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More Media Literacy Education Leads to Greater Belief in Fake News Among Students: Study

From Hankyoreh · (10h ago) Korean Critical tone

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • A study found that middle and high school students who received more media literacy education were more likely to believe fake news.
  • The research, which involved 517 students aged 14-19, suggests current media literacy education in schools is ineffective.
  • The study also noted that male students were more susceptible to fake news than female students, possibly due to excessive social media use and higher cognitive load when processing information.

A recent study by Professor Lee Jang-seok's research team at Gachon University's Department of Media and Communication has revealed a deeply concerning paradox: students receiving more media literacy education are, counterintuitively, more likely to believe fake news. This finding, published by the Our Education Research Institute, directly challenges the effectiveness of current educational approaches in South Korea.

The group that received more media literacy education at school showed a tendency to trust fake news more than the group that received less.

— Our Education Research InstituteAnnouncing the findings of a study on adolescent short-form news credibility.

The research, which surveyed and experimented with 517 middle and high school students nationwide, used a TikTok short-form video containing fabricated news about Chinese spies being arrested. The results showed that students who had undergone more media literacy training were more inclined to trust this false information. This suggests that the education provided, often limited to theoretical concepts like identifying fake news criteria and delivered through one-off lectures totaling an average of 6.64 hours per year, is failing to equip students with practical skills for critical evaluation.

The media literacy education for adolescents reveals the inadequacy of education in schools.

— Lee Jang-seokProfessor at Gachon University's Department of Media and Communication, commenting on the study's implications.

Furthermore, the study highlighted a gender disparity, with male students exhibiting a greater tendency to believe and share fake news. Researchers attribute this to factors such as excessive social media use, a stronger fear of missing out (FOMO) when offline, and a higher cognitive load experienced by boys when viewing fake news videos, which may impair their critical judgment. This is particularly worrying given that 70% of Korean youth consume news through short-form platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

Male students showed a stronger tendency to believe fake news than female students.

— Our Education Research InstitutePart of the study's findings regarding gender differences in susceptibility to misinformation.

From our perspective at Hankyoreh, this study is a stark warning. It underscores the urgent need to overhaul media literacy education, shifting from passive theoretical instruction to active, hands-on training in source verification and cross-referencing. The reliance on short-form content, where peer influence and algorithmic recommendations play a significant role in shaping perceptions, necessitates a more robust and integrated approach within the curriculum. We must ensure our youth develop the critical thinking skills to navigate the complex digital landscape, rather than becoming more vulnerable to misinformation.

72.1% of respondents cited short-form platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts as their preferred news source.

— Our Education Research InstituteHighlighting the dominant role of short-form video in youth news consumption.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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