Mass Communication Commons^™

Political Polarization, Misinformation, And Media Literacy, Ira Bruce Gaultney, Todd Sherron, Carrie Boden

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Today’s college students grew up with digital news media and social media readily available on their smartphones. As a result, students are likely to use their smartphones to access the news through social media where partisan misinformation is easily spread. Efforts to combat the spread of misinformation on social media are being explored on several fronts, including media literacy programs. While media literacy is not a cure-all for the problems posed by misinformation, it is helpful for instructors to understand how adept U.S. college students are at assessing the credibility of the news on their phones and the influence political …