Reading Hoax: Measuring Students’ Critical News Literacy

Abstract

Media literacy has become increasingly crucial in today’s digital age as it is essential for students to learn how to critically evaluate news sources to identify hoaxes and make informed decisions. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a media literacy course that had been running for 20 years on students' critical news literacy skills and critical thinking. Students were divided into two groups and asked to assess media texts. The results revealed that critical thinking was more significant for news literacy than media literacy. The study found that students’ critical news literacy skills were at a moderate level, with many struggling to recognize hoaxes in media texts. This finding suggests that further study is necessary to identify the factors influencing this, as well as how students interact with hoaxes in their daily lives.