Objectives:
The rise of digital technologies is having a profound impact on the ways in which news is produced, shared, and used. We are now more connected than ever, but many lack awareness of the sophisticated and intrusive algorithms that have emerged along with deep fakes and other digital illusions that frame news and citizens’ political engagement. The war in Europe and the global health crisis have revealed the extent to which the digital transformation impacts all facets of society, namely the spread of an “infodemic” swirling, misinformation, and disinformation, which have increased polarization, the spread of conspiracy theories, and hate speech online. The main objective of this unit is to build deeper knowledge and trigger skepticism about available information and news content and discuss current technological innovations used in news distribution. The news media literacy unit intends to support an informed debate about today’s news production and consumption, to generate a positioned knowledge about the role of news among algorithms and social media contexts and to develop students ‘abilities to participate in this news media arena critically and mindfully.

Skills:
Participants in this course will emerge with a better understanding of news and media practices, forms and processes and their consequences for the role of journalists and citizens in contemporary society.