In France, School Lessons Ask: Which Twitter Post Should You Trust?

France saw the need for expanded media and internet literacy before many countries. In 2015, the deadly attack on the satire magazine Charlie Hebdo exposed a deep distrust of the media and vulnerability to conspiracy theories online.

The efforts have taken on new urgency after the most recent American and French presidential elections were targeted by Russian misinformation campaigns, and after the spread of conspiracy theories in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice. Violent protests across France over income inequality in recent weeks have also been organized through Facebook and other online platforms, where misleading posts or distorted videos were “liked” and shared thousands of times.

Outside France, internet literacy programs are also growing, but have largely been left to groups, such as the News Literacy Project in the United States, that are funded by foundations and companies like Facebook and Google. European Union officials this month called on countries in the bloc to expand education programs as part of a push against misinformation and election interference.

France’s centralized strategy is “quite unique” and “absolutely noteworthy,” said Renee Hobbs, a professor at the University of Rhode Island who specializes in media literacy.

Ms. Laffont, a journalist for Agence France-Presse in Lyon, became involved in the effort after she co-founded an organization called Entre Les Lignes, or Between the Lines, in 2010. The group taught students about journalism, but evolved to include social media and internet misinformation.

The government points to Ms. Laffont’s program as a model and has provided an annual injection of tens of thousands of euros since 2017 to help it grow. Now 155 journalists volunteer, including many from Le Monde, France’s leading newspaper, and the group held about 500 workshops with students this year.

Ms. Laffont keeps lessons simple. She incorporates Twitter and YouTube, and shares links to websites that students can use as references to check facts. She also explains the basics of how journalists gather and confirm facts, hoping that may help reverse some students’ mistrust of the media, as well as help them develop a more critical eye for what they see online.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/technology/france-internet-literacy-school.html?partner=rss&emc=rss