Media Literacy Week 2023

Join us in celebrating Media Literacy Week

ScienceUpFirst, an initiative of CASC, is proud to support Media Literacy Week 2023 (October 23 – 27) and Digital Citizen Day (October 25).

Media Literacy Week (MLW) is an annual national event hosted by MediaSmarts in partnership with the Canadian Teachers Federation to promote digital media literacy, with activities and events taking from coast to coast to coast.

To celebrate, we’ve put together a list of some of our best posts on how to spot, correct, and have conversations about misinformation we see online.

All of these resources are free to download and distribute widely.

Misinformer Tactics

People who spread false information use different tricks and strategies to make their lies seem believable. But when we learn to recognize these strategies, we are less likely to fall for them.

Here is a recap of common Misinformer Tactics so you can be on the lookout! 🕵

Misinformer Tactic: False Dichotomy

Misinformers will often present options as black or white. But in reality there are many different shades of grey.

Misinformer Tactic: Appeal to Nature

We have a bias towards things that appear to be “natural”. But natural isn’t always better and this bias can lead us down some dangerous roads.

Misinformer Tactic: Causal Fallacy

When we see: A followed by B; our brains want to jump to: A caused B. But that is not always the case. Correlation does not equal causation!

Misinformer Tactic: Astroturfing

This practice gives the *appearance* of grassroots, authentic support but is really operated by just a few individuals.

Misinformer Tactic: Red Herring

This tactic distracts from the point at hand to redirect the conversation. Feeling misdirected? Ask whether the information provided is relevant.

Misinformer Tactic: Firehose of Falsehood

Firehose of falsehood, or firehosing, is a propaganda technique that aims to confuse and overwhelm the audience with continuous, rapid, and repetitive messaging over multiple platforms.

Misinformer Tactic: Slippery Slope

Slippery slope arguments always have a mild start point and an extreme endpoint with no way to stop in between and no middle ground.

Misinformer Tactic: Doubt Mongering

A healthy amount of skepticism is a good thing – but tactics made to make you question everything? That’s doubt-mongering.

Misinformer Tactic: Ad Hominem Attack

An Ad Hominem attack is used to discredit the person to invalidate their argument, rather than discrediting the argument itself

Misinformer Tactic: Impersonation

Impersonation, a common tactic used by misinformers and scam artists is to appear legit by putting on the trappings of real information sources.

How to be a Better Digital Citizen

Let’s face it, most of us spend a lot of time online. How we show up and treat others in the digital world matters. Learn more on how to be kind online.

Reducing your screen time doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Reminder: Not everything on the internet is true

Stop scrolling! Think “Is this true?” before sharing.

Why we focus on the bad stuff

Raise your hands if you’d like a kinder, gentler internet? 🙋🏾‍♂️

Put these tips into action!

Look out for Narrative tropes & rhetoric

4 Tips for Teachers

Science works whenever anyone is welcome

#ScienceUpFirst Art Alongside

When messages are paired with creative forms of expression, the results are more memorable, more shareable, and can reach new audiences. Here, we collaborated with artists across Canada to inspire others to use best practices from science communication in their own lives and work.