Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

This article introduces an approach to creative media literacy for world issues (WIs) such as Covid-19. In so doing, the article integrates four positions on discourse and media as terrible facets of globalization in the context of critical discourse analysis (CDA). The objectivist position deals with WIs as neutral discourse shared among humanity and distributed through English as an international language and educational media. The ideologist position treats creative media literacy as relations of power between global and local identities in the form of competing discourses associated with WIs. The rhetorical position reveals the hidden strategies used in global media discourse and English as a global language. The social constructionist position provides three levels of analysis for creative media literacy among university students: textual analysis, discourse analysis, and critical discourse analysis. The article concludes with guidelines on how lecturers can implement this approach with English as a foreign language (EFL) students.

Political advertising on social media has become a powerful tool in shaping voter perceptions, influencing electoral outcomes, and driving political engagement. However,the growing use of social media platforms for political advertising raises concerns about transparency, the targeting of vulnerable populations, and the potential for misinformation. This article investigates the trends in political advertising on social media, examining the use of micro-targeting, the role of data analytics, and the ethical implications of these practices. Drawing on case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, the article analyzes the effectiveness of social mediapolitical ads in influencing voters and discusses the challenges of ensuring transparency and accountability in the digital age. It also evaluates current regulatory frameworks and proposes solutions to improve transparency and protect democratic processes in the context of digital political advertising

Mass media as news producers can be classified into two groups: incorporated and unincorporated mass media. Although both can produce news with the same topic according to actual conditions, the narratives built are not the same. In response to this, readers' criticality is needed to sort out objective and not tendentious information so that the information does not trigger social conflict in the community. This study aims to compare the characteristics of news discourse of the two mass media groups with a critical discourse analysis approach within the framework of media literacy. Data on legal mass media is based on data on the dewanpers.or.id page. The results show that there are obvious differences from the point of view of linguistic features between the news of digital mass media with legal status and those without legal status. This research is expected to be a policy reference for the government in fostering mass media and society.

This working paper examines the state of computational propaganda in Ukraine, focusing on two major dimensions, Ukraine’s response to the challenges of external information attacks and the use of computational propaganda in internal political communication. Based on interviews with Ukrainian media experts, academics, industry insiders and bot developers, the working paper explores the scale of the issue and identifies the most common tactics, instruments and approaches for the deployment of political bots online. The cases described illustrate the misconceptions about fake accounts, paid online commentators and automated scripts, as well as the threats of malicious online activities. First, we explain how bots operate in the internal political and media environment of the country and provide examples of typical campaigns. Second, we analyse the case of the MH17 tragedy as an illustrative example of Russia’s purposeful disinformation campaign against Ukraine, which has a distinctive social media component. Finally, responses to computational propaganda are scrutinized, including alleged governmental attacks on Ukrainian journalists, which reveal that civil society and grassroots movements have great potential to stand up to the perils of computational propaganda.

This case-study reports on a Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA)-based workshop on Media Literacy (ML) held at an Italian middle school in 2022. With a pretest post-test design, 44 participants were asked to complete a questionnaire at the beginning of a 2-hour workshop and then again at the end. The questionnaire was designed to (1) explore the role of multiple semiotic modes in shaping students’ interpretation of a 1-minute video shared on the web, and (2) examine variations in their understanding as a result of the MDA analysis. Results point to the potential of MDA in fostering and leveraging ML among young learners.

This systematic review examines the complex challenges to intercultural communication ethics posed by the proliferation of misinformation and digital propaganda. It synthesises current research on the spread and impact of these phenomena, highlighting their effects on intercultural relations and social cohesion. The review identifies gaps in existing literature, particularly regarding strategies for promoting constructive online dialogue and ethical frameworks for digital communication. Findings emphasise the importance of media and information literacy in empowering individuals to evaluate information and make informed decisions. The review also explores the ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in marketing and recommends educational interventions focused on multiculturalism and the dynamics of privilege. The conclusion calls for active engagement with ethical experts to safeguard social media users, enhance trust in research, and foster intercultural competence to combat misinformation and promote responsible online engagement.

The current research explores the CDA of the print media, with emphasis on the strategies regarding language manipulation through the analysis of the newspapers. This research hence documents and examines Pakistani and other global newspapers’ headlines, editorials, and news articles to understand how linguistic features, rhetorical appeals, and framing strategies af ect reader perceptions. Utilizing the three-dimensional CDA model developed by Fairclough, the study investigates the power relations that are concealed by the text and ideologies manifested in discourse practices. The study further shows that there is distorting evidence with coverage of events as well as their exaggeration or minimization depending on the political, economic, and cultural values set. This work advances knowledge regarding the part that media play in social construction and the consequences that language manipulation has on democracy. A few suggestions for building CR Media Literacy among readers are of ered to ensure a rational perception of print media

A modern society’s response to the hoax phenomena in the information age exposes challenges to confidence, information integrity, and significant public health consequences. This study intends to help increase literacy and community resistance to the spread of hoaxes, particularly emphasising the role of critical literacy and digital literacy. This study employed a thorough and systematic qualitative descriptive approach to investigate the hoax phenomenon. There are two primary stages to this method. First, literature analysis provides the foundation for comprehending the features and consequences of incorrect information. Second, a field approach was conducted using an online survey with ten questions. A survey of 108 respondents found that efforts to enhance media literacy, rigorous education, and empower individuals to become more informed consumers. The findings of this study reveal that several sorts of hoaxes are often encountered in the digital age, each with its unique set of features. One research focus is on political hoaxes, which are frequently used to influence public opinion or harm political opponents’ reputations by spreading false claims about policies or utterances that are taken out of context. The poll results reveal that people’s critical literacy must be strengthened, particularly in information verification and news interpretation.

The information explosion has increased accessibility and relevance problems. Misinformation and disinformation accentuate problems for scholarly users in differentiating between genuine and fake information. The negative impact of this factor is worsened when there is also a lack of information literacy. This research aims to identify information literacy models that can minimize or, preferably, overcome this problem. A comprehensive literature review of 175 scholarly articles and other relevant online sources was under-taken. The literature exploration meticulously employed strategically chosen key terms, delving exclusively into a curated selection of preeminent and trustworthy sources for a comprehensive and impactful review. The review systematically deliberated on integrating misinformation and disinformation issues into the information literacy framework, probing the prospect of substantially alleviating the challenges. This study aimed to understand whether current information literacy models can appropriately identify mis-information and disinformation. The information gleaned indicated that existing information literacy models could not correctly identify misinformation and disinformation. Accordingly, there is a need to improve strategies and methods for identifying misinformation and disinformation. The study proposed an information literacy model to identify misinformation and dis-information, benefiting library professionals, patrons, academicians, IT professionals involved in library services, library and information service policymakers, and authors.

The purpose of this paper is to present a qualitative investigation into whether online textual postings, produced by undergraduate students as part of an undergraduate module, can demonstrate their information literacy (IL) capabilities as a discursive competence and socially enacted practice. It also asks whether these online postings embody power relations between students, tutors and librarians.

Against the backdrop of advances in information and communication technologies and social media resources, there is a growing need for the active development of critical thinking and media literacy skills. The intensification of manipulation and disinformation in the media space necessitates the search for new means of developing a culture of communication and ethical competencies in society. The purpose of this article is to analyze contemporary strategies for the cultural development of society in the context of ethical and philosophical aspects, media literacy, and critical thinking. The methodology involved the use of synthetic-analytical approaches, as well as methods of induction and deduction. The research focuses on practical developments of adaptation strategies for integrating the Ukrainian media education space into the European environment with the aim of raising the level of critical thinking in society, its literacy in identifying manipulation, and developing the philosophical and ethical foundations of cultural development. The article substantiates the importance of effective media education in the context of developing the competencies necessary for effective social progress towards a culture of communication and strengthening philosophical concepts of cultural and ethical development for social progress.

This paper offers an inquiry that involves media education, literacy, media production, and analysis as modes of teaching and inquiry related to students labeled "at-risk." Included are traditional, methodological, interpretive, social, and media issues that are inherent in literacy practices in classroom settings. At the same time, it outlines, practical, and tried non-traditional approaches that consider literary practices with an expanded notion of literacy, both a conceptual and practical bearing on areas such as English Language Arts Methods and Media Education curriculum, multi-media, video production, media text analysis and collaborative learning. Finally this paper argues that the struggle for literacy is one that can often be resolved in unexpected ways. Some of the key questions of this paper are: 1. To what extent are the observations I made about the responses of the ACE students to my Media Education Curriculum idiosyncratic? 2. To what extent are the ACE students’ abilities in dealing with traditional forms of texts affected by their experiences with Media Education Curriculum? 3. Perhaps most important, are the curricular and pedagogical questions which arise from my inquiry. One question is, "Are we willing to rethink who, how, and what we are teaching in order to develop approaches and methodologies that motivate and encourage, not only students who are struggling with traditional schooling practices, but also all students?"

In the age of digital interconnectivity, the concept of a digital footprint has become increasingly significant. A digital footprint refers to the trail of data that individuals leave behind while using the internet, encompassing social media activity, website visits, online purchases, and shared multimedia content. This abstract delves into the creation, implications, and management strategies of digital footprints, emphasizing their growing importance in personal privacy, security, and reputation management. Digital footprints are categorized into active and passive footprints. Active footprints are the data trails users deliberately leave behind, such as social media posts and uploaded content. In contrast, passive footprints are the data traces collected without the user's direct intervention, including IP addresses, browsing history, and cookies.

For this critical inquiry, the overarching goal is framed along the pedagogical imperative of surfacing the counterpoints and countercurrents in the rendering and representation of development discourses in the textbook task section of media and information literacy instructional materials. In making perceptive sense of this type of didactic media, the researcher worked on the fundamental assumption that textbook tasks “provide the terrain where meaning is shaped” (Hall, 1973, as cited in Griffin, 1991, p. 312) and, more compellingly, where the discursive intentions of the text producers (i.e., textbook authors) are expressed, enacted, and even questioned. Along this line, the textbook task section serves as a critical and potentially a transformative component of the ideological and discursive landscape. Embodied in the authors’ social mediation in the textbook tasks are converging and diverging discourses in apprehending the word (i.e., text) and the social world (i.e., context). By employing critical discourse analysis that interrogated the textual, processual and contextual dimensions, this study specifically sought to unravel and examine the counter-discourses about the material/nonmaterial realities of development/underdevelopment in various but interconnected realms of mainstream economy, politics, media, communication, and culture. Based on this research, among the alternative discourses that emerged from the thematic analysis are those that concern and revolve around (1) political values and ideologies, (2) ethical choices and practices, (3) development challenges and issues, and (4) strategic approaches and interventions which altogether complementarily contribute to the advancement of media freedom, pedagogical reform, and development justice.

We aimed to study the characteristics and usage patterns of 3D virtual worlds in the context of teaching and learning. To achieve this, we organised a full‐day workshop to explore, discuss and investigate the educational use of 3D virtual worlds. Thirty participants took part in the workshop. All conversations were recorded and transcribed for analysis. Thematic analysis was carried out to identify prominent issues and topics. We found that to fully utilise 3D virtual worlds for teaching and learning, students, tutors and educational institutions face a number of socio‐psychological, pedagogical and technological challenges. The paper highlights and discusses the issues that emerged from the workshop, supporting them with real life experiences and case studies provided by the workshop participants.

The paper discusses the issues of improving students' media literacy skills to help them to navigate through an increasingly complex information society. It reports on a project aimed at applying the blended learning model to boost high school students' media literacy levels. The given model is recognized to have a number of advantages for both teachers (tutors) and learners (students). It is generally accepted that the blended learning method provides students with profound theoretical knowledge and retains the emphasis on practice. Besides, online classes offer a great opportunity to reach a wider audience. The purpose of the paper is to describe the authors' experience in introducing a new method for improving the learners' media literacy skills based on the blended learning model. The survey responses demonstrated that the accessibility, ease-of-use, and duration of the classes were deemed effective in terms of students' engagement and increases in their media literacy level. The course helped learners to develop their critical thinking and other media-related skills, to identify propaganda, manipulation, and fake messages found in media streams

Two basic approaches namely “independent lesson approach” and “integration approach” appear in teaching media literacy. Media literacy is regarded as a separate lesson in the education program like mathematics and social sciences in “independent lesson approach”. However, in “integration approach”, activities and outcomes of media literacy are related in an existing course. It has been observed that by the 1990s, media devices and messages started to have a stronger impact on the life of a society which in turn resulted in adoption of integration approach in teaching media literacy by developed countries. Such countries specifically related media literacy specifically with teaching L1. In this study, the countries which were regarded as leaders in teaching media literacy namely England, Canada (the state of Ontario), USA, and Australia L1 teaching programs were taken into consideration in terms of relating L1 teaching with teaching media literacy; therefore, common themes were identified in their programs. A total number of 487 pages of document and 497 gains of L1 teaching programs of these countries were investigated by means of document investigation method. To analyse the data, content analysis was used. In this respect, the first analysis dealt with countries and further analysis identified the common themes of media literacy gains in L1 teaching programs. To analyse the data a qualitative data analysis program MAXQDA® was used. The results indicated that the investigated teaching programs involved media literacy gains and activities at an important level with the ratio of 37.2%. Approximately, two thirds of media literacy gains are related with “comprehension” component of media literacy whereas the rest deals with its “production” component. The component of “comprehension” includes the gains in four basic themes namely “understanding the genre of the text”, “questioning the text”, “identifying the information and ideas in the text”, and “thinking the impact of media messages on the other people” in 21 sub themes. The component of “production” includes the gains in four basic themes namely “forming content”, “using methodological information in production”, “common production and interaction”, “evaluating the own product of message” in 14 sub-themes

Semiotic analysis of media texts is an analysis of the language of signs and symbols in media texts. This analysis is closely linked to the iconographic analysis. Semiotic analysis of media texts for training purposes based on the semiotic theory of media (Semiotic Approach, Le decodage des medias), grounded in the work of such theorists as R. Barthes, C. Metz, U. Eco and others. Identification analysis is the recognition / identification of hidden messages in media texts, because media agencies often offer simplistic solutions for complex problems. The media educators can use in this area educational games with practical content, aimed at audience understanding how certain ideas, problems can be encoded, camouflaged in the media text. This article presented the main directions for Semiotic and Identification analysis on media education classes for student audience, including the examples of creative problems and issues associated with this type of the analysis in the context of media education problems, i.e. based on six key concepts of media literacy education: agency, category, language, technology, audience, representation. The author supposes that this analysis of media texts on media education classes can significantly develop media competence of students, including critical thinking and perception

According to Moore's Law, there is a correlation between technological advancement and social and ethical impacts [13]. Many advances, such as quantum computing [22], 3D-printing [11], flexible transparent screens [1], and breakthroughs in machine learning and artificial intelligence [17] have social impacts. One area that introduces a new dimension of ethical concerns is virtual reality (VR). VR continues to develop novel applications beyond simple entertainment, due to the increasing availability of VR technologies and the intense immersive experience. While the potential advantages of virtual reality are limitless, there has been much debate about the ethical complexities that this new technology presents [9], [19]. Potential ethical implications of VR include physiological and cognitive impacts and behavioral and social dynamics. Identifying and managing procedures to address emerging ethical issues will happen not only through regulations and laws (e.g., government and institutional approval), but also through ethics-in-practice (respect, care, morals, and education).

Today's social virtual worlds (SVW) are beginning to realize Stephenson's vision of the metaverse: a future massive network of interconnected digital worlds. Tens of millions of people already use these kinds of environments to communicate, collaborate, and do business. Big companies are also moving into these digital realms. Thus, in a context in which the Web is becoming increasingly social, we believe that SVWs are beginning to shape the knowledge-based and glo balized societies and economies of tomorrow. Obviously, an urgent need exists to further understand SVWs and their implications for theory and practice. This article constitutes a first attempt to bring researchers into some of the business, social, technical, legal, and ethical issues related to SVWs. We anticipate that researchers will need to build new theories and concepts for SVWs, to explore the frontiers between reality and virtuality.

Web 2.0 and virtual world technologies are here to stay. Today, our students come to our classroom with a presence on Facebook, the latest concert as a podcast on their MP3 player, and experience playing games in virtual worlds. In some respects, students are more tech-savvy than their Information Systems professors. Research showing the benefits of collaborative learning is being conducted across disciplines. This Special Issue looks at the use of Web 2.0 and virtual world technologies in information systems classes. In this paper, we introduce this Special Issue by discussing the different types of Web 2.0 technologies, looking at how they are used in information systems education, and examining some of the advantages and disadvantages of using them in the classroom. The final section of this paper addresses some future thoughts regarding the use of Web 2.0 technologies in our classes.

Virtual worlds present tremendous advantages to cyberlearning. For example, in virtual worlds users can socialize with others, build objects and share them, customize parts of the world and hold lectures, do experiments, or share data. However, virtual worlds pose a wide range of security, privacy, and safety concerns. This may lead educators to become (or not) apprehensive of the virtual worlds in using and adapting them as learning technologies. This study examined how educators perceive risks and uncertainties in virtual worlds. We also investigated how educators’ level of use of virtual worlds influences their risk perception level. Our results indicate a divergence between risk perception and reality in the virtual worlds. We use the seminal risk perception model developed by Fischhoff and his colleagues, and our revision to this model to explain these results. Finally, we discuss implications of our research for education management, and make recommendations to educators and policy makers who consider using virtual worlds as a learning technology.

It is a testament to the popularity of virtual reality (VR) that we have this wide-ranging book by Grigore (Greg) Burdea and Philippe Coiffet. Only a few decades ago, even the term “virtual reality” would have been unknown to most people. Now some of the biggest technology companies in the world are vying for leadership in the field, investing heavily in VR research, development, and products. This book contains a tremendous amount of information. It is logically organized by chapters, in an organization that is easy to follow from the unifying diagram at the beginning page of each chapter. This simple diagram is a straightforward way for the reader to relate the different chapters in the book to each other

This paper offers a broad vision of the potential benefits which virtual worlds may provide for improving learning, collaboration, motivation and therefore, the improvement in academic performance of students. The paper underlines how virtual worlds may offer new experimental platforms through new interactions perceiving the changeable nature of technology. The article is based on the results of the experience developed in the mainframe of the educational innovation project performed at La Laguna University during the 2012-2013 academic courses. The technological infrastructure has been created already and the 3D graphic modelling was designed using open source software aiming for creation of the ‘La Laguna Virtual University’ virtual world. Teachers have given ubiquitous classes in this virtual environment interacting with students. All feedback from teachers and students has already been gathered in this experience.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is globally recognized as an essential set of skills necessary for navigating the complexities of the 21st century information ecosystem. The core issue addressed by this analysis is the heightened vulnerability of marginalized populations, specifically tribal artisans in India, to targeted misinformation. This research moves beyond viewing MIL as a mere technical skill set, instead framing it as a critical pedagogical approach capable of fostering systemic societal resilience and enabling agency. The research focuses on the intersection of cultural vulnerability and economic exploitation within the artisan community. The analysis confirms that tribal artisans in India face significant information vulnerability due to cultural norms, high exposure to financial and health risks, and low digital literacy, demonstrating that conventional MIL approaches are inadequate. The strong demand for training underscores the need for culturally responsive, context-specific pedagogies that position MIL as essential for economic security and cultural sovereignty.