2025 Annual Bulletin Released
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Media Literacy

“Everyone should be Prepared, and no one should be excluded.”

Media Literacy Hub

Educating the public on media evaluation techniques to identify bias, evaluate source credibility, and critically assess news structures.

Bias & Fact Checking

Compare left/center/right reporting and reference verified, independent third-party evaluations.

  • Fact Checking Platforms: Utilize independent resources like Snopes, PolitiFact, and FactCheck.org.
  • AllSides: allsides.com
    • What it is: A media literacy and news aggregator that rates the bias of hundreds of outlets.
    • Best for: Exposing filter bubbles. It displays daily top stories from across the political spectrum (Left, Center, Right) side-by-side so you can see how different outlets frame the same facts.
  • Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC): mediabiasfactcheck.com
    • What it is: The most comprehensive independent database of media bias on the internet.
    • Best for: Checking a source's credibility. It ranks thousands of media sources on a spectrum of political bias, while also strictly rating their historical accuracy and factual reporting record.
  • Cross-referencing: Compare a single event across multiple regional outlets (e.g. Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, and local reporting) to spot variance.

Misinformation Studies

Analyze how false or misleading narratives are generated, packaged, and disseminated.

  • Deepfakes: Synthetic media where an individual's likeness or voice is replaced by AI generation. Spot inconsistencies in eye blinking, lighting, or audio sync.
  • Cheapfakes: Low-tech manipulations such as mislabeling dates, slicing videos out of context, or slowing down speeds to alter speech behavior.
  • Clickbait Mechanics: Deconstruct how sensationalist headlines trigger negative emotional responses (outrage, fear) to generate commercial clicks.
  • The Media Manipulation Casebook: mediamanipulation.org
    • What it is: A digital research platform created by Harvard's Technology and Social Change (TaSC) Project. Although the project concluded in 2023, the entire casebook remains accessible as a foundational archive.
    • What you will find: Highly detailed, step-by-step case studies that map out how specific media manipulation campaigns evolved. They cover the origin of campaigns, the platforms used, and the specific tactics employed (e.g., "viral sloganeering," offline gatherings, meme wars).
    • Examples: Case studies on the rise of the #SaveTheChildren conspiracy theory, the Milk Tea Alliance, and the networked incitement behind January 6th.
  • CITAP: Critical Disinformation Studies: citap.unc.edu
    • What it is: Produced by the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
    • What you will find: A historical and cultural approach to disinformation. Instead of just focusing on modern social media, this syllabus and case study collection examines how media, the state, and political establishments have strategically spread inaccurate information to maintain structural power over time.
    • Examples: Case studies exploring the "Welfare Queen" trope, crime and anti-Black disinformation, and media activism during the AIDS crisis.
  • The Disinformation Playbook (Union of Concerned Scientists): ucs.org
    • What it is: A focused collection of case studies exposing how corporations and industry groups have manipulated or suppressed science to avoid regulation or liability.
    • What you will find: A breakdown of specific corporate disinformation tactics, categorized into plays like "The Fake" (conducting counterfeit science) and "The Fix" (manipulating government officials).
    • Examples: Case studies detailing how the fossil fuel industry distorted science on benzene, how companies hid the risks of PFAS (forever chemicals), and how industry groups published fake science on asbestos.

Ethical Journalism

Understand the core principles and professional standards that govern high-quality reporting.

  • Truth & Accuracy: Verification of facts, clear distinction between rumors and confirmed events, and prompt correction of errors.
  • Independence & Impartiality: Avoiding conflicts of interest, corporate/governmental influence, and labeling sponsored or native content clearly.
  • Harm Minimization: Showing respect for victims, maintaining private boundaries for non-public entities, and avoiding sensationalism in tragedy.
  • Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): spj.org
    • Focus: The SPJ Code of Ethics is widely considered the baseline standard for American newsrooms.
    • Available Resources: Their site hosts the full code—centered on the pillars of seeking truth, minimizing harm, acting independently, and remaining accountable. They also provide an archive of real-world ethics case studies, position papers, and a hotline for reporters facing ethical dilemmas.
  • The Poynter Institute: poynter.org
    • Focus: A global leader in journalism education, fact-checking, and media ethics.
    • Available Resources: Poynter’s Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership provides extensive guidelines built around the core values of accuracy, fairness, independence, and transparency. They offer free articles, specialized online courses on recognizing bias, and resources for newsroom leaders.
  • Ethical Journalism Network (EJN): ethicaljournalismnetwork.org
    • Focus: An international coalition of media professionals aiming to strengthen the craft through cross-cultural ethical frameworks.
    • Available Resources: The EJN promotes five core principles for the profession: truth and accuracy, independence, fairness, humanity, and accountability. Their library includes downloadable reports, video resources, and practical guidelines for covering sensitive topics impartially.
  • Ethics and Journalism Initiative (New York University): ethicsandjournalism.org
    • Focus: A comprehensive academic and professional hub that studies and promotes newsroom integrity.
    • Available Resources: They maintain a massive "Ethics Codes Archive" that aggregates the official editorial guidelines of major newsrooms worldwide, including NPR, the BBC, and the Associated Press. They also publish how-to guides and research on navigating emerging issues like AI in the newsroom.
  • Reuters Handbook of Journalism: reuters.com
    • Focus: The internal rulebook for one of the world’s largest and most trusted news agencies, made fully public.
    • Available Resources: A detailed, practical manual on how to maintain strict neutrality in global reporting. It covers everything from how to verify sources to the exact language that should (and shouldn't) be used to avoid injecting opinion into objective reporting.
  • Online News Association (ONA) - Build Your Own Ethics Code: ethics.journalists.org
    • Focus: A digital-first approach to journalism ethics tailored for modern media.
    • Available Resources: Instead of a static list of rules, ONA provides an interactive toolkit that allows independent journalists, bloggers, and startup newsrooms to read through various ethical dilemmas (like handling user-generated content or anonymous sources) and construct their own customized, professional code of ethics.

Understanding Bias

Examine cognitive biases and algorithmic bubbles that impact media consumption behaviors.

  • Confirmation Bias: The human tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms prior personal beliefs.
  • Echo Chambers: Online environments where algorithms feed users content matching their preferences, shielding them from alternative views.
  • Hostile Media Effect: A cognitive phenomenon where partisans perceive neutral coverage as biased against their group.

Fact vs. Opinion

Learn to separate descriptive objective reporting from interpretive editorial columns.

  • Linguistic Triggers: Watch for subjective adjectives (e.g. "unbelievable", "disastrous", "perfect") and prescriptive verbs ("should", "must").
  • Objectivity Check: Strip away descriptive emotional adjectives from an article to see if a core fact-based argument remains.
  • Section Auditing: Ensure you check the page labeling (e.g., "Opinion", "Editorial", "Commentary", vs. "National News").

Verifying Sources

Evaluate the background and primary basis of claims made by publishers or accounts.

  • Lateral Reading: Instead of reading an unfamiliar website from top to bottom, open new tabs to research the organization's reputation and funding.
  • Trace to Source: Find the primary document (original study, raw footage, legislative text) behind a summary news article.
  • Author Auditing: Inspect the author's expertise, credentials, past publications, and potential commercial or ideological bias.

International Resource Libraries

Resource libraries dedicated to media literacy education globally.

  • UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (MIL): unesco.org
    • Focus: The global leader in setting standards and sharing resources for media and information literacy across borders.
    • Available Resources: Extensive curriculum frameworks (e-books/PDFs), global case studies on digital literacy interventions, policy diagrams, and comprehensive international scientific studies.
  • MediaSmarts: mediasmarts.ca
    • Focus: Canada’s renowned centre for digital and media literacy, whose research and tools are widely utilized globally.
    • Available Resources: Detailed statistics and scientific research on youth media consumption, alongside video trainings, lesson plan PDFs, and interactive educational diagrams.
  • Center for Media Literacy (CML): medialit.org
    • Focus: An educational organization pioneering media literacy frameworks and providing evidence-based resources both nationally and internationally.
    • Available Resources: Foundational frameworks and diagrams for media deconstruction, professional development video trainings, and an extensive reading room of research and e-books.

Domestic (U.S.) Resource Libraries

Domestic organizations driving media literacy policy and education.

  • The News Literacy Project (NLP): newslit.org
    • Focus: A nonpartisan education nonprofit focused on teaching students how to separate fact from fiction and understand the news ecosystem.
    • Available Resources: Deep statistical reports on teen media habits, highly interactive video trainings (via Checkology), and excellent diagrams/infographics on identifying AI-generated content and misinformation.
  • National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE): namle.org
    • Focus: The leading U.S. network of educators, researchers, and advocates dedicated to advancing media literacy.
    • Available Resources: Rich case studies, video trainings, policy and advocacy PDFs, and regular publications detailing national media literacy statistics.
  • Media Education Lab (University of Rhode Island): mediaeducationlab.com
    • Focus: An academic hub advancing research and community service in media literacy.
    • Available Resources: Peer-reviewed scientific studies, comprehensive curriculum e-books, webinar video trainings, and practical case studies designed for direct classroom implementation.
  • Media Literacy Now: medialiteracynow.org
    • Focus: The primary grassroots advocacy organization driving media literacy policy and legislation in U.S. schools.
    • Available Resources: National and state-level statistics on media literacy education requirements, legislative PDFs, and case studies on successful policy implementation.
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