Media Literacy

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By Erika Benke and Marianna SpringBBC News, Finland & Disinfo correspondent, London

As the midterm elections approach in the US, The Wave<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of false claims surrounding the vote is a reminder of how hard it is to combat fake news. Does Finland have The Answer<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> ?

A few hours after Vladimir Putin<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> called up 300,000 military reservists in September, a video showing long queues of cars at the Finnish-Russian border started circulating on Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

The Finnish Border Guard<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> was quick to point out it was fake.

" Some<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of The Videos<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> were filmed earlier and now Taken Out<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of context, " it said on Twitter. The tweet promptly made it to The Top<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of the Ukraine live page on national broadcaster Yle's news website.

The Border Guard<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's and Yle's response highlights a crucial element of Finland's success against Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - Public Trust<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in The Authorities<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and the media.

Finland is a high-trust society. According to an OECD report, 71% of the Finnish population trust the Government<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , compared to the OECD average of 41%.

And it's not just the Government<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - Parliament<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , the Civil Service<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , The Police<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and the media all enjoy high levels of trust.

In, the country tops a global chart measuring resilience to Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

That does not mean Finns believe everything they read in the papers and never look at Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> for information. But when they do, most have The Ability<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to critically evaluate information.

That shield against Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> is being sorely tested in the US as the midterm elections approach.

More Than<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> ever, the spotlight is on the so-called fake news problem and the real-world consequences it can have.

Despite the increased Focus On<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> tackling false and misleading claims on Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , including from the tech giants themselves, Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> is still seeping through the cracks.

Misinformation and the midterm elections

For The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's Americast podcast, we created Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> accounts belonging to five fake characters, who reflect views from across the political spectrum in the US.

One character in particular - Populist Right Britney<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - has been recommended pages on Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> that continue to promote Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> that Trump really won the 2020 election, as well as a range of conspiracies.

Progressive Left Emma, on The Other<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> hand, has been more likely to encounter more radical activism - Some<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> that includes violent rhetoric but that stops short of conspiracy.

What the US can learn from Finland

The Finnish school system is the cornerstone of The Fight<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> against fake news. Critical Thinking<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and Media Literacy<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> have been part of the curriculum for a very long time. The curriculum was revised in 2016 to teach children the skills they needed to spot the kind of fabricated information that spread on Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> during the US election campaign.

" We teach Critical Thinking<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> across several subjects. For Example<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in maths classes we look at how statistics can be manipulated, " explains Marika Kerola, A Teacher<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in the northern city of Oulu.

" In art, a typical project would be for children to create their own versions of a shampoo advertisement. It may be a picture showing that hair is not as shiny or radiant as it's been promised on The Bottle<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> . "

In language classes they will compare the same story written as fact-based text and as propaganda, she says. In history they will compare war-time posters in Nazi Germany<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and the United States<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , for Example<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

Another core line of defence against fake news is the Government<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's National Emergency Supply Agency.

" To put it simply, Finland has a comprehensive publicly-funded security model, " says Markus Kokko, head of communications for the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

" The Government<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> works with private businesses and the media to build society's resilience to threats and prepare people for all kinds of disruptions. "

In addition to a central Government Agency<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , Finland has A Number<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of NGOs and voluntary organisations combating fake news. Fact-checking service Faktabaari is probably the best-known of them.

Finland's approach is all about getting ahead of the Tidal Wave<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - a wave that has already crashed down on US shores.

The Experience<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in Finland suggests proactive moderation in real-time can make a difference.

What can Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> platforms do?

Since the pandemic, where online Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> surged online about Covid-19, the Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> sites have all committed to doing more to battle falsehoods. On the whole, they have seen Some<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> success in removing harmful mistruths and labelling conspiracies with accurate information from third-party fact-checkers.

More on this series, Seeking A Solution

And around the midterms, they've variously announced specific initiatives in place to deal with this issue. For Example<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - Meta , which owns Facebook and Instagram, says it has More Than<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 40 teams working on the election, as well as partnerships with 10 fact-checking organisations in the US.

But, across the Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> platforms, there are still posts that rack up likes and views before they're removed - and many that get through the gaps in the First Place<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , as the Undercover Voter Britney<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> feeds reveals. A proactive moderation approach that tackles these posts before they have the chance to spread like wildfire is one favoured by Some<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> experts.

Social Media Literacy<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> lies at The Heart<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of Finland's long-term plan. Charities and projects in the US have been pushing for more permanent legislation across the country to ensure children are taught this topic in schools.

There was a bill passed in Illinois Last Year<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , for Example<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , which mandates every public High School<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to include Media Literacy<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> somewhere in its curriculum. They'll be taught How To<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> analyse everything they see online - and off.

Ultimately though, these measures are all just plasters on a wound that's much harder to heal. There's no quick fix for restoring and repairing faith in institutions - Some<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of which has been eroded by Disinformation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> campaigns looking to undermine the election result.

When Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> feeds like those of my Undercover Voter Britney<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> are still being punctuated by posts about how the election two years ago was fraudulent, there's still a problem.

And with a majority of Republican candidates running next month having questioned the 2020 election result, the prospect of progress can seem Remote<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

Source of news: bbc.com