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Media Literacy Election Toolkit
An informed citizenry is key to democracy and peacemaking. At MWEG, our goal is to help you find good information so you can make educated choices on Election Day. We hope this media literacy election toolkit will help you as you navigate 2024âs information landscape! Election-related information These are trusted, reliable sources of information about voting provided by either government or non-profit, nonpartisan organizations. Vote411BallotpediaFederal Election CommissionNational Conference of State Legislatures Fact-checking sites These sites can be helpful in verifying election-related news stories or social media posts. They are all reliable and either politically neutral or slightly left of center. AP News Fact CheckReuters Fact CheckFactCheck.orgPolitiFact MWEG resources Election questions:…
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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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Misinformation and Disinformation â a Toolkit
Misinformation and disinformation have grown exponentially since Election Day. There are so many false claims that itâs difficult to address them all individually. We at MWEG want to provide you with the resources you need to fact-check and address misinformation as you see it. Below you will find: A list of reputable fact-checking websites that may help you as you seek truth and address disinformation in your own sphere of influence. Information about the election process from trusted national sources. Links to swing state news outlets, which are often more trusted than the national news media. State election office website links. Local election officials have been doing their best to…
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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…
