Countering Disinformation: Media Literacy in Action

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE

Through the IVLP Impact Awards initiative, recent alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program administer community impact projects that bring the experiences of their exchange program home to their communities and promote innovative solutions to shared global challenges. 

On Wednesday October 23, 2024, Meridian International Center hosted a virtual panel of IVLP Impact Awardees who shared innovative approaches to combatting disinformation, enhancing media literacy, fostering critical thinking and positively impacting their communities. The panel was moderated by Tello Leballo (Lesotho) and featured panelists Guzal Mahkamova (Tajikistan), Jessica Oshiro (Venezuela) and Kelvin Odonkor (Ghana). 

Some key takeaways from the discussion were:

1. Conveying The Importance of Fighting Misinformation/ Disinformation

The session began with opening remarks by Daniel Henderson, Public Affairs Officer for the Global Engagement Center (GEC) at the U.S. Department of State. He expressed that disinformation "is designed to poison our social discourse. It exacerbates divisions that we're already trying to work through, and really, it degrades trust in institutions, and it degrades trust in each other. From the U.S. government perspective, we have a number of programs that we undertake to try to counter disinformation. But what I have seen time and time again is that this work is not something that the government can do alone. It is something that requires really a whole-of-society effort. It takes academics, journalists, and civil society members dedicated to the work of creating a resilient and fact-based information environment...I'm incredibly excited to hear about the work that the panelists have done today because this is the work that will matter going forward...You are the ones who people turn to when they're trying to understand if something they've seen online is real or fake." With this framing for the session, the panelists went on to share how critical the issue of disinformation is in each of their contexts and how their unique projects address the local specifics of this global challenge.

Tello's IVLP Impact Award project in Lesotho brings together a wide range of stakeholders in the media space to educate them about leveraging AI tools in the fight against misinformation. Jessica uses her IVLP Impact Award in Venezuela to create a podcast that informs the public about identifying and combating misleading or false narratives and information, which she noted is unfortunately common. Guzal spoke from Tajikistan, where her project focuses on the connection between misinformation and its threat to peace and security, which she addresses through workshops with activists, teachers, journalists, and students. As a nurse, Kelvin's project engaged with key players in the health sector in Ghana, informing them about how to fact-check information about public health concerns. Kelvin explained that "most of the health professionals met this whole misinformation/disinformation thing [with] some skepticism, 'Why should I really be concerned? I'm just doing my work. I'm just educating the community; I'm doing my clinical work. Why should I even be concerned about this?'" Before educating people about how to detect and effectively combat disinformation, the first challenge was communicating our individual responsibility in combatting the false narratives we encounter. 

2. IVLP: Awakening Changemakers

Kelvin shared that his IVLP Project Global Public Health Challenges, organized by Meridian International Center, in partnership with Global Santa Fe, Global Ties Alabama, Global Ties Iowa, Global Ties Kalamazoo, World Affairs Council - Seattle, and World Partnerships, Inc. "gave me quite an awakening" in terms of the role of disinformation in addressing public health. He went on to remark, "When we got to the Poynter Institute in Florida where Al Tompkins, an expert in misinformation, gave us a lecture, and it was at that point [that] everything changed in my mind, and I was like, 'I need to get back home and then get this done!'"

Jessica, who participated in the IVLP Project Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists – New and Traditional Broadcast Media organized by the Institute for International Education, in partnership with Citizen Diplomacy Alliance, Institute of International Education, World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, World Affairs Council of St. Louis and World Partnerships, Inc. said, "I agree with Kelvin, being on the IVLP program, I was awakened, and the decision to use a podcast was made...during the programming in the U.S. The presentations given by Bobbi Rich, Tyler McCusker [in Tucson], and Megan Lynch [in St. Louis] that talked about podcasts inspired me to explore this format." Jessica explained, "The support from the IVLP network has been great, especially from my Venezuelan peers, who have given me lots of recommendations about how to make the podcast."

Tello participated in another Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists, this one subtitled Media Responsibility in an Age of Disinformation, organized by FHI 360, in partnership with World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, WorldMontana, WorldOrlando, and World Partnerships Inc. Guzal participated in the IVLP Project 21st Century ChangeMakers: Disinformation and Conflict Resolution, organized by World Learning, in partnership with GlobalJax, Global Ties Detroit, and World Affairs Council of New Hampshire. She explained that the IVLP journey did not end when she returned home to Tajikistan because, as Jessica mentioned, being an alumnus meant that she became connected with a broad network of experts. She noted, "Almost 90 percent of all correspondents that we invited to our program...they are former IVLP participants, so our connection and work with them continues."

3. Strategies for Engagement

The fundamental strategy for effectively achieving their respective project goals was networking with local and international partners. Jessica mentioned collaboration with local media outlets, NGOs, and universities, which Tello agreed are essential partners for his project in Lesotho. The panelists referenced how these partnerships accomplish many things, from amplifying the pre-project outreach and gaining more listeners or participants to being expert sources of knowledge and collaborators during the implementation phase. Guzal also spoke about amplifying the messages of her trainings through word of mouth, as she encouraged participants to share what they learned about countering disinformation with their communities. Kelvin talked about the need to "break that chain of misinformation" by identifying the ways that misinformation is transmitted. Being in the healthcare field, Kelvin used the metaphor of contagion in his workshops, explaining that "it always has to be someone that has to carry the infection" of false information and spread it throughout the community.

4. Success Stories and Future Work

Guzal shared that she has seen the success of her project through requests from the community and participants to continue the training in the future: "We are planning next week a big meeting with all our experts...we are looking forward, not only [to] going through the surveys and going through the training, but also...foreseeing what has to be done in the future" including additional trainings. Tello reported higher than expected engagement in his project as well, explaining, "the launch of the project exceeded our expectations. We planned for 25 participants but ended up with maybe plus [or] minus 80...we decided to let everyone participate...which made the event even more impactful."

When asked how he defines success, Kelvin mentioned various quantitative indicators such as the number of people who attended each training, the consistency of engagement after the trainings among participants, and, like Tello and Guzal, the demand for similar trainings in the future. But the real moment he knew the project was succeeding was when he noticed that "now [in] most of the public health groups...when anybody shares the health information, the first question is always 'did you verify that?'" Jessica also shared a story of success: "One of the listeners shared that in the past, he would share any information he received through WhatsApp, without any verification whatsoever, and after listening to this episode, he realized how important it was to investigate, and now...is much more careful when it comes to sharing information" Guzal agreed, and noted that her participants "definitely got to the point of critical thinking, they made a step up. They found how to analyze the situation." Jessica closed the session with encouragement to others looking to play their part in combatting misinformation, "I would say, just do it, even if you're scared...I think that's the most important advice I can give to anyone. You might have your own limitations, you might doubt yourself, you might say, 'I might not be able to, perhaps this is too much for me,' but if you focus if you're organized, you will have good results."

"The problem is huge. However, we can be instrumental in stopping any form of misinformation" - Kelvin Odonkor

If you have any questions, please reach out to the IVLP Impact Awards Team at IVLPImpactAwards@meridian.org.

If interested in attending more IVLP Impact Award events click here.