In Poland, teaching media literacy without blind media loyalty

Summer Educator Retreat: Media and Art in Civic Education in Jachranka, Poland.

If a young person came to you believing a deepfake was real, how would you help them realise it wasn't?

That’s just one of the challenges we explored earlier this month at the Summer Educator Retreat: Media and Art in Civic Education in Jachranka, Poland.

Lie Detectors journalist Piotr Drabik facilitated three hands-on media literacy workshops for 40 high school teachers from nine countries, ranging from Poland and Spain to Tunisia and Georgia.

Together, we unpacked:

• AI-generated content

• Filter bubbles

• Clickbait

• How to help teenagers think critically, before they click
  
  But what stood out most? Spirited questions from the teachers themselves, which continued off-the-record, even during hallway talks: “Can any journalist truly be unbiased?” and “How do we teach media literacy without teaching blind media loyalty?”
  
  Such curiosity and critical thinking is exactly what we hope to ignite in classrooms. Because media literacy also means knowing what quality journalism requires: accuracy, fact-checking, transparency, independence, accountability and balance.
  
  A big thank you to the Polish eTwinning National Support Organization - Foundation for the Development of the Education System, Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji, for organising such an inspiring, international gathering of sharp and committed educators.
  
  We also appreciated the opportunity to deliver a dedicated workshop in Warsaw on disinformation and its communication challenges for the Polish Association for University PR and Promotion, Stowarzyszenie PR i Promocji Uczelni Polskich"PRom".