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Media Literacy Toolkit
The founders of the United States knew an educated public would be key to the strength of a democratic republic. The creation of the First Amendment ensured citizens would have access to the information needed to make good decisions about their representatives and policies. At Mormon Women for Ethical Government, all of our advocacy and education efforts flow from our Principles of Ethical Government, and this is also true of media literacy. These principles include the idea that, âAll individuals have a duty to educate themselves about the actions of government officials and current events in the world, taking care to ascertain facts from reliable sources of information.â Knowing where…
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Media Literacy: Understanding QAnon
What is QAnon? QAnon is a multi-faceted conspiracy theory with a core belief that President Donald Trump is helping to fight a ring of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who control the government, media, and entertainment industries. The conspiracy theory began in 2017 when an anonymous person who claimed to be a government insider, âQ,â started posting his theories on fringe social media sites. QAnon followers believe the âdeep stateâ is out to get the president and that high-ranking government officials are working against him. Other conspiracies promoted by QAnon supporters span a variety of topics, including COVID-19, the Illuminati, UFOs, and vaccines. Sometimes these theories are contradictory. Groups like the Anti-Defamation League…
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Media Literacy: Conspiracy Theories â What’s Driving Them?
At a time of heated political division, a global pandemic, social upheaval, and worldwide unrest, conspiracy theories are quickly spreading throughout social media, radio, and other traditional media platforms. Unfortunately, conspiracy theories are not innocuous. Anyone can be susceptible to them; no demographic is immune. And they cause people to act in ways that result in direct harm to individuals and institutions. As we wrote in a previous educational piece about addressing misinformation: âFalse information perpetuates injustice and division, and allowing such information to spread can cause people to become distrustful of any information and sink into cynicism and apathy. People act based on the information they receive, and actions…
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Media Literacy: How to Address Misinformation on Social Media
Why should we call out misinformation? Social media has become a powerful tool for the dissemination of disinformation, propaganda, and conspiracy theories related to current events. This causes division, confusion, and contention among friends, family members, and neighbors. It impedes our ability to make well-informed judgments as citizens. MWEG is working hard to educate people about how to identify quality news sources; however, a more challenging aspect of media literacy is learning how to address and respond to friends and family members who share misinformation. This is an emotionally fraught and taxing issue, and there are no easy answers. How should we do it? According to the MWEG Principles of…
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Media Literacy: Ethical Coverage of Police Violence â Reporting on George Floyd and Beyond
When it comes to reporting on the police killings of and violence toward black and brown people, news coverage can provide important background and context to the national conversation, sparking a wide range of actions and reactions. But that news must adhere to certain standards in order to contribute meaningfully and minimize bias. In the Society of Professional Journalistsâ Code of Ethics, reporters and editors are urged to âboldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experienceâ while at the same time âavoid stereotypingâ and âexamine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.â Likewise, photojournalists should, âBe complete and provide context when photographing…
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Principles of Ethical Government: Media Literacy
Mormon Women for Ethical Governmentâs Principles of Ethical Government (3)(a) states: (a) All individuals have a duty to educate themselves about the actions of government officials and current events in the world, taking care to ascertain facts from reliable sources of information (see D&C 88:78-81, 118). As members of MWEG, our goal is to courageously advocate for ethical government, and in order to do that we need to be informed on what our government is doing and determine whether we agree with what it does. We are committed to learning more about government action, current events, and what constitutes ethical government. We also aim to develop the skills necessary to identify reputable news sources…
