ne of the biggest global challenges today is the rapidly expanding space for disinformation and fake news, creating unrest in societies across the world. Media and information literacy is the need of the hour, not just for media and journalism students and teachers and journalists alone but also for the general public, the information consumers. For this, we have to go back to the basics—fact-checking through verification of information and facts.

I have practiced journalism for over 30 years and have been teaching the subject for 15 years. I have come to the conclusion that most of what journalists practiced and teachers taught in the pre-smartphone era is of little to no relevance now. In this age of information, when traditional media is fast losing ground, social media is the major source of information for a majority of information consumers across the world. Besides global literature, my personal surveys with students endorse the conclusion that a majority of the people trust social media platforms and their content and prefer to watch or read those on their smartphones.

Last week, I asked my class of 27 students which newspaper they read or news channel they watched. Only one said that he read an English newspaper online; the rest said they neither read nor watched any kind of traditional news media. Instead, they said they browsed through Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and TikTok. When asked how they ensured that the information they were consuming was accurate, their response was stunning. Most of them said that they believed the information because it was being provided by famous social media influencers with millions of followers. Interestingly, a Pakistani social media influencer they mentioned is infamous for incorrect reporting and fabricated stories.

A 2016 Stanford University study observed that most middle school, high school and college students in the United States were functional news illiterates. “Eighty-two percent of middle school students couldn’t distinguish between a sponsored content like advertisement and a real news story on the same website,” the study found. It said that more than 30 percent of high school students argued that a fake Facebook post, portrayed as one by Fox News, was more reliable than a real Fox News post. Over 80 percent of college students believed that a website was a trusted, unbiased news source when a simple Google search would have revealed its ties to a Washington, DC, lobbying firm.

The media literacy trends in the US and Pakistan (and elsewhere around the the globe) are quite similar. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and several others are trying hard to develop the idea and culture of media and information literacy in various countries, including Pakistan, to counter disinformation, misinformation, fake news and propaganda. However, the number of social media networks is growing rapidly and with it the challenges in the information ecosystem. Governments in some countries sometimes resort to restricting the use of social media networks. This has been tried in Pakistan as well. However, these actions alone cannot stop the flow of misinformation.

In the run for ratings and viewership, the traditional news media felt compelled to join the digital space in the race to be the first to ‘break’ news. This tendency has massively dented its credibility. Many media platforms now ignore concerns for accuracy, fact-checking and ethics of journalism to win the race for breaking news or attract more viewers.

Some media networks even run unverified information. I can cite several examples in this regard. In 2009, I used to work for a leading news channel in Pakistan, besides working for an international wire service. When terrorists attacked the Elite Police Training School in 2009, I reached there to cover the incident for the wire service. A colleague from the TV channel was already there. It was astonishing to hear him say on a live video beeper, “Let me break the news that the number of terrorists who attacked the facility is more than 40; women terrorists are also with them.” In fact, there were only four terrorists. I expected strong action against the reporter once we reported back to our office. However, nobody asked about his inaccurate reporting. Instead, he was appreciated for his “hard work.” A few years ago, the same journalist received an award from the government for his ‘principled reporting.’

Also in 2009, some terrorists attacked the Manawan Police Training Academy. The police had handled the situation well. Sensing that they would be captured, the terrorists blew themselves up. A week or so after the attack, a news channel aired a live beeper by a reporter, apparently about another terrorist attack on the training centre. The reporter spoke for more than 30 minutes, claiming that he was just outside the school building where he could hear a series of explosions. He kept criticising the government and security forces for their failure and only stopped after another news channel announced that the explosions he had heard were fireworks going off at a banquet hall where a wedding was under way.

The level of media literacy among the audience can be judged from the fact that the reporter is one of the most popular YouTubers in Pakistan, admired by his followers for his ‘authenticity.’

In 2013, I worked with Lisa Schnellinger and Michelle Betz, former directors of the United Press International’s media development wing, UPI Next, on fact-checking, promise tracking and ethical journalism. Schnellinger and Betz’s dedication resulted in over 300 factcheckers being trained across Pakistan; the production of hundreds of stories around factchecking and promise tracking for statements and vows made by politicians; and the launching of a website newslens.pk and printing of a fortnightly Truth Tracker. The team had hoped that these initiatives would block the way for disinformation and fake news but most of those have withered away. One positive outcome was the introduction of the culture of factchecking in Pakistan. Today, several groups are working on factchecking.

During discussions with various international media experts, one notices a consensus over the need for concerted efforts to make the audiences media literate. Various approaches have been proposed to counter the pitfalls of an ever-evolving information ecosystem.

The writer is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and analyst. He tweets at @BukhariMubasher