News Media Canada begins media literacy campaign
By Adnews Staff
News Media Canada, an organization representing the print and digital news industry, has launched a new national media literacy campaign called “Spot Fake News Online.” The initiative encourages media consumers to question the news and information they find online. It recommends examining the credibility of the source, possible biases in perspective, the number of other sources reporting the same story and the timeliness of the post.
The bilingual campaign includes online video, a website at <http://www.spotfakenews.ca> and a national advertising campaign in newspapers and news sites that are members of News Media Canada. The program is being funded by the Government of Canada as part Canadian Heritage’s Digital Citizen Initiative.
“We know that so-called fake news and the spread of disinformation online are very real concerns for Canadians,” said John Hinds, president and CEO of News Media Canada. “According to an Ipsos-Reid study, 63% of Canadians have trouble distinguishing between legitimate news websites and fake news stories. We developed ‘Spot’ to provide Canadians with a simple, easy-to-remember tool they can use anytime they’re consuming news online.”