About information and manipulation at a lesson on media consumption

The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) continues its lessons of media literacy for Moldovan youth. This time, beneficiaries were 18 school students from various parts of the country (Comrat, Cahul, Bender, Causeni and Chisinau), who discussed about information and manipulation with Liliana Barbarosie, journalist at radio Europa Libera. The event was organized by the IJC on 3 July 2014 in Chisinau.

Liliana Barbarosie began the lesson by explaining to students why it is necessary for them to be informed daily from several sources and to critically analyze any information they receive. Also, the journalist analyzed the rules that should be followed when writing news materials, so as to avoid disinformation: correctness, balance of sources, objectivity, etc. “News is not an essay; it is a journalistic product developed according to strict rules. A correct news item presents at least two sources, and a good journalist seeks to ensure balance of sources”, Liliana Barbarosie mentioned.

Further, students watched and analyzed journalistic materials, in which they identified tendencies of manipulation and disinformation.
In the end, participants appreciated the activity as very useful. “This project is very necessary in educating the young generation, which can be easily manipulated and misinformed; it helps by teaching us to distinguish between true and false information”, said Irina Usatii from Cahul, student in the 11^th grade.

To better understand aspects related to information and manipulation, students also watched a video material produced by the IJC.  

The event took place as part of the project “Promoting media literacy among Moldovan citizens”, implemented by the IJC between March 2013 and April 2014 with the financial support of the US Embassy in Moldova.