Truth Decay and Updates to Media Literacy Standards

 from Marshall Memo 871

1. Beyond Fact-Checking: Media Literacy Skills to Combat “Truth Decay”

In this Rand Corporation report, Alice Huguet, Garrett Baker, Laura Hamilton, and John Pane bemoan what they call truth decay – “the diminishing role that facts, data, and analysis play in our political and civic discourse.” Here’s their analysis of what’s gone wrong and their synthesis of recommended standards for teaching media literacy skills in schools:

• Problem #1: Increasing disagreement about facts and interpretations of facts and data

  Teaching standards:

• Recognizing the limitations of one’s own knowledge and understanding of the facts;

• Filling gaps in knowledge by using experts, libraries, and search engines;

• Understanding how today’s information sources and tools can skew facts and perspectives – for example, search engine algorithms, specialized discussion groups, choice of social media connections.

• Problem #2: Declining trust in formerly respected sources of facts and information

  Teaching standards:

• Evaluating the expertise of purveyors of information (academic credentials, role, firsthand knowledge) and their motivations (political, financial);

• Evaluating whether information meets established scientific, journalistic, and peer review standards;

• Analyzing information for bias, deception, or manipulation;

• Considering the social, political, and historical contexts of information and how those influence meaning.

• Problem #3: An increasingly blurred line between opinions and facts

  Teaching standards:

• Seeing the way technology (e.g., audio and video “deep fakes”) can sow doubt about formerly trustworthy sources;

• Analyzing whether evidence can be independently confirmed and identifying gaps in support or reasoning;

• Comparing multiple viewpoints and spotting discrepancies;

• Recognizing how one’s emotions can be triggered, influencing attitudes and eliciting certain behaviors.

• Problem #4: The tendency for one’s own opinions and experiences to override facts

  Teaching standards:

• Monitoring the intended and unintended consequences of what one shares online;

• Recognizing how one’s own cultural perspectives influence one’s interpretations of information, especially on controversial topics;

• Remaining open to updating one’s own views when presented with new facts and evidence;

• Taking action rooted in evidence: constructing new knowledge, creating and sharing media, and engaging in informed conversations and decisions on key issues.

“Responsible engagement with the information ecosystem is not simply about consuming information,” conclude Huguet, Baker, Hamilton, and Pane. “It is also about creating, sharing, and selectively emphasizing content.” 

“Media Literacy Standards to Counter Truth Decay” by Alice Huguet, Garrett Baker, Laura Hamilton, and John Pane, Rand Corporation, January 2021; Huguet can be reached at Alice_Huguet@rand.org.