A journalist in Brazil is showing seniors how to outsmart misinformation, one WhatsApp message at a time
The most sophisticated media literacy tools in the world are worthless if they don’t meet people where they are.
Southern Brazil journalist Talita Rosa first encountered the phrase “fake news” in 2017, years before it entered everyday Brazilian conversation. That online course sparked her interest in fact-checking and later led her to launch “Prova Real,” a pioneering verification project for the region.
As a communications professional, Rosa quickly realized that countering mis- and disinformation would take more than just journalists; it demanded a fundamental shift in how communities understand and share information.
Related Knowledge Center: Media literacy
Digital technology has irrevocably altered the media landscape. As traditional sources of credible information — gatekeepers — lose influence, jostled and often replaced by content of uncertain pedigree, many users lack the requisite skills to separate fact from fiction, truth from lies, sense from nonsense. The market doesn’t reward one over the other — social media algorithms often produce better business outcomes with falsehoods — prompting some dedicated efforts to empower users with better critical-thinking tools.
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors