- February 02, 2022
Complementary to our transatlantic student conference, which was held in November 2021, and to our handbook “Medienkompetenz meistern – Tipps von Schüler*innen für Schüler*innen” our media literacy podcast “Medienkompetenz meistern” is exclusively available in German. Today we published episode one.
In our first episode, distinguished experts determine the meaning of “media literacy”, emphasise its importance to detect fake news, and explain how to secure a safe environment in social networks and how to deal with hate speech online competently.
According to our experts, media literacy goes far beyond using and opening internet browsers and sharing images. It is about how to navigate the Internet safely, how to filter and question the flood of information, how to recognize fake news, and how to treat other people with respect. It includes critical news literacy, the ability to filter floods of information via a fact-based evaluation of content, requires proficiency and methods, and is crucial for the trust in democracies and media.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the related digitization accelerated the spread of fake news. As a result, the way information is handled and disseminated has changed diametrically within a short period of time.
Thus, Media Literacy is a highly relevant competence for all generations.
Ultimately, media literacy is about opportunities – especially for the young generation – to play a self-determined role in our open and democratic societies. Only those who are well and correctly informed may form a sustainable opinion and thus may lead the debates and discourses democratically. Lastly, the Internet is still a space in which real people move and communicate with each other.
We would like to thank our distinguished experts for enriching our podcast episode:
Dr. Johannes Dimroth, Head of the Political Communication Department, Press Head of the Political Communication Department, Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government, Lutz Güllner, Head of division, strategic communication, task forces, and information analysis (SG.STRAT.2), European External Action Service, Marie Richter, Managing Editor Germany, NewsGuard Technologies, Derya Şahan, Consultant, specialist unit on distancing from extremism at the Baden-Württemberg Democracy Center, and broadcasting councillor of the Southwest German Broadcasting Corporation (SWR) and Roberta Schmid, Media Analyst, NewsGuard Technologies.
