Literacy | Information Literacy Fights Fake News in the Digital World

Information literacy has never been more important in the digital world. Adults and children must become information literate to combat the deluge of misinformation.

Speed is a higher priority than accuracy. Sharing content is more important than reading and comprehending while leaving a comment triumphs understanding. The education system doesn't teach children to navigate the information landscape. Instead, children believe what their screen tells them is true.

Information literacy fights fake news by using various tools, some of which are rarely taught outside the academic or scientific world. Source triangulation uses multiple methods or data sources to discover and understand a problem. It analyzes sources to distinguish fact from opinion. Lastly, it verifies and validates the findings.

The titans of the digital world believe technology can solve every problem. They ignore the importance of teaching children and adults information literacy techniques. They believe another website, more fact-checkers, or different algorithms can fix fake news. It doesn’t work. What works is teaching humans the value of literacy.

Fake news is prevalent throughout the world. Without thinking, people believe what they read without verifications. They post on social media, and a post can go viral even when it is not rational thought.

To solve "fake news," we must combine technological assistance with teaching citizens to be literate consumers of the world around them. In short, question the truthfulness of each statement you read before passing it on as fact.

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