Media Literacy Week - 2018
Making sense of the “news”: the ABC launches the inaugural national Media Literacy Week
The ABC has initiated a comprehensive program to equip people of all ages with the skills to sort truth from fiction in news and information.
Media Literacy Week, to run from 10-16 September, utilises the knowledge, reach and cross-platform skills of Australia’s most trusted media organisation to help the community navigate the modern media landscape. It addresses issues ranging from bias and misinformation to the importance of public interest journalism.
New research by the ABC and University of Tasmania shows one in four teachers feel unable to help students distinguish between “fake news” and trustworthy news.
ABC Head Education Annabel Astbury said: “The ABC’s Media Literacy Week is a comprehensive survival guide, ensuring all Australians can navigate news, opinion and information. In a world where ‘fake news’ and misinformation are rife, the ABC is best-placed to help Australians sort truth from fiction.”
The latest Roy Morgan MEDIA Net Trust Survey, released in June, found the ABC is by far the nation’s most trusted media organisation.
Headlining Media Literacy Week is the Navigating the News Conference (10-11 September), presented by the ABC and University of Tasmania, which will explore declining trust in journalism and the need for better media literacy.
ABC Education has created a suite of resources aligned with the curriculum to help students examine news and information, including a News Diet challenge, media literacy interactives and videos explaining concepts such as bias and sources.
The ABC News Media Literacy Week website features articles examining issues such as fact checking, “deepfakes” and the weaponisation of social media, along with video explainers, tips and quizzes to immunise people against dodgy information.
ABC Radio will feature interviews with key speakers from the Navigating the News Conference, including Dr Claire Wardle, a global expert on truth in the digital age.
Visit abc.net.au/medialiteracyweek and join the conversation: #medialiteracyAUS.
