Cynical or Critical Media Consumers? Exploring the Misinformation Literacy Needs of South African Youth

By Dani Madrid-Morales and Herman Wasserman

Media and information literacy (MIL) has long been part of academic curricula in many parts of the world, including South Africa. This study, using focus group discussions at eight South African universities and six interviews with educators explored the impact of a new misinformation literacy curriculum developed by Africa Check, a fact-checking organisation. The findings revealed that while some students become more critical media consumers after engaging with the material, others exhibited a high degree of cynicism and became “news avoiders”. The research highlighted the importance of developing curricula that can empower critical media consumption while addressing the risk of cynicism. You can read the whole paper, published in African Journalism Studies, on the Taylor & Francis website.