A Study into the Skills of Using Data Verification Tools as a Media Information Literacy Instrument for University Students

Abstract

Amid information wars and growing populism, when manipulation, propaganda and disinformation appear to be a natural focus, when officials, opinion leaders and media communicate unsafe and unverified information, when only up to 20% of messages can be marked as veracious, it becomes essential to develop critical and meaningful information consumption. The self-explanatory statistics, provided by fact-checkers, speak volumes and inspire those who have command of the investigation method in the fact check format to fully leverage it both in their professional activities and in daily lives. The paper structures and classifies the key aspects of fact-checking, identifies its specific characteristics and effects, and sketches out the future outlook for its use as a new media trend. The work defines central objectives of fact-checking investigations and what differentiate them from conventional investigations. It has been revealed that fact-checkers are gradually shifting their field of activity to the plane of the so-called “unofficial sources” of information, such as social networking websites, public narratives and discourses, media materials of diverse origin, etc. The findings of the study conducted demonstrate a correlation between the general media literacy, which respondents evaluated as rather low – average and below average and the need for its end-to-end improvement, including through interactive media practices, trainings and projects. The study concludes that respondents are actually ignorant of the fact-checking and data verification tools available. We believe the fact is also immediately linked with the overall level of media maturity and respondent information literacy, levels of critical and analytical thinking, and the ability to work on information and its sources.