"We need a vaccine against misinformation"
Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies program.
The coronavirus outbreak has sparked what the World Health Organization is calling an "infodemic". The Be Media Smart campaign was developed by members of Media Literacy Ireland to help people tell the difference between reliable and accurate information and deliberately false or misleading information.
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Be Media Smart
Every day we have to make choices. From what we want to eat, to what we want to wear, what we want to listen to right through to who we want to represent us in public office.
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DCU Survey Seeks Feedback on Media Literacy Tool
False and misleading information is a major threat to social and political stability. It is implicated in the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, efforts to undermine the political process, and the amplification of social divisions. Yet, online disinformation is a complex problem with many contributing factors. In response, many countries have provided additional funding for media and information literacy.
This citizen-focussed approach is also championed by the Provenance project, a large European research project led by DCU FuJo. The aim is to help citizens evaluate content while they browse the web or social media. An iconographic ‘Verification Indicator’ provides contextual information about pieces of online content. For example, it provides information about the origin of the content, its similarity to other content, the quality of the writing including the use of loaded or highly emotional language, and the degree of visual manipulation if any.
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The IFLA World Library and Information Congress
The WLIC is an annual conference that regularly attracts 4,000 delegates from more than 100 countries across the world. This is the first time the WLIC has come to Ireland and it promises to be a week-long celebration of libraries and librarians.
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