EDMO’s media literacy guidelines

IRIS 2024-10:1/11

Amélie Lacourt

European Audiovisual Observatory

The European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), a European Union-funded initiative managed by a consortium led by the European University Institute, was set up as part of the European Commission's 2018 action plan against disinformation. Aiming to enable and strengthen cooperation between stakeholders to combat disinformation and promote media literacy across Europe, the EDMO community is large and acts as a hub, bringing together fact-checkers, media literacy experts and academic researchers, media organisations, online platforms and media literacy practitioners. This month, the EDMO launched a set of principles and guidelines for effective media literacy initiatives across Europe. These guidelines were developed by the EDMO’s Working Group on Media Literacy Standards and Best Practices, with input from its 14 national and cross-national hubs, and other practitioners and experts across more than 50 countries. 

For this project, the EDMO took as a basis the European Commission’s Media Literacy Expert Group definition of media literacy: “media literacy is an umbrella expression that includes all the technical, cognitive, social, civic and creative capacities that allow a person to access, have a critical understanding of the media and interact and engage with it”. The guidelines were designed for anyone involved in the development of media literacy initiatives, including civil society, educators, policy makers, and those in the media or tech industries. The guidelines can apply to various initiatives, including those regarding:

- mis- and disinformation, supporting the development of critical thinking skills to better detect and counter false or misleading content;

- news literacy, promoting the value of independent journalism in the media ecosystem;

- wider digital literacy, explaining how digital media operate and how to use them;

- algo-literacy, helping individuals understand the role of algorithms in our media consumption.

And since media literacy initiatives vary considerably in scope, size, duration and focus, not all recommendations included in the guidelines will be relevant to all projects. It is up to each actor to select the most appropriate advice for their initiative(s).

The guidelines are grouped around 12 principles covering three different stages of media literacy projects: development, delivery and review.

Development

A good media literacy initiative:

- has clearly defined goals and principles;

- is empowering;

- promotes critical understanding of the media ecosystem;

- is consultative and relevant;

- takes an evidence-based approach;

- is inclusive;

- is ethical and accessible.

Delivery

A good media literacy initiative:

- is transparent;

- is prepared;

- is adaptable.

Review

A good media literacy initiative:

- endures;

- reflects, shares and evaluates.