Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

Social media and the sometimes opaque algorithms of the platforms are playing an increasingly influential role in political communication strategies because of advancing digitalisation. Traditional communication and political theories have undergone a paradigm shift due to social media platforms, and their premises have been expanded. As part of a systematic literature review, five hypotheses were examined in order to generate a broad basic understanding of the relevance of algorithms, platforms and their operators, as well as regulatory approaches in political election campaigns. The research focuses primarily on Western democratic countries. The results are limited in their significance, but point to the relevance of a global, cooperative approach to the issue. Cooperative collaboration can ensure the control of algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital strategies. It is also necessary to ensure access to digital campaign tools and strategies for all. Transparency and global solutions are key to achieving this goal. This literature review will discuss current research findings in various countries and highlight national regulatory approaches. These will form the basis for further research and policy recommendations.

Disinformation and other forms of manipulative, antidemocratic communication have emerged as a problem for Internet policy. While such operations are not limited to electoral politics, efforts to influence and disrupt elections have created significant concerns. Data-driven digital advertising has played a key role in facilitating political manipulation campaigns. Rather than stand alone incidents, manipulation operations reflect systemic issues within digital advertising markets and infrastructures. Policy responses must include approaches that consider digital advertising platforms and the strategic communications capacities they enable. At their root, these systems are designed to facilitate asymmetrical relationships of influence.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a media literacy education intervention on adolescents’ responses to digital marketing of weight-control products, focusing on media literacy, persuasion resistance efficacy, and purchase intention. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study involved 326 11th-grade students from a municipal high school in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, with 189 students in the intervention group and 137 in the comparison group. Conducted in 2023, the intervention group participated in baseline and follow-up assessments and attended four 50 min media literacy sessions, while the comparison group completed only baseline and follow-up assessments with standard instruction. The results indicated that the media literacy intervention had positive effects on adolescents’ conceptual, attitudinal, and critical media literacy, as well as their persuasion resistance efficacy in relation to digital marketing of weight-control products. However, no significant effect was observed on purchase intention. In conclusion, media literacy interventions can effectively enhance adolescents’ media literacy and their ability to resist persuasion.

Social media has evolved over time from the digital platforms that facilitated human connections they initially set out to be, to the extremely popular and influential channels of information exchange they are today, overrun with misinformation, propaganda, and sponsored content. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to the effects of social media, and the relationship between social media and adolescents has been researched heavily in several different contexts such as identity-formation, mental health, and socialinteractions, to mixed results. This research seeks to understand the effects of social media on adolescents through the lens of information and advertising literacy. This research reviews the existing literature on adolescents’ abilities to identify misinformation and sponsored content on social media, the two measures for critical thinking used in this research. The findings indicate that although adolescents’ critical thinking skills on social media are not activated in most instances, it is a complex issue with several influencing factors, calling for future research in this area.

This thesis explores parents’ views on advertising directed at children through digital media. It examines how parents perceive the influence of advertising on children’s behavior, consumption habits, and attitudes. The study also investigates parents’ awareness of digital advertising techniques and their concerns about children’s exposure to marketing messages online. The research highlights issues such as ethical concerns, persuasion techniques, and the vulnerability of children as consumers. Findings suggest that many parents are worried about the growing presence of digital advertising and its potential impact on children’s development and decision-making. The thesis emphasizes the need for greater regulation, parental guidance, and media literacy to help children critically understand advertising messages.

Media literacy began in the 1960s in Western countries like the United States, Canada, and France to help citizens better understand media and participate in democratic society. This thesis studies the media literacy of advertising among young people (18–25) from four groups: Australians, Thais, Thai-Australians, and Asian international students in Australia. It examines their media use, understanding of advertising, and responses to advertisements through interviews after viewing ad samples. The study found that Thai and Thai-Australian participants had stronger knowledge of advertising practices and were more skeptical of advertising claims than Australians. Cultural differences were also seen in interpretations of gender, sexuality, and consumer ethics. Overall, the research shows that media literacy and interpretations of advertising vary across cultures.

Standard agent and action-based approaches in computer ethics tend to have difficulty dealing with complex systems-level issues such as the digital divide and globalisation. This paper argues for a value-based agenda to complement traditional approaches in computer ethics, and that one value-based approach well-suited to technological domains can be found in capability theory. Capability approaches have recently become influential in a number of fields with an ethical or policy dimension, but have not so far been applied in computer ethics. The paper introduces two major versions of the theory – those advanced by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum – and argues that they offer potentially valuable conceptual tools for computer ethics. By developing a theory of value based on core human functionings and the capabilities (powers, freedoms) required to realise them, capability theory is shown to have a number of potential benefits that complement standard ethical theory, opening up new approaches to analysis and providing a framework that incorporates a justice as well as an ethics dimension. The underlying functionalism of capability theory is seen to be particularly appropriate to technology ethics, enabling the integration of normative and descriptive analysis of technology in terms of human needs and values. The paper concludes by considering some criticisms of the theory and directions for further development.

This article reflects on freedom of expression, privacy, ethical and social responsibility, in the context of social networks, in the context of the experience of democracy in cyberspace. It asks questions about ensuring the protection of privacy, freedom, and autonomy of internet users in the internet environment. It identifies national and international legislation that guarantee the right to privacy and the protection of citizens' personal data. It reviews the literature on the concept of ethics and social responsibility, in democracy, in the digital age, associating this domain of knowledge with the concept of privacy, freedom, and ethical and social responsibility, in the context of social networks. The article discusses the concepts that guide this theme and that are directly involved with related domains. It is alert to the need for ethical and legal protection of the digital data of internet users, aiming at the autonomous safeguarding of their digital identities.

The rapid development of technology has a significant impact on human life, both in economic, social and cultural aspects. Without a clear implementation of ethics and social responsibility, technology innovation can lead to various problems, such as privacy violations, algorithmic bias, digital inequality, and resource exploitation. This research highlights the importance of integrating ethical values in technology to ensure that innovations provide equitable and sustainable benefits to society. Through a literature review approach, this research examines the main challenges in the implementation of technology ethics as well as strategies that can be applied to overcome these problems. The results of research show that strict regulations, transparency in technology development, and increased digital literacy are key factors to create an ethical and socially responsible technology ecosystem. Collaboration between the government, private sector and civil society is needed to build ethical standards that can keep pace with dynamic technological developments.Awareness of the social impact of technology should also be raised through education and public involvement in technology ethics discussions. With a comprehensive approach, technology can develop as a tool that supports the advancement of civilization without compromising moral principles and social justice. The integration of ethics in technological innovation is not just an option, but a necessity to create a more inclusive and sustainable future

This collection demonstrates the significance of television as a field of study in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences. It brings together the most important published writings on television in theoretical, historical, empirical, and political terms, and provides quick access to the essential scholarship in the field. The thematically organized volumes include: * "The History of Television" * "Methods" * "Audiences" * "Issues" * Public Television * Private Television

Providing a framework for understanding the relationship between media and society, this updated Sixth Edition of Media/Society helps students develop the skills they need to critically evaluate both conventional wisdom and their own assumptions about the social role of the media. The book retains its acclaimed sociological framework but now includes additional discussions of new research and up-to-date coverage of today’s rapidly changing media landscape. Now featuring streamlined content and a more engaging narrative, this edition offers expanded discussions of the "new media" world, including digitization.

Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture. It does involve the use of language, of signs and images which stand for or represent things. Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language. It is the link between concepts and language which enables us to refer to either ‘real’ world of objects, people or events, or indeed to imaginary worlds of fictional objects, people and events. Meaning depends on relationship between things in the world – people, objects and events, real or fictional – and conceptual system, which can operate as mental representations of them. At the heart of meaning process in culture, then, are related ‘systems of representation’. The related ‘systems of representation’ enables us to give meaning to world by constructing a set of correspondences or a chain of equivalences between things – people, objects, events, abstract ideas, etc.

This popular introductory book provides a clear introduction to the key ideas within media studies. The friendly writing style and everyday examples, which made the first edition a favourite with students and lecturers alike, has been retained and updated in this new edition. This comprehensive text provides a wide-ranging perspective on the media and: Uses examples and case studies from the real world. Shows how key concepts can help us understand the relationship between the Media and societyProvides a clear explanation of how critical perspectives on the Media construct thinking about media businesses, texts and audiencesThe fully updated new edition features new boxed summaries of critical approaches and key thinkers.

The rise of digital media has been widely regarded as transforming the nature of our social experience in the twenty-first century. The speed with which new forms of connectivity and communication are being incorporated into our everyday lives often gives us little time to stop and consider the social implications of those practices. Nonetheless, it is critically important that we do so, and this sociological introduction to the field of digital technologies is intended to enable a deeper understanding of their prominent role in everyday life

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has transformed the global media landscape, creating opportunities for inclusiveness while introducing challenges related to equity, representation, and misinformation. This article examines the intersections of media literacy, gender representation, advertising strategies, and journalism practices to assess their collective impact on fostering equitable information access in the digital age. Key questions include: How does media literacy enhance critical evaluation of digital content? To what extent does gender representation in media influence societal norms? What ethical concerns arise from data-driven advertising strategies? How can journalism help ensure credible and inclusive information access? This journal article offers actionable recommendations: integrating media literacy into educational curricula, fostering gender diversity in media leadership, establishing ethical guidelines for algorithmic advertising, and promoting inclusive journalism practices. Amixed-methods approach—comprising surveys, content analysis, and focus groups—supports evidence-based solutions for policymakers, educators, and media practitioners. By addressing systemic challenges, this study provides a roadmap to create a media ecosystem that prioritizes inclusivity, diversity, and equitable access to credible information

The present work aims to examine the Italian scenario for what concerned gender stereotypes against women and, specifically, how they are reinforced and partially created by the media (Volpato, 2011; 2013). It’s essential to analyze briefly the evolution of women's movement, particularly in the historic moment that goes from the '60s until today, characterized over time by different claims which have led to innovations in civil and social rights. After this first part, designed to provide a basis for a better understanding of the complexity of the phenomenon, the work goes into a part related to women’s gender stereotypes, highlighting their pervasiveness. Since this is an extremely complex phenomenon, the focus was narrowed to two areas: the role of women within the family (and how the transformation of the couple has produced substantial changes in gender roles) and women seen as an object. Both roles assigned and self-assigned to women are also compared with the media representation to provide a broader picture of the phenomenon. Despite the progress made both from a social and legislative point of view, stereotypes against women are still present on the Italian scene, and the media seems that are using them in their favor, continuing to promote their spread and pervasiveness.

Three female African-American mathematicians play a pivotal role in astronaut John Glenn's launch into orbit while dealing with racial and gender discrimination.

Moving media literacy messages out of the classroom and onto the Internet, where much news consumption happens, offers an opportunity to extend media literacy education to a wider public. However, in doing so it becomes important to consider how the context in which such messages are seen conditions their impact on media literacy attitudes and knowledge. The results of an experimental test suggest that a media literacy public service announcement was more effective in reinforcing media literacy beliefs when paired with a partisan, rather than a neutral, political program. The effects of presenting media literacy messages outside of the classroom are discussed.

Scholars and educators have long hoped that media education is positively related to pro social goals such as political and civic engagement. With a focus on measuring news media literacy with emphasis on media knowledge, need for cognition and media locus of control, this study surveyed 537 college students and found positive relationships between news media literacy and two political engagement measures: current events knowledge and internal political efficacy. Findings show that news media literacy is not associated with political activity, although some dimensions of news media literacy are associated with lower levels of political trust. Results help to define significant components of news media literacy and suggest that these components help foster positive relationships with civic and political life.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has contributed to the understanding and adaptation to the major evolutionary and cultural changes of the digital transformation. This research aims to focus on the challenges of ensuring digital citizenship with critical thinking and skills that can reduce the negative effects of disinformation. The study uses documentary analysis to examine theoretical elements on the topic and consults Ibero-American researchers and experts who have worked on it. Among the main results, elements associated with misinformation that should be strengthened in MIL programs are focused. These components would contribute to fostering skills and a digital culture that allows for critically addressing the disinformation processes that are generated today in the media and public sector.

Advertising has become an integral part of people’s daily lives, and advertising literacy is a vital life skill that everyone should acquire. Scholars have proposed several conceptual frameworks of advertising literacy for the study of consumers’ advertising literacy. The purpose of this study isto sort out the major conceptual frameworks of advertising literacy, aalyze the links and differences between the conceptual frameworks, and explore the veins and roots, with viewpoints to provide a reference for related research.In this study, the researchers followed the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines (PRISMA Guideline) for conducting a systematic review. This study established inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify and screen literature. A total of 26 articles related to the conceptual frameworks of advertising literacy were included and analyzed. The study results indicate that the development and research of the conceptual frameworks of advertising literacy are based on the forms and features of advertising, the connotation and dimension of advertising literacy, with the media literacy theory and persuasion knowledge theory as the foundation and source for research. These conceptual frameworks have been widely used by scholars and continue to develop with the advancement of digital technology and the information age. It is concluded thatthe conceptual framework of advertising literacy has important theoretical and practical significance. Researchers need to adapt to the demands of the times as well as update and expand the conceptual framework of advertising literacy on the basis of previous studies

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a research tool that is designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union and in Candidate Countries. This narrative report has been produced on the basis of the implementation of the MPM that was carried out in 2022. The implementation was conducted in 27 EU Member States, as well as in Albania, Montenegro, The Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. This project, under a preparatory action of the European Parliament, was supported by a grant awarded by the European Commission to the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute.

It is now well understood that social media platforms collect data about their users. The platforms gather this data to push content that supports targeted advertisements. This business model incentivizes platforms to maximize user engagement and disseminate content that negatively impacts society. Notably, misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information demonstrably generate higher levels of engagement. Platforms claim they collect user data to personalize and improve the user experience. For example, TikTok and Meta platforms utilize data to craft their “For You Page” and “Recommended Posts,” respectively. However, this language obscures other motivations for user data collection, including targeted advertising. Today, no one doubts that these platforms collect user data, but the extent and purpose of this collection are often overlooked.

Potential benefits and risks related to mainstream social media platforms and their revenue model are vigorously debated. However, a comprehensive framework of performance criteria to evaluate social media platforms and suggestions for transforming them are rare. Employing a transdisciplinary approach, the present work aimed to close these gaps through semi-structured interviews with experts from academia and industry, coupled with exploratory thematic content/topic analysis. From the interviews, five pivotal performance criteria were extracted: transparency, protection of democracy, satisfaction of needs and preservation of well-being, networking capabilities, and absence of crime. Further, proposed transformations related to i) financing structures, ii) possibilities for users to protect their interests and data, iii) regulations, iv) possibilities for users to adjust platform design, and v) transparency are discussed. Properly operationalized, both the criteria and suggested transformations hold the potential to facilitate negotiations among users, (mainstream) social media companies, and governments.

Market-Oriented Disinformation Research explores the spread of false or misleading information online through the lens of marketing theory and consumer research. It examines how the business models of digital platforms and advertising technology firms (AdTech) generate digital markets that incentivize the circulation of harmful content for profit. Rather than viewing disinformation and misinformation as accidental byproducts, the book proposes that they thrive in the current markets designed for digital advertising and influencer marketing. Readers will learn how the amplification of disinformation can be linked to social media’s business model. Examples include how social media algorithms promote addictive content, how fake news sites use ad fraud to lure in advertising revenue, and how some content creators rely on clickbait, ragebait, bots, and conspiracy theories to boost their engagement metrics. The book is a must-read for scholars in journalism, media studies, and political communication, as well as policymakers interested in the democratic governance of social media platforms. In addition, it calls for digital marketing, advertising, and brand management professionals to take responsibility for their ad spending by advocating for greater oversight over AdTech intermediaries to prevent unethical actors from monetizing the harmful content that polarizes society and undermines democratic institutions.