This document summarizes Renee Hobbs' work on media literacy education. It discusses the rise of digital propaganda and the need to advance media literacy in schools. Key points include:
1. Media literacy education has its roots in propaganda education and can help people recognize different types of "fake news" like disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes.
2. Schools need support like curriculum standards, teacher training, and resources to effectively teach media literacy and help students critically analyze stories in entertainment and news media.
3. Engaging in global, multi-perspective dialogue through activities like social media encounters can increase understanding of propaganda worldwide and recognize hate speech.
4. Students can use social media and digital tools
1. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
University of Rhode Island USA
Twitter: @reneehobbs
Media Literacy
in an Age of Digital
Propaganda
2. Rising inequality is contributing to increased
political polarization, nationalism,
violent extremism and hate speech
5. What’s Needed to Advance
Media Literacy Education in
Elementary & Secondary Schools
1. Curriculum Standards and
Frameworks
2. Teacher Education and
Professional Development
3. Professional Networks for
Information Sharing
4. Curricular Resources, Instructional
Strategies and Materials
5. Support for Program Evaluation
and Research on Effectiveness
6. Supportive Implementation
Climate
12. Coordinated use of social media by American white-nationalist
groups on Twitter have increased by 600% since 2012
13. In just one month, ISIL released 1,150 propaganda events –
batches of related videos, articles, photos, essays – originating
from 35 different production units
14. 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
15. Selective exposure
Confirmation bias
Performative sharing
60% of people share
content without
reading/viewing it
Essentials of Human
Information Processing
16. New Forms of Authority
Attention economics are surpassing traditional forms of
authority and expertise
our attention — and
most of it free —
being found is
valuable."
Immediacy
Personalization
Interpretation
Findability
18. Build awareness & understanding of
many forms of digital media
Critically analyze how stories are
presented in entertainment & non-
fiction media
Engage in global &
multi-perspectival dialogue
Use the power of social media to
speak out on behalf of truth
Instructional Strategies
23. Six Types of “Fake News”
Disinformation
Propaganda
Hoax
Parody/Satire
Errors in Journalism
Partisanship
24. Six Types of “Fake News”
Disinformation
Propaganda
Hoax
Parody/Satire
Errors in Journalism
Partisanship
Informing and Engaging the Public
Controlling Knowledge, Attitudes & Values
Cultural Criticism or Creative Expression
26. What is Propaganda?
• Propaganda appears in a variety of forms
• Propaganda is strategic and intentional
• Propaganda aims to influence attitudes, opinions and
behaviors
• Propaganda can be beneficial or harmful
• Propaganda may use truth, half-truths or lies
• To be successful, propaganda taps into our deepest
values, fears, hopes and dreams
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.
27. Media Literacy Education has its
Roots in Propaganda Education
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.
28. Where is Propaganda Found?
Advertising
Journalism & Public Relations
Political Communication
Education
Entertainment
Activism
Religion
31. The Most Viral Video
of All Time
Jason Russell, director and producer of KONY 2012
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.
42. Critically Analyze How Stories are
Presented in Entertainment &
Non-Fiction Media
Suffragette (2015)
Dir: Sarah Gavron
HERO
VILLAIN
VICTIM
When emotional are activated, it can be difficult to analyze
media messages. Dialogue and discussion are vital tools
of inquiry.
44. Message: What is the nature of the
information and ideas being expressed?
Techniques: What symbols and rhetorical
strategies are used to attract attention and
activate emotional response? What makes
them effective?
Means of Communication & Format: How did
the message reach people and what form
does it take?
Environment: Where, when and how may
people have encountered the message?
Audience Receptivity: How may people think
and feel about the message and how free
they are to accept or reject it?
CONTEXT
57. MIDDLE SCHOOL INTERCULTURAL ENCOUNTER
Lessons Include:
Getting to Know You
Learning About Two Countries
Analyzing TV Shows that Feature High School
Discussing Current Events
Exchanging Student Videos about Daily Life
Tuzel, S. & Hobbs, R. (2017). The use of social media and popular culture to advance
cross-cultural understanding. Communicar 25(51), 63 – 72.
60. Information sharing
includes student-curated
images and links
As they discusssed American & Turkish popular culture,
students gained deeper awareness of structural inequalities
in global information flows
61. Use the Power of Social
Media to Speak out on
Behalf of Truth
Instagram Sharing
GrGRATITUDE
68. Build awareness & understanding of
many forms of digital media
Critically analyze how stories are
presented in entertainment & non-
fiction media
Engage in global &
multi-perspectival dialogue
Use the power of social media to
speak out on behalf of truth
How to Advance
Media Literacy Competencies
69. Heightened
awareness of
media use
Balances benefits &
risks by using using
media content in
socially responsible
ways
Critically analyzes
messages to
evaluate credibility
& quality
Creates media for self-expression,
communication & advocacy
Reflects on how
media influence
attitudes &
behaviors
Understands media
systems & the
political economy of
the media
Aware of how media
constructs
representations of
ideas, events & people
in ways that impact
democratic processes
Participates in a
collaborative digital
knowledge
community
Uses digital texts, tools
& technologies for
inquiry learning
Gains competence
and confidence with
digital technologies by
practicing & self-
learning
Literacy is Expanding
DIGITAL LITERACY MEDIA LITERACY
Aware of interpretation
processes at work in the sharing
of meaning
Aware of how digital
texts circulate as
culture
70. A democratic civilization will save itself only if it
makes the language of the image into a stimulus for
critical reflection, not an invitation to hypnosis.
-- Umberto Eco
71. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication & Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
LEARN MORE
Web: www.mediaeducationlab.com