Study: News literacy is key to fighting conspiracy theories

Updates


People who are knowledgeable about the news media are less likely to believe conspiracy theories.

That’s even when those theories appear to confirm an individual’s political belief, a new study shows.

“The greater one’s knowledge about the news media — from the kinds of news covered, to the commercial context in which news is produced, to the effects on public opinion news can have — the less likely one will fall prey to conspiracy theories,” the authors, all professors of journalism or communication at U.S. universities, write in the December 2017 issue of the academic journal Communication and the Public.

The findings are important because they indicate that action can be taken to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories. News literacy, for example, can be taught in schools.

But, then, we’ve known for several years that effective news literacy lessons can make a difference.

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Insider Spotlight: Candice Roach

Welcome to the Insider Spotlight section, where we feature real questions from our team and answers from educators who are making a difference teaching news literacy. This month, our featured educator is Candice Roach from Port Jervis, New York, where she teaches a middle school course called Multimedia Experience. To help students identify credible evidence, Candice uses resources like the “Levels of Scientific Evidence” infographic.

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Trial by Media? The Free Press and the Criminal Justice System

Get an in-depth look at the work and impact of investigative reporters in the criminal justice space – and what students can learn from this fascinating field – during this free webinar for educators, presented by the News Literacy Project on edWeb.net.

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