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Media literacy is the habit of reading past the message

Media literacy means assessing who made a message, what supports it, what it leaves out and what to do next.

Poppy Nakagawa

By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer

3 min read

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and act using all forms of communication, according to the National Association for Media Literacy Education. In practice, it means looking past a message’s surface: identify the messenger, inspect the evidence and framing, compare important claims, then decide whether to trust, share or respond.

That covers more than news. NAMLE defines media as electronic and digital communication, print and artistic visuals. Media Literacy Now includes advertising, social media, streaming video, games and AI tools in today’s media environment.

More than a true-or-false test

Checking a claim is part of media literacy, but the framework goes wider. NAMLE’s five parts include accessing a message, analyzing it, evaluating it, creating communication and acting using it.

Media Literacy Now describes the skill as decoding media messages and the systems around them, assessing their influence on thoughts, feelings and behavior, and creating media thoughtfully. NAMLE says media literacy is not an anti-media movement.

A quick media literacy routine

Use these questions for a news report, advertisement, social-media post or video. Read the message, then read around it.

  1. Identify the source. Who made, paid for, owns or controls the message?
  2. Separate assertion from support. What is the central claim, and what evidence or sources does the message offer?
  3. Check the framing. Southern New Hampshire University communication instructor Russell Ortega Milligan recommends asking whether bias or stereotypes are present. Examine the language, tone, cited sources, possible omissions and whether the message presents a one-sided narrative.
  4. Cross-check important claims. Milligan says he gathers information from multiple sources and cross-checks it when seeking a balanced, fair report.
  5. Choose an action. Creating and acting responsibly are part of NAMLE’s media-literacy framework, alongside analysis and evaluation.

Questions for bias, omissions and stereotypes

  • Who owns or controls this message?
  • Can you identify bias or stereotypes?
  • What language and tone shape the message?
  • Are sources cited, and can they be checked?
  • What relevant details or viewpoints may be missing?
  • Does the message rely on a one-sided narrative?

These questions can also apply to entertainment. SNHU’s article includes movies among the media where readers can consider whether stereotypes are present.

Misinformation and disinformation

Creighton University Libraries defines misinformation as false information shared regardless of intent to mislead. Disinformation is misinformation deliberately shared to mislead.

The same guide describes the “illusory truth effect,” in which repeated information can be more likely to be judged true because it has become familiar. Repetition is a cue to check a claim’s evidence and sources.

What U.S. survey respondents said

In a January 2024 Ipsos eNation Omnibus online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, reported by Boston University’s College of Communication, 72% agreed to some degree that media-literacy skills are important in helping people identify misinformation. Sixty-one percent agreed to some degree that media-literacy education teaches people how to think more critically, rather than what to think.

The survey was weighted by region, gender, age and education. Boston University said statistical margins of error do not apply to online polls and noted that surveys can have other sources of error.

Frequently asked questions

What questions should I ask before sharing a social-media post?

Ask who made, paid for, owns or controls the post; what claim it makes; and what evidence or sources support it. Examine its language, tone, possible omissions and stereotypes, then cross-check important claims with other sources.

What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?

Creighton University Libraries defines misinformation as false information shared regardless of intent to mislead. Disinformation is misinformation deliberately shared to mislead.

Sources