Renee Hobbs talks with Italian journalists and scholars about how digital and media literacy can address the problem of "fake news"

1. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
University of Rhode Island USA
Twitter: @reneehobbs
How Digital Media Alter Concepts of
Authority and Expertise:
Understanding “Fake News”

2. www.mediaeducationlab.com

3. We are socialized to be
active or passive
consumers of media

4. Rhetoric
Print Literacy
Visual Literacy
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
Critical Literacy
Computer Literacy
News Literacy
Digital Literacy
Literacy in Historical Context

5. Literacy
is the
sharing of meaning
in symbolic form

6. ACCESS
the process of digital and media literacy

7. LOVE HATE
PRINT VISUAL SOUND DIGITAL
EMPOWERMENT – PROTECTION PARADIGM
People have a love-hate relationship with
media, technology and popular culture

8. Choice Overload
entertainment
information
persuasion

9. New Realities in a
Networked Global Society
 Cost to produce
content is low
 Massive
fragmentation of
production &
consumption
 Viral sharing means
popularity = profit
 Content is consumed
as unbundled
snippets on social
media

10.  Selective exposure
 Confirmation bias
 Reality maintenance
 Performative sharing
60% of people share
content without
reading/viewing it
Essentials of Human
Information Processing

11. New Forms of Authority & Expertise
Attention economics is surpassing traditional forms of authority and expertise
our attention — and
most of it free —
being found is
valuable."
 Immediacy
 Personalization
 Interpretation
 Findability

12. re

13. POSTED TO THE
Seattle Tribune
Sunday, Feb. 26
IDENTIFIED AS FAKE
Snopes
Thursday, March 2
Politfact
Friday, March 3
FLAGGED BY FACEBOOK
Saturday, March 4

14. re
Sample: A representative sample of
1,684 UK adults
Method. Participants were shown 6
news stories: 3 were true, 3 were
false
Findings:
• Only 4% accurately identified the stories
that were accurate and those which
were fake
• 49% thought at least one of the fake
stories was true
• Among those who consider Facebook a
primary source of news, 71% thought at
least one of the fake stories was true
SOURCE: Channel 4, UK. Fake News
Research, February 7, 2017.

15. re
Sample: A representative sample of
1,684 UK adults
Method. Participants were shown 6
news stories: 3 were true, 3 were
false
Findings:
• Only 4% accurately identified the stories
that were accurate and those which
were fake
• 49% thought at least one of the fake
stories was true
• Among those who consider Facebook a
primary source of news, 71% thought at
least one of the fake stories was true
SOURCE: Channel 4, UK. Fake News
Research, February 7, 2017.
Only 20% of American HS students questioned the photo’s source
Stanford History Education Group, 2016

16. Media Literacy: A Pedagogy of Inquiry

17. re
Sample: A representative sample of 1,501
US young adults ages 15 - 27
Method. Experimental design
Findings:
• Participants evaluated the accuracy of
misinformation, emotional & evidence-
based arguments
• Assessments of accuracy depend on the
participant’s political knowledge
• Participants who reported more
exposure to media literacy education
make a clear distinction between
evidence-based arguments and
misinformation even when arguments
are aligned with existing beliefs
Exposure to media literacy education improves judgments of accuracy
Kahne & Bowyer, AERJ, 2017

18. re
Respondents were asked about their school
experiences:
• How often have you discussed how to tell if the
information you find online is trustworthy?
• How often have you discussed the importance
of evaluating the evidence that backs up
people’s opinions?

19. Six Types of “Fake News”
Disinformation
Propaganda

20. Six Types of “Fake News”
Hoaxes
Parody/Satire

21. Six Types of “Fake News”
Errors in Journalism
Partisanship

22. Blurring Genres and Motives
Disinformation
Propaganda
Hoax
Parody/Satire
Errors in Journalism
Partisanship
Informing and Engaging the Public
Controlling Knowledge, Attitudes & Values
Cultural Criticism or Creative Expression

24. Can labeling and algorithms
address the problem of fake news?

25. WTO 5 News
960,000 Facebook shares by November 8, 2016
Who decides what “signals of quality” should be
used to label online news content?

26. Key Concepts of Media Literacy

27. Messages are Constructed
Representations

28. Messages are Constructed
Representations
Messages Use Different
Codes and Conventions

29. Messages are Constructed
Representations
People Interpret
Messages Differently
Messages Use Different
Codes and Conventions

30. Messages are Constructed
Representations
People Interpret
Messages Differently
Messages Use Different
Codes and Conventions
Messages Have
Economic &
Political Power

31. Messages are Constructed
Representations
Messages Influence
Attitudes and Behaviors
People Interpret
Messages Differently
Messages Use Different
Codes and Conventions
Messages Have
Economic &
Political Power

32. Algorithms are not neutral: because they are constructed
by people, they have an author, purpose, point of view &
bias
New forms of online news and information are evolving
with a range of different “signals of quality”
Because people create & interpret messages in light of
their lived experience, respect for diverse perspectives is
needed
Everyone needs to understand the economics of the
Internet, especially pay-per-click, sponsored content and
native advertising
People need to take time to reflect on how they are using
the media and how the media is using them

33. Consumers and creators are both responsible for advancing digital and media literacy

34. “The Role of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Instructional Strategies
in the Prevention of Violent Extremism,” United Nations, Febuary 9, 2017

36. Based on a major research project funded by
the European Commission
 Explores how discriminatory stereotypes are
built online with a particular focus on right-
wing populism
 Recognizes that young people are the
preferred target for promoting hate speech
 Examines how media literacy education can
help to deconstruct hate speech and
promote young people’s full participation in
media-saturated societies
Professor Maria Ranieri, University of Florence

37. Use of Media

38. “There have been no official and systematic policies
created by the Italian Ministry of Education, and
development in media education and its application
has only been provided by some scholars in the
universities and by teachers in the schools.
ICT and media literacy education are still not
included as a compulsory part of the curriculum…”

39. www.mediaeducationlab.com

41. www.mindovermedia.tv

44. Media organizations & educational leaders can
reduce political polarization and strengthen
global democracy by building people’s
digital and media literacy competencies

45. The highest result of education is tolerance.
~ Helen Keller

46. o Hobbs R. & Tuzel, S. (2017). The Use of Social Media and Popular Culture to Advance Cross Cultural
Understanding. Communicar.
o Media Education Lab (2016). Mind Over Media: Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda. [Interactive media.]
www.mindovermedia.tv
o Martens, H. & Hobbs, R. (2015). How media literacy supports civic engagement in a digital age. Atlantic
Journal of Communication 23(2), 120 – 137.
o Hobbs, R. & McGee, S. (2014). Teaching about propaganda: An examination of the historical roots of
media literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education 6(2), 56 – 67.
o Hobbs, R. (2013). Improvization and strategic risk taking in informal learning with digital media literacy.
Learning, Media and Technology, 38(2), 182-197.
o Hobbs, R. (2013). The blurring of art, journalism and advocacy: Confronting 21st century propaganda in a
world of online journalism. I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society 8(3), 625 – 638.
o Hobbs, R., Yoon, J., Al-Humaidan, R., Ebrahimi, A. & Cabral, N. (2011). Online digital media in elementary
school. Journal of Middle East Media 7(1), 1 – 23.
o Hobbs, R., Ebrahimi, A., Cabral, N., Yoon, J., & Al-Humaidan, R. (2011). Field-based teacher education in
elementary media literacy as a means to promote global understanding. Action for Teacher Education 33,
144 – 156.
o Hobbs, R. (2011). A snapshot of multinational media education in six European countries. Trans:
Un’istantanea multinazionale sulla ME in sei paesi europei. Media Education. Studi, ricerche, buone
pratiche [Italy] 1(1), 53 – 70.
o Hobbs, R., Cohn-Geltner, H. & Landis, J. (2011). Views on the news: Media literacy empowerment
competencies in the elementary grades. In C. Von Feilitzen, U. Carlsson & C. Bucht (Eds.). New questions,
new insights, new approaches. The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media.
NORDICOM. University of Gothenburg, Sweden (pp. 43 – 56).
o Hobbs, R. and RobbGrieco, M. (2010). Passive dupes, code breakers, or savvy users: Theorizing media
literacy education in English language arts. In D. Lapp and D. Fisher (Eds.), Handbook of research on
teaching the English language arts. Third edition. New York: Routledge (pp. 283 – 289).
www.mediaeducationlab.com

47. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication
and Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
WEB: www.mediaeducationlab.com