Editor’s Note: We live in an increasingly polluted information environment in which bad actors seek to manipulate us individually and undermine our social cohesion collectively. Whether through financial scams, hostile foreign influence operations, child sexual exploitation, or polarizing content designed to weaken trust, these weaponized uses of information rely on a set of manipulative and harmful techniques. While not a panacea, digital literacy can help decrease our vulnerability to manipulation and harm, improve our digital civic participation, and increase our digital wellness.  

Digital communication has become a ubiquitous part of American life. Not only have the internet and social media allowed us to be better connected than ever before, they have made it easy for malicious actors to create and spread hateful rhetoric, narratives justifying the use of violence, and content designed to mislead and generate outrage. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) make it easier to generate content, and more difficult for users to discern what is real and what is fake. 

Knowing how to navigate digital landscapes is increasingly becoming an essential skill. Digital literacy programs can play an important role in a public health-informed approach to targeted violence prevention by building resilience to extremist content that normalizes or advocates for violence. 

Social Media and Radicalization 

The causes of grievance-based and hate-fueled violence are multifaceted and emerge at various levels. While the internet and social media don’t cause radicalization on their own, they facilitate an environment where users may be exposed to violent extremist ideas, narratives, and groups. Risk factors associated with extremist attitudes and behaviors include both passive exposure to extremist content and active interaction with extremists online. 

Research indicates that algorithms, which tailor content feeds with personalized recommendations based on what a user has searched or watched, can gradually move users towards violent and hateful material. For example, users seeking content related to self-improvement or masculinity may eventually be recommended content that promotes misogynistic tropes. Additionally, engagement-driven design of social media platforms can amplify content that triggers outrage, fear, or other strong emotions, as this type of content is more likely to be shared and reposted.  

Emerging technology poses a growing risk to users as well. Generative AI tools, like image and video generators and text-based chatbots, make it increasingly easier for malicious actors to produce and spread manipulative and hateful content justifying violence. At the same time, the prevalence of bots, automated accounts that mimic human behavior online, amplifies these challenges by exerting outsized influence on political discussions and accelerating the spread of false information online. 

What is Digital Literacy? 

Digital literacy is the ability to critically engage with messages transmitted in digital media environments. Digital literacy fits under the umbrella concept of media literacy, which is the ability to “access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.” Media literacy skills involve asking questions about the author, intended audience, purpose, and intended meaning. Media literacy programs advance the development of analysis and comprehension skills, and can help build protective factors by enhancing critical thinking skills and reducing vulnerability to violent extremist narratives.  

Essential digital literacy competencies include proficiency with digital technology and tools, understanding responsible and ethical online behavior (also called digital citizenship), and the ability to critically analyze digital media. Additionally, digital literacy programs can include the mindful use of technology to support mental and physical health (a practice sometimes referred to as digital wellness), and social-emotional skills that can strengthen protective factors against violence. Strengthening both critical thinking skills and social-emotional skills addresses both the cognitive vulnerabilities (susceptibility to false or misleading claims) and the emotional vulnerabilities (feelings of anger, isolation, or threat to identity) that extremist narratives exploit. 

Components of a digital literacy curriculum may include: 

  • Source evaluation: teaching students how to verify the reliability and credibility of sources through lateral reading, cross-checking, and author verification.  
  • Inoculation or “prebunking”: exposing learners to weakened forms of manipulative and misleading information so they can recognize manipulative content in real contexts. 
  • Perspective-taking and emotion regulation: structured activities that help learners manage strong emotions triggered by provocative content, while practicing empathy and constructive dialogue. 

Several universities have developed digital literacy curriculum, for example, the University of Rhode Island’s Courageous RI program and American University’s Developing and Using Critical Comprehension (DUCC) program. A growing number of states have passed legislation mandating media literacy instruction or the development of media literacy standards in K-12 classrooms. Although the evidence base is still emerging, research suggests that strategies like inoculation and prebunking, as well as incorporating social-emotional skills into curricula, can strengthen resistance to manipulation and reduce vulnerability to violent extremist narratives.  

Building digital literacy skills through education is a promising, scalable strategy not only to build resilience against violent extremist messaging online, but to develop essential skills in today’s hyperconnected environment.  

VIOLENCE PREVENTION NOTICE: Warning signs often appear before violent acts. If someone you know makes general or specific threats, shows unusual interest in weapons, or fixates on previous violent incidents, you’re not overreacting by taking action. Ask direct questions and help them connect with professional support (or alert authorities if danger is immediate). Your intervention can prevent tragedy.

Source link