Keynote address at the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND TRAINNING ON DIGITAL AND MEDIA EDUCATION PRELIMINARY PROGRAM Cluj-Napoca, Romania, October 25-28, 2023

1. Media Education
in the Era of Algorithmic Personalization
Facing Polarization, Hate Speech, and
Propaganda
Renee Hobbs
University of Rhode Island USA
Media Education Lab
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs

3. Photo: Fatima Shbair/AP

4. VIOLENT EXTREMISM

5. VIOLENT EXTREMISM

6. Some Challenges for Media Education Today
DIGITAL DEPENDENCE
POLARIZED POLITICAL CLIMATE
PROPAGANDA & DISINFORMATION
INCREASED FEAR & HATE
AUTOCRATIC POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
NEWS AVOIDANCE
POWER OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS
DECLINE OF TRUST IN
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

7. Potential Solutions
 Invest in quality journalism
 Change the social norms among political leaders
 Strengthen civic institutions
 Regulate election campaign communication
 Punish hate speech & other harmful forms of expression
 Regulate digital platforms to increase accountability
 Build citizens’ resilience and competencies

8. PREVIEW OF KEY IDEAS
Media & Technology Play a Significant Role
in Amplifying Fear and Hate
Media Literacy Education Involves Structured
Practice in Speaking, Listening, & Creating Media
Media Literacy Education Can Help to Depolarize
Society through Courageous Conversations

9. Terrorism is intended to
provoke collective fear and
uncertainty.

10. In 2021, 18% of
Americans agreed:
“True American
patriots may have
to resort to
violence in order to
save our country.”
PRRI 2021 American Values Survey
Public Religion Research Institute

13. 4
Political Polarization
Affective Polarization
Langford, K. (2023). Unpacking Polarization. Pell Center for International Relations. Salve Regina University.

14. 4
Republicans believe that 32% of
Democrats are part of the LGBTQ+
community
Democrats believe that 38% of
Republicans make over $250,000 year
2% 6%
Highly Distorted & False Perceptions of Others Can Be Dangerous
Affective Polarization
Langford, K. (2023). Unpacking Polarization. Pell Center for International Relations. Salve Regina University.
IN ACTUALITY:

15. Fear on the Rise
An 18-year old boy kills 19 children and 2 teachers in an elementary school in Texas

16. 189
as
of
August
2023

18. THE GOOD NEWS

19. THE BAD NEWS

20. Primary Recommendations:
1. Reduce exposure to media violence
2. Change the impact of violent images that are seen
3. Locate and explore alternatives to media violence
4. Uncover and challenge the cultural, economic and
political supports for media violence
5. Break the cycle of blame and promote informed and
rational public debate
-- Sr. Elizabeth Thoman, Founder and Director, Center for
Media Literacy, Los Angeles (1977)
Media Literacy
as Violence Prevention

21. U.S. Media Literacy History

22. Analyzing and Evaluating Media
Evaluating information sources requires skills and critical thinking.
Separating fact from opinion, evaluating text and image for bias,
deconstructing a text to evaluate message quality and credibility are
important for people of all ages.
Part of Civic & Peace Education
Media literacy instruction is an aspect of civic and peace education
that helps develop media awareness that enables people use media
to combat misperceptions, prejudices, and hate speech while
demonstrating respect for freedom of expression.
Empowered Citizens
Media literacy also provides people with the skills to create their
own content, using information and communication technologies to
advance human rights, tolerance and a culture of peace.
Taing, Q. (2017). Preventing Violent Extremism through Education: A Guide
for Policymakers. Paris: UNESCO.
Media Literacy
as Violence Prevention

24. Media Literacy Education
Protects & Empowers

25. • Media Literacy
• Information Literacy
• Digital Citizenship
Education Policy for
Media Literacy Education

27. Illinois (2023) – 13 million residents
Beginning with the 2022-23
school year, every public
high school shall include in
its curriculum a unit of
instruction on media literacy,
including instruction on how
to access information,
analyze and evaluate
media messages, create
media, reflect on media
consumption, as well as the
social responsibility of
engaging with media of all
forms.

28. New Jersey (2023) – 9 million residents
The new state law requires public school
educators to teach the research process
and how information is created and
produced; critical thinking and using
information resources; research methods,
including the difference between primary
and secondary sources; the difference
between facts, points of view and
opinions; accessing peer-reviewed print
and digital library resources; the
economic, legal and social issues
surrounding the use of information; and
the ethical production of information.

29. CLOSE READING
DISCUSSION CREATE TO LEARN
DEBATE
Media Literacy Pedagogies

30. CLOSE READING
Students work in small groups to examine a media text and
demonstrate their comprehension of it by explaining key
ideas in their own words. They identify information about
the author & purpose and analyze how language, image
and other techniques are used to attract attention, arouse
emotion, and convey values.
Close reading helps learners recognize values,
ideology, and point of view
Parkhouse, H. (2018) Pedagogies of naming, questioning, and demystification: A study of two critical U.S. history Classrooms.
Theory & Research in Social Education, 46:2, 277-317, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2017.1389327.

31. DISCUSSION & DEBATE
Students work in small groups to access examples of
contemporary global propaganda on a topic or issue of
interest to them. They gather information about the
activist/organization who created it to better understand
their strategic communication choices. Then they debate
the potential benefits and/or harms of the messages they
selected.
Discussion and debate builds intellectual curiosity
and helps learners see value in accessing multiple
and competing points of view
Parkhouse, H. (2018) Pedagogies of naming, questioning, and demystification: A study of two critical U.S. history Classrooms.
Theory & Research in Social Education, 46:2, 277-317, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2017.1389327.

32. CREATE TO LEARN
Small groups of students learn about an issue and then
develop a media campaign to promote a particular policy or
action aimed to influence a target audience, working in teams
to identify desired attitude or behavior change. They create a
slogan, logo, and other campaign materials including video,
meme, infographic or podcast, circulating their own
messages using their social network.
Create to learn activities help learners visualize
themselves as change agents
Henry, A. (2019). Online media creation and L2 motivation: A socially situated perspective. Tesol Quarterly, 53(2), 372-404.

33. TURN & TALK
How Often Do Students…
Get Structured
Practice in
Speaking, Listening,
& Creating Media?

35. Media Literacy Implementation Index
Results from the State of Rhode Island
Hobbs, R., Moen, M., Tang, R., & Steager, P. (2022). Measuring the implementation of media literacy instructional practices in schools: community stakeholder
perspectives. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-16.
ELEMENTARY GRADES K - 5
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6 - 8
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6 - 8
HIGH SCHOOL GRADES 9 - 12

36. What are the Media & Digital Literacy Competencies
Needed Today & in the Future?

37. In an Attention Economy
Fueled by Hate

38. New Approaches to Media
Literacy Education
for Violence
Prevention are
Needed

40. How do we decide who to trust?
How are digital technologies influencing people's
understanding of free speech, hate speech, and
censorship?
Who is targeted to receive harmful propaganda and
how does it affect them?
What is media literacy and how can it help people respond to
disinformation and hoaxes?
What do people need to know about social media economics
and the profit motives that underpin conflict?
Why do stories, characters, and conflict change minds?

43. 01
ECHO CHAMBERS

44. ALGORITHMIC PERSONALIZATION

45. DEMAGOGUERY

46. CANCEL CULTURE
Credit: John Paul Caponigro

47. CONFLICT ENTREPRENEURS

48. CONSPIRACY CULTURE

49. GLOBAL SPENDING ON
GENERATIVE AI
IN 2023
$11 BILLION
Generative AI

50. GLOBAL SPENDING ON
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
In 2022
$567 BILLION
Google, Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba
and ByteDance received 46% of global
ad spending
Sponsored Content
Influencers
Geo Location Targeting
Dark Patterns
Nudging
Personalized Advertising
Product Placement

51. Courageous Conversations
Professional Development
for Teachers
Youth Media Contest

52. A whole-of-society approach to
violence prevention

53. "Wow! This is a politically
diverse group. Lots of
different…views on the
world represented here.”
"I really enjoyed the
perspective of others and
the respectful language
used by all people even
when opinions differed.”
"While we can learn from
media, we often read into
it based on our
preconceptions."

54. APPLICATION OF LEARNING
Over the past two weeks, did you find yourself
applying what you learned in some way?
75% yes
80% yes
51% yes

55. APPLICATION OF LEARNING
Over the past two weeks, did you find yourself
applying what you learned in some way?
75% yes
80% yes
71% yes
30%
16%

56. APPLICATION OF LEARNING
Over the past two weeks, did you find yourself
applying what you learned in some way?
75% yes
80% yes
71% yes
30%
16%

57. https://courageousri.com

58. When people feel heard, they can listen

59. Find Common Ground
Build Media Literacy Skills for a Lifetime
Stay Curious, Not Furious
www.courageousri.com
www.courageousRI.com

60. REVIEW OF KEY IDEAS
Media & Technology Play a Significant Role
in Amplifying Fear and Hate
Media Literacy Education Involves Structured
Practice in Speaking, Listening & Creating Media
Media Literacy Education Can Help to Depolarize
Society through Courageous Conversations

61. Thank You!
Renee Hobbs
University of Rhode Island USA
Media Education Lab
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs