Chapter 7: Navigating Through the Information Disorder by Fostering Critical Literacies

This chapter delves into the multifaceted landscape of information disorder, a phenomenon catalysed by the ‘social turn’ of the Internet, the advent of digital social media networks, and the imperative of cultivating resilience in populations against deceptive information resourcing to multiple literacies to discern fact from fiction. The convergence of journalism and media literacy in combating disinformation is increasingly observed, with fact-checking initiatives evolving as one form of media literacy practice and news literacy emerging as a long-term solution to the phenomenon. The chapter explores this dynamic and advocates for a holistic approach, positioning media literacy, particularly its critical dimension, as a cornerstone for equipping citizens to navigate information disorders effectively. Empirical investigations form the core of this chapter, seeking to discern the relationship between acquired skills in digital, information, media and news literacies and the development of individual abilities to counter disinformation. Various studies are examined, employing diverse methodologies such as measuring the effectiveness of media literacy interventions, assessing the impact of training programmes, exploring gamification and investigating the correlation between media literacy skills and disinformation navigation. Empirical evidence shows that a set of media-related literacies can provide a solid ground for increasing individuals' resilience to fake news and disinformation when it comes to the abilities that a media-literate individual needs to have – accessing, analysing, evaluating and producing information.