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The University of Hong Kong

Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens

Never before has the need for News Literacy been more urgent. As news consumers are bombarded with a constant stream of fake news, propaganda, hoaxes, rumors, satire, and advertising — that often masquerade as credible journalism — it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. While the public’s faith in the news media erodes, purveyors of misinformation have helped give rise to troubling cultural trends and alarming political movements. This six-week course will help learners develop their critical thinking skills to enable them to better identify reliable information in news reports and to become better informed about the world in which we live. The course will discuss the key elements of journalism from the viewpoint of the news audience. The language of instruction is English, but Chinese and Spanish subtitles will be available. Each week will tackle a challenge unique to the digital era: Week 1: The power of information is now in the hands of consumers. Week 2: What makes journalism different from other types of information? Week 3: Where can we find trustworthy information? Week 4: How to tell what’s fair and what’s biased. Week 5: How to apply news literacy concepts in real life. Week 6: Meeting the challenges of digital citizenship.

Status: Ethical Standards And Conduct
Status: digital literacy
BeginnerCourse15 hours

Featured reviews

AI

5.0Reviewed Nov 20, 2020

Great course to cultivate media literacy skills. Full of real-life cases.

DC

5.0Reviewed Jul 19, 2017

Useful and meaningful as we are living in an age of information overload, the ability to make sensible application of information is just too important. Thanks

TA

5.0Reviewed Apr 13, 2022

Very interesting and educational course, helped me to understand the mistakes not only in professional activity, but also in real life.

SI

5.0Reviewed Apr 28, 2017

I was expecting a good class, but this exceeded my expectations. Well worth the money!

MS

4.0Reviewed Mar 23, 2017

Really enjoyed this course. Lots of good information on how to identify fake news.

OT

5.0Reviewed Feb 19, 2018

I loved this course and was very informative . Thank you Anne and Steven and the team.

RA

5.0Reviewed Jul 23, 2017

Very informative and clear and there are some assignments to make us understand more. But there are too many links that we have to read, I prefer the video and examples and assignments.

FF

5.0Reviewed Apr 1, 2020

very good course, with tons of reference resources. I've learned a lot and felt a door opened in front me toward the world of news literacy and perception of real journalism.

IC

5.0Reviewed Jun 1, 2021

T​his should be mandatory for any social media user nowadays :)

TF

4.0Reviewed Jan 1, 2021

Great course! I have gained lots of knowledge and critical thinking skills from it. Has Loads of reading materials apart from lectures.

CX

5.0Reviewed Sep 11, 2019

This is a very good introductory course for everyone who would like to have a better understanding of news and learn the essential media literacy skills in the digital era.

DC

5.0Reviewed Nov 4, 2022

This course was informative and challenging - great class!

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 62

Rizky Sekar Afrisia
5.0
Reviewed Jul 23, 2017
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