Be MediaWise: The Misinformation Resilience Toolkit For Libraries
Older adults, communities of color and rural populations in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by misinformation. This amplifies some of the biggest problems facing America today: intensifying polarization, promoting vaccine hesitancy and undermining faith in democratic institutions.
MediaWise in collaboration with The American Library Association (ALA) and through support from and the , is creating a digital toolkit that can be used by librarians across the country to teach digital media literacy to adults in their communities. Through online courses, program outlines and assistance for in-person events, MediaWise will empower any librarian to fight misinformation on their own.
Finding credible information is a vital part of having an informed future citizenry and a healthy democracy. This program aims to equip diverse Americans with the skills and resources they need to be resilient to misinformation.
Sneak Peek
The Be MediaWise Misinformation Resilience Toolkit will contain lessons, videos, comics and ideas for librarians to launch media literacy programming in their communities. Resources for teens, Spanish speakers and older adults will help librarians cater to their audience — wherever they are. Here are a few examples of what you will find in the toolkit.
For Teens
Meet the MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network. Librarians in any community will have plenty of content to tailor media literacy offerings for youth programming.
For College Students and Young Adults
Misinformation resonates and reaches different audiences in disparate ways — age included. For college students and young adults, MediaWise relies on its Campus Correspondents and MediaWise Ambassadors to make an impact.
For Spanish Speakers
Spanish speakers are disproportionally targeted with misinformation, and generally get news from YouTube and WhatsApp. Librarians will have access to a free media literacy course they can distribute via WhatsApp and a whole suite of YouTube videos created in partnership with Telemundo.
For Older Adults
Through our MediaWise for Seniors initiative, we will include a suite of resources designed for older adults, including videos from NBC’s Lester Holt and Joan Lunden.
Coming soon to a library near you.