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The University of Hong Kong

Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens

Never before has the need for News Literacy been more urgent. As news consumers are bombarded with a constant stream of fake news, propaganda, hoaxes, rumors, satire, and advertising — that often masquerade as credible journalism — it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. While the public’s faith in the news media erodes, purveyors of misinformation have helped give rise to troubling cultural trends and alarming political movements. This six-week course will help learners develop their critical thinking skills to enable them to better identify reliable information in news reports and to become better informed about the world in which we live. The course will discuss the key elements of journalism from the viewpoint of the news audience. The language of instruction is English, but Chinese and Spanish subtitles will be available. Each week will tackle a challenge unique to the digital era: Week 1: The power of information is now in the hands of consumers. Week 2: What makes journalism different from other types of information? Week 3: Where can we find trustworthy information? Week 4: How to tell what’s fair and what’s biased. Week 5: How to apply news literacy concepts in real life. Week 6: Meeting the challenges of digital citizenship.

Status: Digital Communications
Status: Media and Communications
BeginnerCourse15 hours

Featured reviews

CX

Reviewed Sep 12, 2019

This is a very good introductory course for everyone who would like to have a better understanding of news and learn the essential media literacy skills in the digital era.

DC

Reviewed Nov 5, 2022

This course was informative and challenging - great class!

TM

Reviewed Sep 27, 2017

Excellent, short and concise. Offers clear and usable methods for critical thinking.

GP

Reviewed Nov 11, 2019

simply the brilliant course and intellectual instructors.

DC

Reviewed Jul 20, 2017

Useful and meaningful as we are living in an age of information overload, the ability to make sensible application of information is just too important. Thanks

PA

Reviewed Feb 9, 2020

Best step-by-step course to take me from a fairly ignorant news reader to a person that knows how to gauge the veracity of the news I see now.

DG

Reviewed Jan 30, 2017

Excellent coverage. Enjoyed the resources. Gained a great deal from taking this course.

SI

Reviewed Apr 29, 2017

I was expecting a good class, but this exceeded my expectations. Well worth the money!

DD

Reviewed Jan 19, 2021

Very good introductory course. Strongly recommend.

MS

Reviewed Mar 24, 2017

Really enjoyed this course. Lots of good information on how to identify fake news.

RL

Reviewed Jun 3, 2017

Informative and nicely paced. Expectations are not challenging to meet. Nice pace to follow at your leisure. Solid grounding in the subject. Quality relevant examples.

N

Reviewed Nov 6, 2021

Excellent course, topics are very well formulated and taught with clarity. This course leaves you with handful of skills to analyze daily news and information around you.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 64

Rizky Sekar Afrisia
5.0
Reviewed Jul 24, 2017
Randall Lusson
5.0
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Lynda Roy
5.0
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Hamza Mechri
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Reviewed Jan 15, 2023
ayach lamia
5.0
Reviewed Jun 1, 2022
Chuanli Xia
5.0
Reviewed Sep 12, 2019
Debi Griggs
5.0
Reviewed Jan 30, 2017
Rick Mickelson
5.0
Reviewed Feb 26, 2017
Alvin Ong Siau Wah
4.0
Reviewed Jun 7, 2020
Anant Saraf
4.0
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5.0
Reviewed Jun 15, 2019
Uma Gopal
5.0
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Abir Ghosh
5.0
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Gayes Mahestu
5.0
Reviewed Jun 8, 2020
Holly D. Ocasio Rizzo
5.0
Reviewed Mar 6, 2017
Leonidas Athanasopoulos
5.0
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Vivek Shekhar
5.0
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Petrone Bandeira
5.0
Reviewed Mar 1, 2021
Regina Köhler
5.0
Reviewed Jul 23, 2017