YouTube’s looking to help people become more digital media literate, via a new partnership with the Poynter that will provide access to training materials and informational resources designed to highlight the dangers and risks of online content.
The new “Hit Pause Media Literacy Curriculum” provides access to a full course on media literacy, encompassing 11 lessons of around 30-45 minutes each, along with full documentation to help participants absorb the key learnings from each.
As explained by Poynter:
“Along with all the enriching opportunities the internet offers, one of the real challenges with youth online media consumption is the potential for exposure to misinformation. This curriculum, developed by Poynter’s MediaWise, with support from YouTube, breaks big media literacy topics and ideas into bite-sized pieces to help teens actively and knowledgeably use the internet, specifically by giving them the skills to discern fact from fiction and the confidence to share information responsibly.”
So the focus here is teen users, but really, the lessons will be of value to anyone who uses the internet, with insights into how to spot misinformation, how to trace sources, how to avoid echo chambers, and more.
There’s also an element specifically focused on AI content, and how to fact check questionable AI creations.
The program was formulated by a team of media literacy experts, including representative from MediaSmarts (Canada), Mythos Labs (USA/India), and the Parent Zone (U.K.), ensuring the materials are easily adaptable for different cultures and languages.
The updated program is an extension of YouTube’s “Hit Pause” initiative, which it initially launched back in 2023.
The aim of that project is to help teens understand the risks of online exposure and misinformation, but again, the lessons provided are relevant to all internet users.
It’s a good initiative, which will provide educators with more resources to help dispel misinformation and disinformation pushes, designed to sway people with misleading and untrue reports.
Which, really, should already be on the educational curriculum in all regions. Indeed, in Finland, the detection of misinformation is now a core element in its education syllabus for all students, which has helped the nation reach the top of the global rankings in overall resiliency to the impact of fake news.
The data shows that this can be a powerful way to dispel the influence of bad actors, and as such, this really should be critical learning for all teachers and students.
You can access the full “Hit Pause Media Literacy Curriculum” here.
English (US) ·