Nimage Gotta – This Kannada phrase is frequently spotted in social media forwards circulating in Bengaluru. Roughly translated as ‘Do you know?’, it is often accompanied by health claims, tips, and tricks such as “Pouring boiled onion juice in your ears can reduce ear pain” or “consuming organic coconut oil helps prevent cancer” or “eating grapes prevents Alzheimer’s disease and improves memory” – the accuracy of all of which is often questionable.
Nandini Menasagi, a Senior Academic Assistant at IIJNM Bengaluru, grew weary of encountering these messages in her daily social media forwards. She desired to take action but recognized that she lacked the knowledge and tools to verify the accuracy of such claims herself and the expertise to take it to people as well. Her inspiration to join FactShala stemmed from here. Nandini emphasizes,
“Becoming a part of FactShala marked a pivotal moment for me, as it provided me with vital verification tools, enhanced critical thinking abilities, and a deeper understanding of the more subtle dynamics of social media, including echo chambers and filter bubbles, which silently shape our online interactions”.
In these social media forwards, Nandini observed a troubling trend: Most of these misleading messages specifically targeted women. Nandini emphasizes,
“Women often find forwarded messages believable because they address topics such as age, health, hormonal, and bodily changes — issues that deeply resonate with their personal experiences“.
They often forward messages out of goodwill and concern, hoping to help others. However, Nandini says, “What they don’t realize is that these solutions and tips lack scientific validation, expert insights, and references to credible sources”.
This situation posed a major risk to the overall health and well-being of women, especially housewives, who relied on social media for news and information. Their limited digital skills acted as a barrier, preventing them from evaluating information online effectively. Furthermore, Nandini was well aware that constant exposure to baseless information on social media platforms could negatively impact their self-image and mental health.
To address these issues proactively, Nandini decided to leverage the Factshala training to empower women. One such training took her to the Mahadevapura area in Bengaluru. Some may assume that people, especially women, residing in urban areas, might be better equipped to navigate misinformation. However, Nandini realised that this assumption wasn’t always accurate. She highlighted,
“Living in a bustling urban city like Bengaluru didn’t automatically equate women to higher levels of digital literacy. Many women in such urban settings lacked the essential skills required to differentiate between accurate information and fake news, making them equally vulnerable to misinformation as those in rural areas”
At Mahadevapura, she engaged with the women of Puratana Shri Gangamma Devi Mahila Swasahaya Sangha. This self-help group was actively involved in skill development, particularly in tailoring, aiming to become self-reliant and earn a livelihood.
Nandini found the group ideal for media literacy training as they routinely used social media to showcase their talent and promote their businesses. While their engagement with social media was useful for their personal and professional growth, it also exposed them to the risks of misinformation.
Gathering these women together proved to be an easy task, given their eagerness to learn new things. However, teaching them media literacy, particularly as a stand-alone topic, came with its own set of challenges. The group expressed surprise and skepticism towards the information that the training presented to them. Nandini noted,
“A mental block persisted among the women, leading them to believe that if a piece of information is on the internet, it must be accurate. They struggled to grasp the concept of right and wrong information“
Additionally, the ease of forwarding messages only exacerbated the problem. Overcoming these barriers and persuading women to adopt a critical mindset when engaging with online information demanded considerable effort from her side.
As Nandini carefully delved into the fundamentals of media literacy, step by step, and provided her guidance, the women gradually became more at ease. They began opening up about their own experiences, coming to the realisation that certain messages did seem exaggerated, implausible, and without factual basis. They understood how frequently messages were intentionally made to gain attention and go viral. Ashwini, a participant, recounted her own experiences of receiving such messages and confessed to often blindly believing them. However, she says, “I have learned not to believe such messages without verifying their origin or credibility”
By the end of the workshop, Nandini had succeeded in empowering this group of women. They not only grasped the concepts of media literacy but also acquired basic skills in fact-checking. Armed with this newfound ability to critically evaluate information, along with an understanding of social media, and the FactShala tipsheets, they went home with the confidence to navigate the digital landscape and protect themselves and their families from the dangers of misinformation.