When we started our journey of FactShala, we began to understand the spectrum of misinformation and how it travelled through. With the train-the-trainer model, FactShala’s core team of 253 trainers – journalists, fact-checkers, academics and NGO workers and local community body leaders – from states across India conducted training in villages and cities across India to help people access and critically evaluate content online. We also engaged more than 60 community radio stations across the country to air audio training programmes via their medium and spread awareness about the dangers of misinformation and the need for staying critically alert. Today we are a community of trainers who have trained thousands of people across India, benefiting millions of people.
A visual journey into India’s largest Media Literacy Network 2020 – 2022
Pan-India FactShala Trainings
FactShala India Media Literacy Network’s trainers – a passionate team of journalists, media educators, fact-checkers, non-profit workers and community radio stations who have come together to fight the misinformation menace – are on a mission to empower communities around them with media and information literacy approaches and critical thinking skills to help them to tackle information overload. Here are glimpses of some of the trainings:
Why is
Media Literacy
important?
Everyone is susceptible to misinformation, at some point or another, we have all fallen prey to it. Some of us might have escaped the consequences lightly, but in a lot of other cases, the result of misinformation has been tragic. However, there are no easy, one-size-fits-all solutions to first discerning and then combating misinformation. At the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM), critical thinking skills have been a part of our journalism programme and faculty and staff have been working towards spreading media literacy in the region, several times in collaboration with Factshala. Integrating Factshala’s programme into the curriculum of schools and colleges across the country would mean integrating critical thinking into every young person. And, that in itself is a big step towards a society that is more aware and therefore, less susceptible to misinformation.
In these times of crisis and confusion we need more facts, more clarity and more credibility. I note with admiration that Factshala is doing this public service with commitment and creativity.
Media Literacy is important in India because it will help viewers discern the veracity and reliability of the news and information that they consume from print, electronic, digital and social media which will in turn assist them in forming their independent opinions. Independent thinkers will help in nourishing the growth of a sustainable and stable democracy in India which will truly support Free Speech, Equality and Justice for all its people, irrespective of language, religion or community.
We are very excited to partner with DataLeads on the FactShala project because Media and information literacy contribute significantly to the quality of personal as well as public life. We appreciate the opportunity this partnership offers to institutionalize the media literacy programme. I have been working in the area of media and information literacy for almost three decades now. We have had many excellent small, individual initiatives but they remain limited in their scale and scope. Partnerships foster communities and create synergy and institutionalisation facilitates sustainability of an initiative.
In a country as diverse as India, the FactShala Ambassador Programme stands as a beacon, reaching, engaging and empowering individuals to champion media literacy. Amidst India’s rich diversity, the Ambassador Program focuses on nurturing a discerning generation, dedicated to ingraining the instinct of fact-checking, cultivating a society where separating truth from falsehood becomes second nature. Its mission is to shape a society that is well-informed and robust, paving the way for a more resilient future.
Amidst the diverse narratives of our democracy, the FactShala Ambassador Programme emerges as a guide, empowering individuals to navigate the media landscape with critical thinking and fostering media literacy. Especially during elections, critical thinking becomes imperative for informed choices, responsible citizenship and decision-making.
In today’s digital age, media literacy is essential for a healthy democracy, enabling citizens to critically evaluate the information they consume. The FactShala Ambassador Programme aims to foster critical thinking across India, empowering a new generation to become informed, responsible media consumers.