The new media environment facilitates access to multiple sources of information but exposes users to the threat of information disorder, the Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Strasbourg at Standing Committee level, said today. According to parliamentarians, media education is an essential tool for dealing with this threat.
Adopting a resolution, based on the report prepared by Nino Goguadze (Georgia, EC), the Assembly underlined that there is a need to sensitise all members of society, and young people in particular, to the dangers of manipulation, indoctrination, radicalisation and hate speech. Their ability to “distinguish opinion from objective facts and quality information from propaganda or false news should be increased”, as well as their critical approach to the media. According to the adopted text, the training of journalists with a focus on accountability and professional ethics should be strengthened.
For this purpose, the parliamentarians said that media education should be “provided at school and continue as part of a lifelong learning process”. All stakeholders – public institutions, ministries, schools, universities, media, media regulators, civil society, private initiatives, internet intermediaries – should “engage in multi-stakeholder collaboration and strengthen their coordination” in the development and implementation of their strategies and actions.
PACE