Young People from Criuleni Improve Their Knowledge of the Role and Importance of Media Education: “When I Get Information I Have to Filter It!”
What is media literacy, how do we get information, and how should we communicate online to always stay safe? These issues were discussed together with a group of volunteers from the “UniT” Youth Resource Center, pupils from Boris Danga Lyceum in Criuleni. On October 25, they attended a Media Literacy Café meet-up organized by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC).
“This activity is part of the Media Education Week organized on October 19-25. Media education is an essential component of the IJC’s activity which contributes to educating society in the spirit of critical thinking,” Victoria Tataru, the IJC Project Coordinator, mentioned at the beginning of the event.
Diana Raileanu, an experienced journalist who has worked for the print media and the radio, informed the young people of many interesting aspects behind the scenes of journalism, providing useful information about the way a news item should be written, what questions it should answer, and the importance of checking the sources before spreading the news. As an author of analytical materials for Mediacritica, the first media education portal launched and supported by the IJC, the journalist discussed the importance of developing critical thinking in order to be able to tell true information from false, tendentious, or manipulative news.
“You have to know that a misinformed person is easily manipulated. As a rule, manipulators have a certain goal; they spread half-truths, make us believe whatever they would like us to and act accordingly. There are different manipulative techniques and tools. Photographs can also be used for manipulation,” the journalist explained, providing several examples from the press.
The journalist wondered whether the young people knew who trolls are and what part they play online, challenging them to make a portrait of trolls to be able to tell them from the other Internet users. Several minutes later, a troll’s profile was put together like a jigsaw puzzle: a troll is “an anonymous user on social media” who “conceals their identity,” “has a nickname which includes a fake name,” “has few photos in the profile,” “the profile photo can be fake,” “a troll gets particularly active during election campaigns,” “intends to destabilize the situation,” “if a troll attempts to contact you it is reasonable to reject their friend request,” “a troll is rude and writes in an illiterate manner.”
As to behavior online, Diana Raileanu also warned the participants that it could be regarded as the second CV for each of us; hence, it is very important that, while in the virtual space, we “act fair, use a non-discriminatory language, and are respectful and careful what messages we share and what statements we make.”
During the discussion, the “UniT” Center volunteers were also invited to take part in several interactive activities for consolidating their knowledge of the role of media education and the importance of media culture development in the present-day society.
Dan Mihai, 10th-grade pupil, Boris Danga Lyceum, Criuleni Town: “I am online practically non-stop. Social media are my basic source of information. Today’s discussion has made me realize that, in addition to the advantages the online environment offers us, it also has many dangers we can cope with if we are sufficiently informed.”
Valeria Popescu, the “UniT” Center volunteer: “Today’s meeting made me realize how important it is to verify information using several sources. Thus, we have discovered that some news could be manipulative and intended for making us think and act in a certain way. I’ve understood that when I get information I have to filter it! I should avoid being manipulated!”
Andreea Motricală, pupil, Boris Danga Lyceum, Criuleni Town: “I enjoy taking part in such meetings because they help me get a better idea of the way things work in the online environment. Previously, I attended journalism lessons within the Est-Curier Program. The conclusion is that, in order to think reasonably, we need to get information from many sources. We must also learn to filter the information we read in virtual space better.”
The Media Literacy Café meet-up is part of the project “Building social cohesion in Moldova through promoting inclusion and diminishing discrimination” by the Independent Journalism Center as part of the program “Joint Initiative for Equal Opportunities – Phase II”, implemented from the resources provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
