts the dangers and opportunities of each assessment approach.

What do we teach when we teach information literacy in higher education? This paper describes a pedagogical approach to information literacy that helps instructors focus content around transformative learning thresholds. The threshold concept framework holds promise for librarians because it grounds the instructor in the big ideas and underlying concepts that make information literacy exciting and worth learning about. This paper looks at how this new idea relates to existing standards and posits several threshold concepts for information literacy.

Despite the prominence of the concept of the information ecosystem (hereafter IE) in information literacy documents and literature, it is under-theorized. This article proposes a general definition of IE for information literacy. After reviewing the current use of the IE concept in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy and other information literacy sources, existing definitions of IE and similar concepts (e.g., “evidence ecosystems”) will be examined from other fields. These will form the basis of the definition of IE proposed in the article for the field of information literacy: “all structures, entities, and agents related to the flow of semantic information relevant to a research domain, as well as the information itself.”

Over the last three decades, promotion of information literacy has become one of the main goals of librarians and academics. As the emergence of information technologies has raised new challenges and roles for users, information literacy has shifted from the concept of simple training to the provision of the skills and competencies that are critical to the improved use of information. A terminological, conceptual and statistical analysis of the main subjects related to information literacy, as well as its evolution over the last 30 years, is provided with the aim of illustrating how information literacy has been progressively incorporated into the library and academic fields.

Literacy was once thought to be well-understood and well-defined. However, it has been argued that the digital world has disrupted any notions of literacy, supplanted with “new” forms of literacies in various new literacy studies and now, in the library and information science (LIS) scholarship as they apply to information literacy (IL). But, do the old forms of literacy in fact hold LIS back, and, do the critiques of conceptions of literacy fully represent that foundational scholarship? Are the “new” literacies really that different from traditional notions of literacy? A review of: concepts of literacy and IL that have been critiqued; core ideas of foundational scholarship on the shift from orality to literacy that stand at the center of the scholarly debate over literacy in general; and identifying conceptual foundations of critical reflexivity which underwrite “new” literacies is undertaken to inform the scholarly assumptions and claims of LIS and IL

It examines the Information Literacy in an Information Society

A conceptual analysis is undertaken of information literacy by investigating some leading definitions and delineations of the concept. These are analyzed with the intention of exploring chronological extensions in the meaning of the concept. The range of skills and knowledge required for information literacy has. expanded over the last two decades in order to accommodate the continually developing requirements for effective information handling, and the article notes how the library and information science (LIS) profession is responding to these requirements. The review concludes by identifying three main trends in information literacy which are evident from the literature of the early 1990s.

This paper aims to foster the debate on Media Literacy (ML) projects with a focus on disinformation. We analyse initiati ves carried out locally in Portugal, considering the principles of ML, the necessary development of skills and competen ces, as well as the importance of the journalistic action and the consequences of platformization on professional practi ces. Mixed methods are applied to collect and analyse quali-quantitative data from ML projects and trainings involving multiple stakeholders. Inquiring three independent samples (editors-in-chief, journalists trained in ML, teachers trained by journalists in ML) the research questions address the importance of journalists’ participation in ML within different roles, as well as the training quality and projects’ assessment. Findings show a lack of specialised knowledge, practical tools, and continuous training as well the need for more tailor-made programs and evaluation resources that allow for the creation and promotion of more effective ML training programs. This contribution is therefore two-folded: a) it aims to enhance the operational aspects of media training in the field, based on a continuous improvement logic and b) it explores a specific evaluative example on how the feedback from training can help improve research efforts in the media literacy field. Conclusions systematise the assumptions, stemming from an articulation of ML stakeholders’ perspectives, that guide the implementation, improvement, and assessment of training: collaboration, continuity, and sustainability. These inductive categories allow for the development of theoretical-practical dimensions of the processes for evaluating innovative training against disinformation which may in turn have an inoculation role in the wider public sphere. We suggest improvements to the methodological-operational processes to involve journalists, to do follow-up, assessment, and implementation of wider training projects, contributing to applied research.

Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between media trust and verification behaviours among Malaysian youth in the context of increasing misinformation and digital fragmentation. Design/Methodology/Approach: A mixed-methods approach was employed, including surveys of 200 university students aged 18–25 and focus group interviews, to explore their perceptions of media credibility and verification practices. Findings: Results reveal a gap between media consumption and critical verification. Social media remains the most-used platform, despite being the least trusted. Verification practices are inconsistent, often shaped by peer networks and platform familiarity. Implications: The study suggests the need for structured media literacy education that emphasizes source evaluation and critical thinking, especially within academic and youth-focused institutions.

With individuals increasingly acting as independent agents in the new media landscape, their online behavior has become critical in shaping the information environment. This study employs the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) model, a behavioral framework often used in public health communication, to examine how New Media Literacy (NML) influences information verification behavior through risk perception of fake news, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Consistent with the KAP framework, the combination of knowledge (NML) and attitude (risk perception) significantly enhanced individuals’ tendency to verify information. Moreover, within NML, critical consumption skills exerted both direct and indirect effects on information verification through risk perception, whereas critical prosumption skills showed only a direct effect. These findings suggest that media consumption skills may play a comparatively greater role in shaping individuals’ information verification behavior. By adapting a public health communication framework to the context of digital media use, this study contributes to theory-building in media effects research and offers practical insights for designing targeted media literacy interventions in response to the evolving dynamics of new media technologies.

This paper theorizes news verification in Kenyan print journalism as a form of epistemic labour central to the construction of public truth. Drawing on Social Responsibility Theory and interpretive interviews with journalists supplemented by textual analysis of print media outputs, the study uncovers how weak pedagogical foundations, elite-driven news routines, routinized shortcuts, and thin verification cultures undermine accuracy in Kenya’s media ecosystem. The findings reveal that while journalists discursively endorse verification ideals, their ability to enact them is constrained by limited disciplinary literacy, organizational incentives that privilege access over scrutiny, and a misapplication of objectivity that normalizes transcription rather than interpretation. Unlike prevailing research that frames misinformation as a problem of fake content, this paper reframes inaccuracy as the outcome of knowledge-production failures embedded within journalism education, newsroom socialization, and professional identity. It advances a reconceptualization of news verification competence as an embodied disposition cultivated through training, relational capital, interpretive judgement, and exposure to tacit newsroom learning. In doing so, the study contributes a model of news verification as a socio-cognitive practice whose development is essential for the media’s normative responsibility and democratic function in contexts where digital and traditional media intersect.

In Indonesia, social media platforms such as YouTube, WhatsApp, and TikTok have become dominant news sources, surpassing traditional mainstream media. However, this shift has triggered a crisis of verification, further complicated by the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated content, including deepfakes and AI-based news production, which blurs the boundary between fact and fabrication. Methods: This study employed a qualitative approach through library research and reflective theoretical analysis, supported by documentary observations of current phenomena involving viral social media content entering mainstream media channels. Analysis was conducted thematically, critically, and contextually, synthesizing previous scholarly findings with contemporary digital media practices. Findings: The results indicate that the flow of information from social media to mainstream media has dismantled traditional gatekeeping roles, replacing them with a decentralized and algorithm-driven ecosystem. AI technologies, while enhancing efficiency, introduce epistemological challenges by generating credible but potentially inaccurate content without ethical responsibility. Furthermore, the study highlights that traditional verification mechanisms are inadequate against the speed and complexity of digital information flows. Effective information verification today requires collaborative, technology-assisted, and participatory strategies, integrating innovations such as AI-supported fact-checking tools and blockchain verification. Simultaneously, media literacy must evolve to include algorithmic awareness and critical interpretation skills.

This article explores the impact of deepfake technology on photojournalism, highlighting its role in undermining trust in visual media. As deepfakes allow for the creation of highly realistic manipulated content, they pose significant challenges regarding the authenticity of journalistic imagery and erode the authority of visual truthfulness. The widespread use of deepfakes has led to a decline in public confidence in the credibility of news, raising concerns about the future of photojournalism in an era of digital deception. As a solution to regaining viewers’ trust, this article suggests a twofold approach: First, it emphasizes the importance of media literacy in combating disinformation, particularly for younger audiences, fostering critical thinking skills; and promoting media awareness. Educating an informed public, equipped with the tools to identify and question manipulated content, is essential for maintaining trust in media. Second, the article proposes the establishment of elaborate ethical zero-fake tolerance standards to be adopted by professionals in photojournalism so as to enhance resilience against deepfake-driven disinformation, thereby safeguarding the integrity of journalism in the age of artificial intelligence.

In a world of rising calls for limits on hate speech, international human rights law provides standards to govern State and company approaches to online expression. In the present report, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 34/18, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression explains how those standards provide a framework for Governments considering regulatory options and companies determining how to respect human rights online. The Special Rapporteur begins with an introduction to the international legal framework, focusing on United Nations treaties and the leading interpretations of provisions related to what is colloquially called “hate speech”. He then highlights key State obligations and addresses how content moderation by companies may ensure respect for the human rights of users and the public. He concludes with recommendations for States and companies.