Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

The report “Responding to Organized Crime in Canada: The Role of Media and Social Marketing Campaigns” explores how media campaigns and social marketing strategies can help law-enforcement agencies address organized crime in Canada. The study reviews existing public awareness campaigns and examines how media can educate citizens, influence public attitudes, and encourage cooperation between communities and law enforcement. It explains that social marketing focuses on promoting ideas and behavioural change for the public good, rather than selling products. The report analyzes examples of crime-prevention campaigns and highlights lessons for designing effective media strategies against organized crime. Overall, it suggests that well-planned media and education campaigns can raise awareness, change behaviour, and support efforts to combat organized crime.

The evolution of digital technologies and the use of visual media in our everyday life highlights the necessity to educate visually literate individuals. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2018) has launched the Future of Education and Skills 2030 that emphasizes that due to the digitalization into all areas of life, digital and data literacy are considered to be core foundations and being literate in this context requires the ability to comprehend, interpret, use and create textual and visual information in various formats, contexts and for diverse purposes (making meaning based on encoding and decoding signs/sign systems). The concept of visual literacy has been studied for several decades, however, it is a relatively new study area within a digital environment in Latvian media and education context. By bringing attention to the practice and reporting students comprehension and competency within the domain of digital visual literacy, the author reports the findings of a study that examined the competence of the sub-domain of visual literacy, applying Inquiry Graphic (IG) as a framework for the analysis. The purpose of this paper is to contribute quantitative and qualitative data to the domain of visual literacy amongst the Riga Art and Media school final year students and conceptualize visual literacy in the process of digital education transformation, proposing further research on academic practice and pedagogical tools to improve a person’s visual literacy and visual media competence in a digital environment.

In the contemporary digital era, social media platforms have emerged as powerful tools not only for communication but also for shaping public consciousness and behavior. This study investigates the influence of social media security-oriented messages on raising the security consciousness of residents in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. In light of rising security concerns, particularly in urban and semi-urban centers, understanding how digital communication impacts citizens' security awareness and response behavior is critical. Social media messages often carry timely alerts, preventive tips, and user-generated content about crimes or suspicious activities. This study examines whether such content contributes to shaping a heightened sense of vigilance and proactive security behavior among residents. Grounded in the Social Cognitive Theory, the study adopts a quantitative research design using structured Likert-scale questionnaires administered to a sample of 300 residents of Awka. The research explores three core objectives: to assess the extent of residents’ exposure to security-oriented messages on social media; to evaluate the influence of these messages on their personal security behavior; and to determine the perceived credibility and responsiveness to such messages. The study reviews empirical and theoretical literature, including communication, behavior change, and digital media theories, to establish a sound academic framework. Findings from this study are expected to offer valuable insights to policymakers, security agencies, and communication professionals on how social media can be strategically deployed as a security awareness mechanism. Furthermore, it contributes to academic discourse on digital media’s role in public safety and behavior change, particularly within the Nigerian socio-cultural context.

The widespread integration of technology into daily life has transformed human interactions, creating unprecedented opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and communication. However, this digital evolution has also exacerbated cyberbullying, which poses significant threats to global and individual well-being. Cyberbullying is particularly prevalent among teenagers, who are active users of digital platforms and highly vulnerable to its negative impacts. In Nigeria, rapid technological advancements have heightened the incidence of cyberbullying, severely affecting the mental health, social development, and overall well-being of young people. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of social media literacy programs in reducing cyberbullying among Nigerian youth and examine how sociocultural and technological factors influence these interventions. Employing a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected from 480 students across three tertiary institutions in Lagos State using validated questionnaires. The findings revealed that social media literacy programs significantly reduced cyberbullying incidents. This study underscores the need for culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate interventions and highlights the importance of comprehensive strategies that address Nigeria's unique sociocultural and technological landscapes. Recommendations include the development of robust, evidence-based social media literacy programs tailored to diverse Nigerian communities, enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, and ongoing evaluations to refine and sustain these initiatives.

Facing a wide range of mass culture as part of everyday life, art teachers have a responsibility to foster students’ critical media literacy to analyze the meanings conveyed in visual images. I use activist artist Ron English’s art as an example to assist students in deconstructing meanings presented in product packaging. Social semiotics and multimodal discourse are suggested in facilitating these processes of deconstruction to address several controversial issues presented in the packaging. The ultimate goal of analyzing/deconstructing different visual culture can foster students’ critical media literacy and facilitate their active participation in a democratic society

Due to the progressive visualization of everyday communication, it has become increasingly important to understand images and think and learn in terms of images. There should not be any surprise, therefore, that educators express a need to introduce visual literacy into the curriculum. However, the concrete tools to address this need are still missing. The variety of visual methods and approaches provided by visual studies’ literature does not seem to be particularly useful when applied to education. Therefore, I suggest that a focus on teaching the interpretation of journalistic photographs is a crucial component of contemporary education, because it develops students’ visual literacy skills while addressing current requirements in Higher Education, which expect students to be able to interpret, use and create images. Journalistic photographs are commonly perceived as a medium of communication, which informs about current events, or illustrates certain issues, while due to its connotative intertextual potential it can also support teaching. This study evaluates various visual methods and discusses their application to the interpretation of journalistic photographs with the aim of improving the education of visual literacy. To achieve this objective, I propose an approach that will examine two dimensions of photographic interpretation: denotation and connotation. Furthermore, by identifying particular elements of well-established visual methods and techniques, I develop a model tool that can be used in visual literacy classes for the interpretation of journalistic photographs.

The aim of this portfolio is to explore a journey of research examining the role of photography and visual literacy in contemporary society through the lens of COVID-19 media coverage, attending to the misrepresentation of marginalized communities. The digital revolution has made a significant impact on the way photographs are created, modified, and shared, yet not enough attention is devoted to investigating the implications of this shift. Images published on online platforms, including mainstream media, social media and elsewhere, continue to function as public pedagogy, influencing the ways we understand the pandemic, the world, and ourselves. This portfolio presents four artifacts which contribute to the discourse examining the role of visual culture and visual literacy following the digital turn. These items include 1) a literature review; 2) chapters from a book which examines visual documentation of the Capitol Riots; 3) a visual synthesis of a media observatory study which examines discourse on social media and finally, 4) an educational video presentation exploring visual literacy through the lens of COVID-19 media coverage.

The manipulation of information to suit one’s vested interests is a growing hazard. It has elements of disinformation, misinformation and fake news, and lacks authenticity. Such manipulation and distortion of facts can have serious consequences for a community, especially in a diverse nation like India. It calls for strict measures and awareness to check this spread. Technology further catalyses such dissemination. Institutions, libraries, governments and the media are all deliberating effective means to distinguish fake news from authentic news. This article details some such initiatives. It discusses the Government of India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to curb such deceitful dissemination, elements of which can be replicable in other geographies. It spotlights the issue and underscores the need for media and information literacy for all to be more discerning during the reception, consumption and assimilation of information before responding to it. Further, the fact-checking initiatives and Information Technology Rules as taken and framed in India may be replicated in other countries.

This study systematically examines activist art practices carried out between 2005 and 2023 within Critical Media Theory and Visual Culture Theory frameworks. Based on 58 articles, the research aims to analyse these practices' characteristic features and thematic focuses. The findings reveal that qualitative methods, particularly those based on content and discourse analysis, are predominantly employed; this indicates that contextual and interpretative approaches are emphasised in the studies. The frequent selection of middle and high school level individuals as sample groups aligns with theoretical emphases on developing critical awareness during the identity formation process. As a result of thematic analysis, three main themes were identified: social justice and character building, media and digital culture and cognitive-emotional-citizenship development. These themes reveal the transformative power of art in questioning social norms, analysing media representations and fostering awareness. This study contributes to the literature by holistically addressing the theoretical and methodological gaps in the field.

The paper employs a systematic review of literature through ResearchGate, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases to examine the need for fact-checking skills among media professionals. The paper indicates that the significance of factchecking skills among media professionals cannot be overstated in our contemporary information landscape. It is believed that media and information professionals hold a critical responsibility to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information they disseminate. Fact-checking skills, encompassing rigorous verification, source scrutiny, and a commitment to transparency, stand as a bulwark against the tide of misinformation that pervades the digital era. Given this, the paper argues that misinformation has the potential to erode trust in institutions, sow discord, and influence public opinion. By actively engaging in fact-checking, media and information professionals become agents of truth, fortifying the foundations of a well-informed and resilient society. The paper concludes that the power to combat misinformation lies in the hands of those who shape narratives and tell the stories that define our world. The commitment to fact-checking is not merely a professional obligation but a moral imperative.

The proliferation of images and their increased use in academic and everyday information practices has sparked an interest in visual literacy as an area of research and library instruction. Teaching approaches and student learning are examined using a variety of research methods and utilizing images in the research process. This paper provides a review of research methodology adopted in empirical studies of visual literacy that were published in academic journals between 2011 and 2017. The results indicate that one third (33%) of the examined studies adopted a quantitative approach with surveys being the most popular strategy. Qualitative and mixed-methods studies were a minority but represented a greater variety of strategies and data collection techniques. One third (33%) of the studies in the sample did not report any research methodology. Most of the studies (87%) used visual evidence in the research process

This chapter discusses the democratic threats associated with micro-targeted advertising from third parties, using the Facebook Ad Library (FAL) as a case study to assess whether this type of tool can effectively prevent these potential threats to Canadian electoral integrity. We will analyze third parties’ use of Facebook during the 2019 federal election to understand their online advertising strategies, as well as evaluate whether the FAL can help identify reprehensible behavior, such as violations of the Canadian Election Act. Thus, this chapter focuses on two main research questions: (Q1) How does the information stored in the FAL help its users better understand the content of third parties’ electoral messages? (Q2) How does the information stored in the FAL help its users better understand third parties’ micro-targeting tactical operations? We hypothesize that while the FAL can help its users understand the content of third party messages, it does a poor job of providing useful information on the parameters of their online distribution strategy, and therefore does not effectively prevent democratic threats related to micro-targeting techniques. In this chapter we first discuss the importance of third parties in Canadian elections, and the democratic threats associated with micro-targeted advertising. We then present the Facebook Advertising Library and the limitations of this type of tool identified in the literature. Next, we use the “Strong and Proud” network as a case study to examine whether the FAL effectively helped Canadians assess how third parties used the social network for micro-targeted advertising during the 2019 campaign. A discussion of the apparent limitations of the tool concludes the chapter.

The advent of digital media has profoundly transformed political campaigns and voter behavior, reshaping the landscape of political communication and electoral processes. Digital platforms, such as social media, websites, and online forums, have enabled political candidates to engage with voters more directly and efficiently than ever before. Through personalized messaging, targeted advertising, and real-time interaction, campaigns can now tailor their strategies to specific voter demographics, harnessing data analytics to influence opinions and mobilize supporters. Additionally, digital media offers voters unprecedented access to information, allowing them to evaluate candidates and issues from multiple perspectives. However, the same platforms also present challenges, such as the spread of misinformation, echo chambers, and polarization, which can distort public discourse and affect voter decision-making. This paper explores the dual-edged role of digital media in modern political campaigns and its impact on voter behavior, including the implications for democratic participation and the integrity of electoral processes.

Metadiscourse serves to direct readers through the text and allows them to understand it better. However, the readers of crisis news frequently misinterpret the news because of the inconsistent sentence formation. Hence, content creators or journalists need to create a message that is understood accurately. Therefore, the study's aim is to ascertain if journalism students are aware of the employment of metadiscourse features particularly in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) related news before and after an intervention process. COVID-19 news is one of the crisis news. Eleven journalism students took the Metadiscourse Awareness Test twice, once before and once after the intervention process. As part of the intervention process, students were provided with news with and without metadiscourse as well as writing prompts in order to enhance awareness of the appropriate usage of metadiscourse in crisis news. When compared with their pre-test scores, the results of the post-test revealed that the students had an overall greater awareness of metadiscourse features. Additionally, it was found that the intervention process had a substantial impact on the journalism students' awareness of the usage of metadiscourse in crisis news. As a result, the results of the Metadiscourse Awareness Test might be utilised to grow the journalism students’ knowledge of metadiscourse and create more effective content creators.

This article introduces an approach to creative media literacy for world issues (WIs) such as Covid-19. In so doing, the article integrates four positions on discourse and media as terrible facets of globalization in the context of critical discourse analysis (CDA). The objectivist position deals with WIs as neutral discourse shared among humanity and distributed through English as an international language and educational media. The ideologist position treats creative media literacy as relations of power between global and local identities in the form of competing discourses associated with WIs. The rhetorical position reveals the hidden strategies used in global media discourse and English as a global language. The social constructionist position provides three levels of analysis for creative media literacy among university students: textual analysis, discourse analysis, and critical discourse analysis. The article concludes with guidelines on how lecturers can implement this approach with English as a foreign language (EFL) students.

Political advertising on social media has become a powerful tool in shaping voter perceptions, influencing electoral outcomes, and driving political engagement. However,the growing use of social media platforms for political advertising raises concerns about transparency, the targeting of vulnerable populations, and the potential for misinformation. This article investigates the trends in political advertising on social media, examining the use of micro-targeting, the role of data analytics, and the ethical implications of these practices. Drawing on case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, the article analyzes the effectiveness of social mediapolitical ads in influencing voters and discusses the challenges of ensuring transparency and accountability in the digital age. It also evaluates current regulatory frameworks and proposes solutions to improve transparency and protect democratic processes in the context of digital political advertising

Mass media as news producers can be classified into two groups: incorporated and unincorporated mass media. Although both can produce news with the same topic according to actual conditions, the narratives built are not the same. In response to this, readers' criticality is needed to sort out objective and not tendentious information so that the information does not trigger social conflict in the community. This study aims to compare the characteristics of news discourse of the two mass media groups with a critical discourse analysis approach within the framework of media literacy. Data on legal mass media is based on data on the dewanpers.or.id page. The results show that there are obvious differences from the point of view of linguistic features between the news of digital mass media with legal status and those without legal status. This research is expected to be a policy reference for the government in fostering mass media and society.

This working paper examines the state of computational propaganda in Ukraine, focusing on two major dimensions, Ukraine’s response to the challenges of external information attacks and the use of computational propaganda in internal political communication. Based on interviews with Ukrainian media experts, academics, industry insiders and bot developers, the working paper explores the scale of the issue and identifies the most common tactics, instruments and approaches for the deployment of political bots online. The cases described illustrate the misconceptions about fake accounts, paid online commentators and automated scripts, as well as the threats of malicious online activities. First, we explain how bots operate in the internal political and media environment of the country and provide examples of typical campaigns. Second, we analyse the case of the MH17 tragedy as an illustrative example of Russia’s purposeful disinformation campaign against Ukraine, which has a distinctive social media component. Finally, responses to computational propaganda are scrutinized, including alleged governmental attacks on Ukrainian journalists, which reveal that civil society and grassroots movements have great potential to stand up to the perils of computational propaganda.

This case-study reports on a Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA)-based workshop on Media Literacy (ML) held at an Italian middle school in 2022. With a pretest post-test design, 44 participants were asked to complete a questionnaire at the beginning of a 2-hour workshop and then again at the end. The questionnaire was designed to (1) explore the role of multiple semiotic modes in shaping students’ interpretation of a 1-minute video shared on the web, and (2) examine variations in their understanding as a result of the MDA analysis. Results point to the potential of MDA in fostering and leveraging ML among young learners.

This systematic review examines the complex challenges to intercultural communication ethics posed by the proliferation of misinformation and digital propaganda. It synthesises current research on the spread and impact of these phenomena, highlighting their effects on intercultural relations and social cohesion. The review identifies gaps in existing literature, particularly regarding strategies for promoting constructive online dialogue and ethical frameworks for digital communication. Findings emphasise the importance of media and information literacy in empowering individuals to evaluate information and make informed decisions. The review also explores the ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in marketing and recommends educational interventions focused on multiculturalism and the dynamics of privilege. The conclusion calls for active engagement with ethical experts to safeguard social media users, enhance trust in research, and foster intercultural competence to combat misinformation and promote responsible online engagement.

The current research explores the CDA of the print media, with emphasis on the strategies regarding language manipulation through the analysis of the newspapers. This research hence documents and examines Pakistani and other global newspapers’ headlines, editorials, and news articles to understand how linguistic features, rhetorical appeals, and framing strategies af ect reader perceptions. Utilizing the three-dimensional CDA model developed by Fairclough, the study investigates the power relations that are concealed by the text and ideologies manifested in discourse practices. The study further shows that there is distorting evidence with coverage of events as well as their exaggeration or minimization depending on the political, economic, and cultural values set. This work advances knowledge regarding the part that media play in social construction and the consequences that language manipulation has on democracy. A few suggestions for building CR Media Literacy among readers are of ered to ensure a rational perception of print media

A modern society’s response to the hoax phenomena in the information age exposes challenges to confidence, information integrity, and significant public health consequences. This study intends to help increase literacy and community resistance to the spread of hoaxes, particularly emphasising the role of critical literacy and digital literacy. This study employed a thorough and systematic qualitative descriptive approach to investigate the hoax phenomenon. There are two primary stages to this method. First, literature analysis provides the foundation for comprehending the features and consequences of incorrect information. Second, a field approach was conducted using an online survey with ten questions. A survey of 108 respondents found that efforts to enhance media literacy, rigorous education, and empower individuals to become more informed consumers. The findings of this study reveal that several sorts of hoaxes are often encountered in the digital age, each with its unique set of features. One research focus is on political hoaxes, which are frequently used to influence public opinion or harm political opponents’ reputations by spreading false claims about policies or utterances that are taken out of context. The poll results reveal that people’s critical literacy must be strengthened, particularly in information verification and news interpretation.

The information explosion has increased accessibility and relevance problems. Misinformation and disinformation accentuate problems for scholarly users in differentiating between genuine and fake information. The negative impact of this factor is worsened when there is also a lack of information literacy. This research aims to identify information literacy models that can minimize or, preferably, overcome this problem. A comprehensive literature review of 175 scholarly articles and other relevant online sources was under-taken. The literature exploration meticulously employed strategically chosen key terms, delving exclusively into a curated selection of preeminent and trustworthy sources for a comprehensive and impactful review. The review systematically deliberated on integrating misinformation and disinformation issues into the information literacy framework, probing the prospect of substantially alleviating the challenges. This study aimed to understand whether current information literacy models can appropriately identify mis-information and disinformation. The information gleaned indicated that existing information literacy models could not correctly identify misinformation and disinformation. Accordingly, there is a need to improve strategies and methods for identifying misinformation and disinformation. The study proposed an information literacy model to identify misinformation and dis-information, benefiting library professionals, patrons, academicians, IT professionals involved in library services, library and information service policymakers, and authors.

The purpose of this paper is to present a qualitative investigation into whether online textual postings, produced by undergraduate students as part of an undergraduate module, can demonstrate their information literacy (IL) capabilities as a discursive competence and socially enacted practice. It also asks whether these online postings embody power relations between students, tutors and librarians.

Against the backdrop of advances in information and communication technologies and social media resources, there is a growing need for the active development of critical thinking and media literacy skills. The intensification of manipulation and disinformation in the media space necessitates the search for new means of developing a culture of communication and ethical competencies in society. The purpose of this article is to analyze contemporary strategies for the cultural development of society in the context of ethical and philosophical aspects, media literacy, and critical thinking. The methodology involved the use of synthetic-analytical approaches, as well as methods of induction and deduction. The research focuses on practical developments of adaptation strategies for integrating the Ukrainian media education space into the European environment with the aim of raising the level of critical thinking in society, its literacy in identifying manipulation, and developing the philosophical and ethical foundations of cultural development. The article substantiates the importance of effective media education in the context of developing the competencies necessary for effective social progress towards a culture of communication and strengthening philosophical concepts of cultural and ethical development for social progress.