#334 – Media Literacy, with Dr. Federica Fornaciari

If you are listening to the podcast with your instructional team or would like to explore this topic more deeply, here are guiding questions to prompt your reflection:

• What is media literacy?
• Why is media literacy becoming such a critical skill to possess?
• What are some of the strategies used to manipulate an audience?
• How can we identify deepfakes?
• Why is media literacy important to preserving democracy?
• How can you empower your students with media literacy skills?

• Common Sense Education (official website)
• News Literacy Project (official website)
• Misinformation and Disinformation (American Psychological Association)

#334 — Media Literacy, with Dr. Federica Fornaciari

AVID Open Access
38 min

Keywords
media literacy, critical thinking, digital citizenship, deepfakes, misinformation, social media, confirmation bias, emotional manipulation, fact-checking, media bias, AI-generated content, public discourse, ethical media, media representation, news literacy

Transcript

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 0:00
We want to make sure that students have the skills to tell what’s real and what’s misleading. In a world that’s flooded with information, media literacy is so important to protecting our democratic societies and ensuring that we have an informed public discourse.

Paul Beckermann 0:22
The topic of today’s podcast is Media Literacy, with Dr. Federica Fornaciari. Unpacking Education is brought to you by avid.org. AVID believes that we can raise the bar for education. To learn more about AVID, visit their website at avid.org.

Rena Clark 0:39
Welcome to Unpacking Education, the podcast where we explore current issues and best practices in education. I’m Rena Clark.

Paul Beckermann 0:51
I’m Paul Beckermann.

Winston Benjamin 0:52
And I’m Winston Benjamin. We are educators.

Paul Beckermann 0:56
And we’re here to share insights and actionable strategies.

Transition Music 1:00
Education is our passport to the future.

Paul Beckermann 1:04
Our quote today is from today’s guest, Dr. Federica Fornaciari. In a podcast episode about deconstructing deepfakes, she says, “It’s so important to preserve the integrity of the media, especially in the face of deepfake-generated content, fake news, misinformation.” All right, Winston, what are your thoughts on that today?

Winston Benjamin 1:29
I can only think of Miss Unger. That was my global teacher in high school, and we did current events all the time in her class, where we were able to look at first- and second-source documents and really begin to be like critical of the information that we were taking in, and I still use the skills that she gave me in that class, even to this day, and how I take in information. And I just think about just that, the importance of being able to look into the history of America, how there has been a lack of a consistent truth being told about all peoples. So, just having the ability to really look back and understand that is important. So this really makes me think about a good teacher that I had, and how she helped me be critical with the information that I take in when I look at media.

Paul Beckermann 2:24
All right, go Miss Unger. Rena, how about you?

Rena Clark 2:28
In the spirit of thinking of school, I was thinking about how different it is now than when I was school. So for trying to prepare students for their future, not my past, I didn’t have all the resources. I didn’t have the media videos, the YouTubes, the TikToks, the feeds that have the algorithm feeding me info. So I really think that focus on digital citizenship and media literacy, and what I’ve noticed is as educators, we need to stop expecting that students are learning this somewhere else. So many teachers are like, they’re learning digital citizenship somewhere else. And I’m like, where is this somewhere else you’re referring to? They’re like, in the library, there’s a class. No, there’s not. So, it needs to be embedded in every single subject, every single content. And I also think a lot of the adults need to learn some digital citizenship and media literacy. I know I’m constantly educating myself and working with other adults. So if I’m struggling, we got to work with our students as well, maybe learn together so we can really navigate the digital world and really learning more about how they’re recognizing manipulated media and really verifying resources and sources, because I think it’s getting harder. I’m excited to hear what our expert has to say today, because I think it’s difficult.

Paul Beckermann 3:50
It’s difficult and important. I totally agree. It’s kind of become one of those essential skills that never used to be in the curriculum, but it really needs to be now. With that, we would like to welcome our guest today, Dr Federica Forniciari, a professor in the Strategic Communication programs at National University. Welcome!

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 4:11
Thank you for having me. I’m glad to be here.

Paul Beckermann 4:15
Glad you’re here too. You want to take a minute just and tell us a little bit about yourself and perhaps a little bit about how you became interested in media literacy?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 4:24
Absolutely. Now I am a professor at National University, and I’m the academic program director for the masters in Strat Com, but my passion for media literacy began way before that. I grew up in Italy, and even back then, I was struck by how much influence the media had over public opinion. I remember watching talk shows where female politicians were often judged more for their looks than their ideas, even more so there than here. This was probably the turning point for me. Maybe I didn’t realize how powerful media can be in shaping perceptions and in reinforcing stereotypes if they go in that direction. So that early experience fueled by passion for understanding media representation, in understanding the importance of media literacy and understanding the impact that media can have on society. And as I moved through my academic career during my master’s first and then my PhD and now as a professor, my thought was expanded to include not just media representation of gender representation, but also privacy, media bias, and more recently, the role of artificial intelligence in shaping the information that we see and that we consume. So what better time? I’ve always been interested in how media and technology affects society or direct society, and I always like to explore ways to ensure that, or at least to try to steer people in using these tools ethically. So my research and my teaching have revolved around helping students to understand these issues so that they can become, hopefully, more informed consumers and creators of media, more informed parents or educators themselves. Just recently, with a colleague, we submitted a grant proposal—fingers crossed—for a project that we titled “Reality Radar,” and if we receive the grant hopefully, we’re planning to use it to create a primer to help students evaluate the information that they receive, especially now that misinformation, disinformation, AI-generated content, deepfakes are becoming more and more common. We want to make sure that students have the skills to tell what’s real and what’s misleading. So, in my work, I guess, both in the classroom and through projects like Reality Radar, I try to help students and other people navigate through today’s media landscape a little more responsibly, because media is always changing, and it’s important that we learn how to think critically about the content that we consume, but also the content that we create, because we are also sharing messages and sharing news and sharing information.

Winston Benjamin 7:42
I appreciate that. One of the things that I think as as a lay, because you’re the expert in this room, as a lay, I think it’s important that I don’t know what the definition of things are, because I have my own personal, “Oh, I think this is what it is.” But could you define media literacy so that we have a clear understanding of what it is, and then can you explain why it’s important? And then I might have a follow up question based on your answer. If you don’t mind, how do you define media literacy and why is it important?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 8:15
Yeah, absolutely. I love definitions, and not just because I am a teacher, but because without defining things, or concepts or ideas, we lose some of the nuances that they have. So I appreciate this question. Media literacy we can define it as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, process, and create media content with a critical and responsible mindset. It’s not just about consuming content passively but about understanding the full context of what we engage with. Who is producing the content, why it’s been shared, what the potential biases or impact of that content might be? So, in essence, if we talk about media literacy, we can see that it’s a way to equip individuals to navigate the complexity of media landscapes, from traditional news outlets to social media platforms with an informed and critical perspective. It’s a skill set that’s essential for anyone who wants to be engaged in today’s information ecosystem. I believe it’s a skill that many higher ed institutions have started recognizing the importance of media literacy because of the incredible evolution of technology these days.

Rena Clark 9:59
It’s really shifted. So I’m curious, because, as I said earlier, I’m sure there’s entire classes on this. So we’ll kind of do a short message. But how can we as consumers of all this different media really figure out what is true, what’s misleading, what’s false messaging? What are some kind of basic good tips or sources for us to go to to understand this?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 10:28
Absolutely, I hope you have a minute. But, absolutely. I could talk for a while on this. But first, to discern truth from misleading or false messaging, we need to develop a critical approach to media consumption. So, the first step could be to evaluate the source of the information that we are consuming. So I tell my students, ask yourself is this a credible source? What’s the track record of this platform or this author? If you have the author’s name, it’s important to check the author’s credentials, their website’s reputation, or any potential biases or affiliations that could influence the content. Next, I tell students to always cross reference the information with multiple, reputable sources with the time that they have, obviously. If a claim is only being reported in one outlet and maybe not one that’s known for strong journalistic standards, there you go. It’s worth being skeptical. There are fact-checking websites like factcheck.org and those can be useful tools for verifying trending topics and events. Another component that we need to be aware of is when we consume media, we should pay particular attention to emotional manipulation. If a piece of content stirs up a strong emotional reaction, whether it’s anger or fear or excitement, take a moment to question if the message is trying to provoke that reaction to distract from the facts, perhaps. So, looking closely at language choices, sensational headlines, clickbait, exaggerated visual. These are often more possibly used in manipulating content.

One thing that I always want to emphasize, though, with my students, is I said checking the source and checking the authors, but we need to recognize that we need to be just as skeptical of the sources that we trust and the information that we agree with, because these can be most dangerous because they slip past our critical filters. Right when we naturally align with a viewpoint, or we naturally trust a particular outlet, we are more likely to accept that information without questioning it. Right? That’s where confirmation bias comes in. We tend to believe content that reinforces our existing beliefs, even if it’s misleading. To go back to your question, ultimately, to truly identify what’s true and what’s not, we have to apply the same scrutiny to familiar sources as we do to unfamiliar ones, right? So if it’s a trustworthy source, it’s more likely that the information will be trustworthy, but we still need to ask ourselves, is it still being reported accurately? Is there another perspective that this piece doesn’t consider. So, a healthy level of skepticism, even when it comes to trusted sources, is important, I think, to develop a well-rounded, accurate understanding of the world. In today’s media landscape, which is full of echo chambers, it’s often the unchecked assumptions that lead us into misinformation or disinformation traps. So we need to check that, as well.

Paul Beckermann 14:39
And now, to make things even more complicated, we have deepfakes in the play. So let’s talk a little bit about deepfakes. For our listeners who don’t know what they are, what are they? What is their impact, and what should be we be thinking about as far as identifying those?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 14:59
Deepfakes. They’re also known as synthetic media. They are highly realistic, digitally manipulated content. So it can be videos, images, or audio that has been created using artificial intelligence and deep learning. So long story short, this content can convincingly alter someone’s likeness or voice, making it appear as though someone is saying or doing things that they never actually did or said. Obviously, for positive thinkers, deepfakes can have their creative uses in entertainment, but they become very dangerous when they’re used to spread misinformation or disinformation, defame individuals, manipulate public opinion, right? Obviously, for media consumers, the potential impact of deepfake is significant. If you think back, a recent example during the New Hampshire primaries in in January, I believe this year, they used a fake robocall to mimic President Biden’s voice, falsely telling users to save their vote for November, and misleadingly suggesting that voting the primary would support Republicans. So that was an example of how deepfakes can be used to undermine public trust. Another example around the same time, Ukrainian president Zelensky appeared online and called the Ukrainian soldiers for surrender during the Russian invasion. Obviously, that could have had important consequences on the nation’s morale, but that was a deepfake. So you see that deepfakes become more and more sophisticated. They’re widespread. The technology is available for anyone to use without big investment and without the need to big skills to know how to figure out how to create someone’s voice, to reproduce someone’s voice. So, the potential that they have to erode trust in media and to fuel misinformation and disinformation is becoming stunning.

Paul Beckermann 17:38
So how do we recognize one when we see one? How would an average person out there—are there any things that you might notice that’s off, somehow?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 17:51
Identifying deepfakes as technologies become more sophisticated, it can be more challenging, but there are clues that we can use to help in lower-quality deepfakes. We can look for unnatural facial movements or awkward blinking patterns, mismatched lighting, audio-visual synchronization can be seen, as well. That can be an issue, like the lips not matching the speech, or the speech that sounds robotic. So, one way to spot it is doing that. Also, we can cross-reference content, see other trusted sources. Are they reporting the same video or audio or can we use those to verify authenticity? There are tools that we can use, drop in a video to see whether it’s been produced with deepfakes. But it’s problematic because, as you know, deepfakes technologies evolve, they try to create better outcome that is not easy to spot. So we can use these tools, right? In the short term, we can figure out how to detect deepfakes and say this is true or this is not. But we also need to keep in mind here that there is something that is even way more concerning. When disinformation, deepfakes, misinformation, become almost the norm, in the long run, we risk eroding public trust, not only in the media, but in our institutions, as well. So, as the technologies advance, they have an incredible potential to deceive and they don’t threaten us with that deception, that specific deception, but they are, in a way, undermining the very foundation of our institutions, our democratic society. I think that’s also what we need to pay attention to. That by distracting us, talking about whether something is fake and how sensational that may be, we shift our attention away from what we should be thinking about, which is the truth, right?

Winston Benjamin 20:39
I’m fully following your context. The question of how people are getting access to information. But the thing is, now that people are on their phone, they’re getting their information through social media. I scroll, I doom scroll, I’m emotional scrolling in the middle of the night. I’m like, I can’t sleep. I’m scrolling. How has that impacted media news, and how has that impacted the availability, or the access to fake news, deepfakes, all of this other misinformation, as you were discussing?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 21:23
That is another great question. On one hand, social media, as you said, gives us immediate access to the scrolling, so we have a huge variety of news sources that we can stay informed, quote, unquote, because we never know how informed or misinformed or disinformed we are, right? But we can access information in real time, and we can engage with global events as they unfold. So the accessibility and the speed at which information spreads have certainly helped amplify voices and bring attention to stories that might otherwise be overlooked by traditional media outlets. We may think that social media have democratized spreading information, which they don’t necessarily have. The shift to social media as a new source presents, obviously, significant challenges. We’ve been talking about spreading this information and disinformation. The algorithm in social media, that one that creates our timeline, gives us the ability to scroll down. These algorithms are designed to prioritize content that generates high engagement, which often means sensational or emotionally charged, or false information can be more likely to rise at the top. We saw this in instances during the conspiracy theories during COVID-19, which were always at the top of our timelines. False election claims in recent political cycles. We don’t need to go there. But the lack of rigorous editorial standards on many platforms means that unverified or misleading content can be easily shared and amplified. So this is definitely a huge concern when it comes to social media. Another concern that we need to talk about is the creation of echo chambers. Users are exposed, typically, to viewpoints they already agree with, and that they are less likely to question, as we were saying earlier, because algorithms that prioritize content based on our past behavior will end up reinforcing our beliefs, and this can cause bias. It can contribute to polarization, and it can make it harder for people to be exposed to different perspectives. There is a fragmentation of information that surfaces there, and that obviously undermines constructive dialogue and deepens societal division, which we definitely don’t need these days. In the long term, the move towards social media as a primary news source obviously underscores, again, the need for stronger media literacy. As we increasingly get our news from social platforms, we need to be able to critically evaluate sources, to critically evaluate content, to fact check claims, to understand the possible biases that many have. It’s more important now than ever.

Rena Clark 25:06
It’s so important. So we’ve talked a lot about being a conscientious consumer of media, but I’m curious. What are the important messages we should send to our students who are creating content, creating media of their own, when they’re producing media and putting it out there? So kind of that flip side. What are the messages you’d like to share around that topic?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 25:33
Yeah, absolutely. When students transition from being media consumers to content creators, one of the important messages that we can send there is the responsibility that comes with producing media. It’s crucial that they understand that the content they create has the power to shape perception, to influence behavior, to impact the public discourse. And this is true not just for high-tech content creators. It’s also true for people who share news on social media in a way, or contribute to their friend’s timeline by sharing information. There are different levels. We shouldn’t always just think about content creators as someone who works for a high tech company. So, ethical considerations are key. Accuracy, the need for transparency, are key factors there. Students need to be aware that their work can contribute to building trust in media or to misinformation and disinformation. In a way, we should emphasize, again, the importance of fact-checking, acknowledging sources, considering diverse perspectives in content creation. And I believe that, as media literacy evolves and technology keeps evolving, generative AI becomes predominant. It already has. We will keep seeing the rise of new challenges—deepfakes, AI-generated content, algorithmic biases. Students need to understand not just how to create content but also how to navigate and critically evaluate emerging technologies that can manipulate media. So, when we think about higher ed institutions, undergraduate and graduate programs need to prepare students by using hands-on learning with new media tools, while also fostering the understanding of media ethics, data privacy, digital literacy. I think it’s really important that programs start or keep integrating cross-disciplinary studies, bringing together, especially, communication, technology, ethics, courses on how to use artificial intelligence, courses on data privacy, digital security, paired with traditional media production skills would help students prepare to create content that is not only engaging but also responsible, mindful, and aware of the societal impacts that it can create. Ultimately, in a world that’s flooded with information, media literacy is so important to protecting our democratic societies and ensuring that we have an informed public discourse, so equipping students with critical thinking skills, with solid ethical principles, we can try to uphold the integrity of our digital landscape, or the integrity that’s left and contribute, hopefully, to a more responsible and more engaged society.

Paul Beckermann 29:22
You’ve given us a lot of things to think about and how to do that, some some skills, some approaches. So that really is a good transition into our toolkit.

Transition Music 29:34
Check it out. Check it out. Check it out. Check it out. What’s in the toolkit? What is in the toolkit? So, what’s in the toolkit? Check it out.

Paul Beckermann 29:44
All right, so in our toolkit, maybe we’ve got a few more things that we can add here. Rena, do you have anything that you’d like to drop in the toolkit?

Rena Clark 29:53
My mind is still swimming through all of that information, but I find Common Sense Media K–12 do have some bite-sized chunks. If you’re a classroom teacher, they have really good resources if you’re just trying to find some lessons in all those different areas that we talked about. And they have some really great ones, even like 20-minute lessons. And I find even reading through those as an adult to be helpful. So they have some great resources for you.

Paul Beckermann 30:24
Winston, what do you think? Toolkit?

Winston Benjamin 30:27
This is such a big landscape, the whole idea of media landscape, so I think we were trying to figure out that each different landscape requires different critical skills. If you’re looking at media video, like AI-created video versus just looking at texts, those are two very different skill sets. So I think trying to figure out which one you’re trying to deal with, which landscape you’re trying to deal with, and then figuring out the skills necessary is a good way to start with your toolkit.

Paul Beckermann 30:57
For sure, I’m going to point our listeners back to Episode 304, of Unpacking Education. If you want to go back, that was this summer. We had Brittany Smith from the News Literacy Project on, and she shared a lot of great free resources that are available on the newslit.org website. So I’d recommend that to our educators that are interested in some actionable materials and strategies that you can bring right into your classroom. Go check that out and go check out the News Literacy Project, as well. All right, Fede, what do you what do you think? Do you have anything additional you’d like to drop in, like a favorite strategy, or a website, or a tool or something?

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 31:36
Factcheck.org is a great website for checking information. Besides that, I want to encourage everyone to being curious and skeptical, but without losing faith in our institutions and in our media, and keep looking for the truth without spending too much time wondering about what’s not true. Keep a curious mind. I think it’s always important to keep exploring, to keep fact checking, to keep proving information. But also, depending on the needs that we look at, depending on our own field, we will probably have different websites that will will come in handy. Podcasts are great sources of information. There are so many. Media literacy is becoming such a key component of the conversation these days that there’s a lot of content out there.

Winston Benjamin 32:43
And now it’s time for that…

Transition Music 32:46
It’s time for that one thing. One thing. One thing. Time for that one thing. It’s that one thing.

Winston Benjamin 33:00
So I’m gonna ask us to share one thing. This is a very big topic, a lot of information. I’m going to ask everybody what’s one thing that’s still going on in your mind, that you’re still questioning? Paul, what’s one thing that you’re still thinking about?

Paul Beckermann 33:14
One thing that’s kind of hitting me from this conversation is that I think we’re quick to look at other people and point our fingers and say, “Hey, you’re being manipulated.” But we need to really look inside of ourselves and ask ourselves, “Am I being manipulated? Am I a victim of confirmation bias? Am I living in an echo chamber at just believing the things that I want to believe because it’s easy and it’s pleasant?” I think we need to take a look inside.

Winston Benjamin 33:44
I like that. Rena?

Rena Clark 33:45
I just think about this, even from a historical perspective. I read these books like Boys in the Boat, and you’re thinking about all the propaganda that was happening during that time period. If you’re not familiar, it was during the Olympics, right before World War Two. It’s interesting because it’s kind of the same thing, just modernized. And so I think it’s back to what Fede was saying, like be skeptical, be curious, and especially about things that are confirming things that I already believe sometimes. I like that idea of it’s easy to be skeptical about something that I don’t agree with. It’s a good idea to remember to check things that I like, that sounds good or right because of my own beliefs. So be skeptical. Be curious.

Winston Benjamin 34:35
Absolutely. That sounds like when I talk to my mom and what she watches MSNBC. I’m like, yo, Ma, be skeptical, be curious, just a little bit. Calm down a little bit. But that makes me think of emotional reaction. As you said, Fedi, earlier, is that positive or negative? What is my reaction? Did they really want me to be in this position right now, and does that impact how I interpret the information? I think that’s an important part. Fede, I’m gonna come at you with one more, one thing. What’s something that you’re still thinking about? Like, hey, here’s a little nugget.

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 35:13
I think about the evolution of technology, and I’ve been thinking about that for as long as I can remember at this point. Every time that there’s a new technology, we point at that and say, okay, that’s it. With this piece, our society is going tochange. We’re never going to be the same. But this has been a recurring thing that’s always happened. If we think back, now it’s generative AI, so we all need media literacy. Back when the internet was introduced, everything was reshifted. If I think about my dissertation work, I was looking at how the discussion around privacy has evolved in the last century. The frame that privacy was dead started emerging with the telegraph. So when new technologies come about, it’s important that we keep in consideration the fact that, again, there is this emotional reaction, right? It makes it sensational, but we’ve had those reactions for centuries, so we always have the power to say these are tools. They are not inherently good or bad. We need to learn how to use them properly, ethically, for the good. But if we look back, this has happened over and over and over again, and so it’s up to us now to figure out the best way to deal with artificial intelligence and deepfakes, etc, etc., knowing that society has done it in the past over and over again,

Paul Beckermann 37:00
That’s a good reminder. Because I think we do think, oh no, it’s doomsday kind of because there’s this new thing on the doorstep, but it is kind of a recurring theme, and it’s helpful to keep that in mind. And it’s also helpful in this election season now, to be thinking about media literacy. Regardless of your political affiliation, think about the information that you’re receiving. Have that healthy dose of skepticism. Fact-check some things. I think a lot of the tips that you shared today will be helpful for our consumers of media during this season and, really, all times. So thanks for being here, Fede really appreciate your input.

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 37:39
Thanks for having me. I love speaking about, talking about this stuff. That’s my jam.

Paul Beckermann 37:46
All right. All right.

Dr. Federica Fornaciari 37:48
Thank you.

Rena Clark 37:50
Thanks for listening to Unpacking Education.

Winston Benjamin 37:53
We invite you to visit us at AvidOpenAccess.org, where you can discover resources to support student agency, equity, and academic tenacity to create a classroom for future-ready learners.

Paul Beckermann 38:08
We’ll be back here next Wednesday for a fresh episode of Unpacking Education.

Rena Clark 38:12
And remember, go forth and be awesome.

Winston Benjamin 38:16
Thank you for all you do.

Paul Beckermann 38:17
You make a difference.