Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022

https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2022-14-2-5
ISSN: 2167-8715

The impact of media and information literacy

on students’ acquisition of the skills needed to detect fake news

Reem M. Al Zou’bi
Al al Bayt University, Jordan
OPEN ACCESS

Peer-reviewed article ABSTRACT

Citation: Al Zou’bi, R. M. (2022). This research investigated the impact of media and information literacy (MIL)
The impact of media and information
on education faculty students’ acquisition of the skills needed to detect fake
literacy on students’ acquisition of the
skills needed to detect fake news. news. A one-group experimental design was employed with a randomly
Journal of Media Literacy Education, selected sample of 100 Jordanian undergraduate students. The participants
14(2), 58-71. completed one pre-test and two post-tests, each of which consisted of 10
https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2022- closed-ended questions and one open-ended question on how to detect fake
14-2-5
news. The results indicated that studying MIL has an impact on students’
Corresponding Author: acquisition of the skills needed to detect fake news. The findings also
Reem M. Al Zou’bi suggested that the methods students employed to identify and detect fake news
rzoubi@aabu.edu.jo after studying the MIL course were scientific and well-reasoned. Based on the
results, several recommendations are made that will be of value to researchers
Copyright: © 2022 Author(s). This is
and workers in this field.
an open access, peer-reviewed article
published by Bepress and distributed
under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which Keywords: media and information literacy (MIL), fake news, educational
permits unrestricted use, distribution, faculty students, Jordan.
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and
source are credited. JMLE is the
official journal of NAMLE.

Received: May 2, 2021

Accepted: October 18, 2021
Published: July 29, 2022

Data Availability Statement: All

relevant data are within the paper and
its Supporting Information files.

Competing Interests: The Author(s)

declare(s) no conflict of interest.

Editorial Board

Journal of Media Literacy Education

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION (NAMLE)
Online at www.jmle.org
 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUD
Rumors and fake news are loosely linked terms that
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 are often employed interchangeably. Fake news refers to
was followed by an unprecedented and rapid deliberately false facts, while rumors are unverified and
dissemination of rumors and fake news on social media questionable information distributed without the intent
that exploited the public’s fear of the disease. For to deceive. The motives of those spreading fake news on
example, social media users described methods of social media platforms can be difficult to deduce;
prevention and control that lacked scientific and medical consequently, any false or misleading content is
evidence in order to benefit economically or improve the commonly branded as fake (Sharma et al., 2020).
follow-up and visibility of a particular website (CNN, Locally, reports by the Jordanian Media Credibility
2020). An official expert on social media platforms at Monitor (Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (Akeed),
the World Health Organization claimed that this led to a 2020) found that the number of rumors began to increase
wave of fear and anxiety that spread faster than the virus in tandem with the spread of the coronavirus in March.
itself. He reported that the emergence of COVID-19 at In January, 30 rumors were detected, while in February
the end of 2019 had brought with it a dangerous there were 31 rumors and in March there were 43. The
phenomenon known as an infodemic. This is defined as: coronavirus was the subject of 24.1% of all rumors
sourced from various social media platforms (Facebook,
The difficulty of individuals in accessing reliable sources and Twitter, and WhatsApp). July witnessed a drop in
credible advice when needed, and this phenomenon, in turn,
rumors with 29 reported, compared with 43 in June, 51
leads to the ease and speed of fake news especially on social
media (World Health Organization, 2020, p. 2). in May, and 49 in April. The significant decrease in
rumors was attributed to the government’s policy of
Social media allows information to be easily shared banning the media from publishing on some sensitive
and can serve to promote half-facts and rumors, topics; those who violated this rule were held legally
particularly when a large volume of people obtain their accountable. Regrettably, social networking sites
news from such outlets (Mitchell et al., 2020; Talwar et continued to take the lead in spreading and promoting
al., 2019). Ascoott (2020) asserts that the persistent rumors, which increased steadily from August to
menace of fake news on the Internet requires real December, comprising 60-70% of all fake news (as
solutions as web-based news and social media have indicated in Figure 2).
grown in popularity over the past few years, a
consequence of which is that a whole new genre of
information has entered the lexicon: fake news.
Acceptance of false news has recently been found to
pose a risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although
awareness of the issue is widespread, preventing the
dissemination of fake news requires fast action from
social media outlets, reporters, and fact-finders. Figure
1 presents a fake photo of COVID-19 (an alleged
micrograph of the coronavirus) that was shared on
WhatsApp and Facebook in March 2020.

Figure 2. The spread of fake news in Jordan in 2020

Several researchers (Celliers & Hattingh, 2020; Qiu

et al., 2017) have identified the following reasons for the
spread of fake news:
 Decreased cognitive abilities of individuals.
 The poor quality of media content makes it more
popular.
Figure 1. False micrograph of the coronavirus  The difficulty of controlling misleading news shared
(AFP, 2020) widely on social media. This was confirmed by

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 59

 Facebook when it declared that its failure to MIL concepts was an early step toward the development
distinguish fake news through its red flag policy had of today’s composite concept of media literacy
led to the consolidation of false beliefs, exactly the (Muratova et al., 2019).
opposite of what it was seeking (Italiano, 2017). Wright (2015), Galán (2015), and Hadžialić (2018)
 The spread of fake news is also influenced by the so- contend that media education is the theoretical and
called “Placebo effect”, which involves thinking practical paradigm for MIL. They argue that MIL is a
positively about fake news and treating it as if it was scientific discipline situated within the realm of
true. (Andelová, 2018). education sciences that resulted from the emergence of
 Fueling fear: fake news spreads quickly when people mass communication media. Forming a society with the
become emotional and afraid. ability to be critical when confronted with the power of
 The “third person” influence, namely our tendency techno-media messages – in all their current forms – in
to believe that others are more likely to be influenced the 21st century is one of the essential tasks in any
by the media than we are (Boudhn & Bouzid, 2018). educational context. This should not be confused with
education through media, which denotes the use of
Why is media and information literacy a need media as resources or didactic auxiliaries to enhance
rather than a luxury? teaching-learning processes. MIL is primarily intended
to promote the adequate use and consumption of media
Media and information literacy (MIL) has become a products so that citizens develop the capacities to
social necessity owing to the massive development of analyze, use, and even express, in different ways, the
modern media resources such as social media, digital messages presented to them. In terms of differentiating
channels, and electronic news sites, which together between the two terms ML and MIL, ML is related more
confront individuals with a vast amount of information, to media content, media industry, and social effects (Lee
headlines, new technologies, and different opinions. & So, 2013), whereas MIL addresses questions we all
Making the next generation aware of how to interact have at some time in our lives: How can we gain sensible
with different forms of media is crucial because they access to, search for, critically evaluate, consume, and
will convey the news and information they encounter contribute material both online and offline? What are
and are often responsible for producing it. According to our online and offline rights? What are the ethical
reports, almost 300 million new social media users are concerns around information access and use?
added each year, which equates to 550 new users per (UNESCO, 2021).
minute (Schultz, 2019). MIL can be described as a set of skills that enable
MIL has evolved gradually since 1960, a time when users to understand, objectively assess, and respond
it was referred to as “media literacy” where the focus wisely to media content. This helps them to raise
was on teaching diverse segments of the public awareness of human rights on the Internet, fight hate
(children, young people, and adults) to consume speech, false news, and online bullying, and utilize
mediated information critically and deliberately in both media technology to foster equity and self-expression.
formal and informal contexts (Ciurel, 2016; Goodman, (Al-Hamadani, 2015; Al- Shamameri, 2014; Gallagher
2003). In 1972, the concept of media literacy became & Magid, 2017; Jordan Media Institute, 2018). Welsh
more concerned with educating and informing and Wright (2010) define MIL as the ability to decode,
individuals as a “defense project”, the aim of which was encode, analyze, evaluate, and produce media content in
to protect children and young people from the dangers its various forms. Lee (2010) believes that MIL refers to
created by the media, and to encourage them to reject the acquisition of the skills that help individuals
and overcome “false” messages and “inappropriate” understand, produce, and criticize media content.
values. Early in 1982, Grunwald’s declaration Finally, UNESCO defines MIL as follows
recognized the need for political and educational
systems to promote a critical understanding among the basic competencies that allow citizens to interact with the
media effectively, and develop critical thinking and lifelong
citizens of “communication phenomena” from learning skills for socialization that makes them active citizens
childhood to university. This was achieved by providing (cited in Al-Tawisi et al., 2016, p.5).
training workshops for teachers to master media
education skills (Al-Omari & Al-Assal, 2017). The researcher believes that these previous
Supporting UNESCO’s global initiative to disseminate definitions combine three basic elements: understanding
media content, the ability to produce it, and the ability

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 60

to employ critical thinking. Therefore, it is considered Faculty of Education in 2018 (Al-Mashagbah, 2018).
one of the optimal methods to stop the spread of fake The most significant contribution proposed in this paper
news as it enables the public to become better educated is to assess the impact of MIL on undergraduate students
so that they can critically and constructively evaluate the in enabling them to detect fake news as several studies
stories they see on social networks. It assumes that fake have noted that MIL helps young people to understand
news can be addressed by being extra careful when media content correctly, critically dissect media forms,
publishing or sharing news that receives a multitude of and consequently benefit from media in an intelligent
comments and “likes.” The recipient must be aware that way (Al-Zou’bi, 2021; Suminas & Jastramskis, 2020;
their constant presence on a particular media platform Tettey, 2013). To the best of the researcher’s
will substantially limit their perceptions of fake news knowledge, no study in the MENA region to date has
and they will become more receptive to accepting and addressed this topic. To elucidate this uncharted area
passing on false stories. Accordingly, the recipient must and fill a gap in the existing literature, the researcher
diversify their preferred trusted media outlets. When addressed the following questions:
they detect a fabricated story or false news, they must 1. Does MIL have a statistically significant impact on
inform others about it. Simply refraining from students’ acquisition of the skills needed to detect
publishing the story is not sufficient; they must be fake news?
proactive in stopping the spread of false news (Devlin & 2. What are the most common methods employed by
Pohjola, 2020; Parikh & Atrey, 2018). Al-Zubidi (2018) students to detect fake news before and after
advises checking elements of the image or video of the studying media and information literacy (MIL)?
news such as timing, location, visible signs, sound, the
language used, and the general appearance of people; he Literature review
also suggests checking the name of the publisher or the
website that published the item and checking the URL The majority of studies, past and present, have aimed
or the comments. to assess the effect of MIL in enabling people to develop
the skills needed to identify false news. For instance,
Study problem & questions Guess et al. (2020) devised an intervention based on the
largest campaign for media literacy in the world. This
The generation that was born and raised in the digital campaign provided people in 14 countries with advice
age is authentically empowered with digital competence on methods to identify false news. They applied this to
to reformulate knowledge and produce information in elections held in the U.S. and India. The results indicated
order to express themselves creatively and appropriately that those who received this intervention were far less
in a digital environment (Drewish et al., 2019). Young able to determine the veracity of false news headlines
people use social media platforms in large numbers to and headlines presented in mainstream news, with this
stay updated on what is happening, post content, and effect being more marked for the former.
engage with others, which can increase their A second study by Jones-Jang and Jingjing (2019)
vulnerability to fake media posts. Manfra and Holmes attempted to determine whether higher levels of media,
(2019) argue that the young are becoming “technology news, information, and digital literacy meant people
addicts” as they spend over 10 or 11 hours a day in front were more able to identify false news and, if so, which
of the screen “passively consuming media content. They type of literacy had the strongest effect. The findings
are also unable to evaluate, critically think, and solve indicated that false news was much more likely to be
problems” (p. 95). Melki’s (2015) research identified the identified by those with high levels of information
level of MIL among Arab youths in the era of digital literacy; however, this effect was less evident for other
media. His findings suggest that Arab youths trust online forms of literacy. The authors concluded that online
media outlets and use social media as secure media has helped to diversify how knowledge is
entertainment tools. His results demonstrated that disseminated, which raises an urgent need for methods
youths could not properly use technology. The that can help increase levels of information literacy and
significance of MIL has been brought to the attention of enable people to evaluate the authenticity of online
Jordan, as a result of which it became the first Arab information.
nation to propagate MIL as a university course. Al-al Funded by the United States Embassy in London, a
Bayt University has since become the first Jordanian study by McDougall (2019) further endorsed the need
university to deliver this course as an elective at the for young people to receive education on media literacy

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 61

to enhance their ability to engage critically with online media platform on which it was found and how
news. This project elicited input from US and UK convenient it was to source the news.
researchers, leaders, and a multitude of important Vosoughi et al. (2018) examined the varying
stakeholders such as information experts, journalists, distribution of 126,000 false and true news stories that
librarians, students, and teachers. Collectively, they were tweeted more than 4.5 million times by more than
concluded that critical media literacy should be 3 million people from 2006 to 2017. Stories were
dynamically taught and made compulsory in schools. classified as true or false if a 95%-98% agreement on
This would build within young people a degree of their status was reached by six independent fact-
“information disorder” resilience, as opposed to checking organizations. The results indicated that false
resources that are simply reactive (i.e., verification stories were distributed further, more quickly, and more
tools). They also recommended engaging young people widely than true stories, irrespective of the type of
in small-scale projects aimed at developing relevant information. Furthermore, the outcomes were more
competencies. prominent for false news about political issues than false
Another notable study was conducted in 2018 by stories concerning urban tales, science-based issues,
IREX and the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and natural disasters, terrorism, or financial data.
Science. In conjunction with teachers in 50 schools, this An article by Goodfellow (2017) reported the
pilot study strove to determine the effect of including findings of a survey conducted for two days by Channel
lessons on media literacy in courses for 8th and 9th- 4 with a sample of 1,684 adults. The key finding was
grade students on culture, art, history, and Ukrainian that just 4% of the sample was able to tell whether a
language and literature. The researchers found that after news story was true or false. Almost 50% believed that
just one semester, these young people were able to one or more of the false stories were true. Notably, 66%
identify and analyze information presented to them on felt that Facebook or Twitter should do more to address
both traditional media and social networking platforms. the issue of fake news, with 50% calling for an increase
Most notably, they were able to discern facts from in the number of fact-checking sites. It was reported that
opinions and misleading information. the UK Government has had covert meetings with
However, some research findings are inconsistent newspapers to address the issue but no public comments
regarding how students identify and distinguish fake on progress have yet been made.
news from that which is true. For instance, a study by Viewing these findings as a whole, their relevance to
Abbasi and Huang (2020) on young people’s the current research is clear as they highlight the urgent
perceptions of fake news on social media in Pakistan need to learn the valuable skill of being able to identify
indicated that they were poor at identifying this, false and deceptive news. Although young Arab
primarily because they did not seek to establish where students may be technically proficient in the use of
the information had come from. This suggests they smartphones and the Internet, they lack the MIL skills
cannot deal with fake news. Moreover, young people needed to detect the credibility of media news. Such
stated that their main source of information was the studies therefore constituted an important resource for
Internet and social media. The results also suggested that the literature review and data collection. However, this
media literacy education in Pakistan has not adequately represents only the first stage in developing a more
addressed the consumption of news on social media. comprehensive grasp of MIL across different fields. As
Stewart (2019) formed two focus groups to derive far as the researcher is aware, this is the first study
insights into how 18-24-year-old college students made conducted in an Arab country to assess the effect of MIL
assessments regarding which news they should trust on in determining whether and how students acquire the
social media. The findings indicated that these students skills needed to detect false news items.
dismissed news stories on Instagram and Snapchat to a
greater extent than stories on Twitter and Facebook. METHODOLOGY
Irrespective of the platform, the students stated that it
was important to verify news presented on social media The researcher adopted a quasi-experimental
by referring to alternative sources they deemed more approach using time-series data, a method in which one
trustworthy. This has become a vital component of the group of participants is observed repeatedly both before
process of verifying information and identifying false and after an intervention (Bloomfield, 1976). The study
news. The extent to which young people perceived the population comprised all (160) undergraduate students
news as trustworthy was also dependent on the social at Al al-Bayt University (AABU) enrolled on the MIL

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 62

course for the academic year 2020-2021. The researcher Lasswell’s (1948) five questions: Who? Says What?
selected a random sample of (113 students) to In Which Channel? To Whom? With What Effect?
participate, although 13 students were later excluded for  Confirm the facts: Facts  data, figures, expert
not taking the pre-test or the post-tests. The final sample statements, and so on – will be abundant in credible
therefore comprised 100 students, consisting of 19 male news articles. If any of these are lacking, students
students (19%) and 81 female students (81%). Overall, were taught to inquire as to why. Reports featuring
61% of the sample were third year students and 39% false facts sometimes contain wrong dates or
were in fourth year. Based on a thorough review of the timelines; thus, students were also advised to double-
literature (Allen, 2017; Knapp, 2016), the researcher check when the item was written. Is it a recent or
designed the final forms of the tests which included two outdated piece of news?
demographic questions and 10 closed-ended questions Two post-tests were then designed and distributed to
(true-false items). The latter consisted of true and fake the same sample electronically using the Google Forms
news headlines published on Facebook, Instagram, app on March 15 and 17 (see Appendices B and C). The
Twitter, or Arab news sites before and during the researcher received the responses electronically via e-
COVID-19 pandemic. One open-ended question on how mail. The following correction standard for the closed-
to detect fake news was added to determine the methods ended question was then applied. The minimum score
that students employed to verify fake news, the shall be zero if the answer is wrong and the maximum
responses to which were analyzed and classified in score shall be 2 if the answer is correct. The maximum
terms of percentages (see Appendices A, B and C). total score is 20.

Study procedures Tools validity and reliability

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final form of The validity of the tests was established by a jury of
the pre-test was distributed to the sample on March 3, five educational academics and six MIL experts, whose
2021 via the Google Forms app (see Appendix A). Four percentage of agreement reached 92%. In line with their
lectures on how to detect fake news were presented to comments, the researcher deleted two closed-ended
students on March 6, 8, 10, and 13, 2021. Each lecture questions and one open-ended question. The reliability
described one or two different methods for detecting of the tools was calculated by measuring the percentage
fake news with extensive training on each. These of agreement and disagreement between the 11
methods were suggested by Page (2019) and are as arbitrators for each tool. The reliability coefficient was
follows: then calculated using the Holistic method (Holistic =
 Verify the source: Students were directed to examine M/N) where M represents the number of items agreed
the site URL for the page they are viewing. Fake upon by the jury, and (N) represents the number of all
news sites may occasionally have spelling mistakes items (see Table 1).
in their URLs or utilize unconventional domain
suffixes. Table 1. Reliability of tools
 Verify the authors: Students were taught how to
investigate authors to determine whether they are Tool Agreement Disagreement Percentage
of
trustworthy.
agreement
 Look at other sources: Students were taught how to Pre-test 8 2 80%
check whether other reputable news or media outlets Post test 9 1 90%
are reporting the story, or if credible sources are cited
Post post- 7 3 70%
within the story. Professional global news agencies test
have editorial guidelines and extensive resources for Total 25 8 80%
fact-checking; therefore, if they are also reporting
the story, this is a good sign. Table 1 indicates that the overall reliability
 Keep a critical mindset: A considerable amount of coefficient was .80, which is above .75 and therefore
false news is purposefully crafted to elicit feelings considered high.
such as fear or rage. Students were therefore taught
to adopt a critical mindset by asking themselves

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Data distribution fake news. To ascertain the effect size, the researcher
applied Cohen’s D effect size test (Cohen, 1988) (Table
The researcher used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z test 4).
to assess whether there was a moderate distribution of
data (Table 2). Table 4. Cohen’s D effect size test results

Table 2. Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z test results

Post-test Post post-test Effect
Tool
size
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z Degrees of Significance T N T N
freedom level Pre-test -13.8 98 -15.8 98
Pre-test 98 .000 Strong
Cohen’s D effect size 1.4 1.6
Post test 98 .000 coefficient
Post post-test 98 .000

Table 4 indicates that the Cohen’s coefficient values

Table 2 indicates that the distribution of data for all for the post-test and post post-test were 1.4 and 1.6,
measures was non-moderate as the level of significance respectively. These values are greater than 0.8,
in each case was less than 0.05 (Ghasemi & Zehedias, indicating that the effect of the independent variable
2012). Therefore, non-parametric tests such as the (MIL) on the dependent variable (students’ acquisition
Mann-Whitney U and the Friedman test were employed of the skills needed to detect fake news) was strong.
to analyze the data for the closed-ended questions. For As for the second research question: What are the
the open-ended question, the researcher coded the most common methods employed by students to detect
responses and then calculated the percentages. fake news before and after studying media and
information literacy (MIL)?, the percentages of the
FINDINGS methods used to detect fake news in the pre-test and
post-tests were calculated.
To answer the first research question: Does media
and information literacy have an impact on students’ Table 5. Percentages of methods used to detect fake
acquisition of the skills needed to detect fake news, the news in the pre-test
Friedman non-parametric test was applied to test the
difference between the means of the research sample in # Method Percentage
the pre-test, post-test, and the post post-test regarding 1 Doubting it 65%
the degree to which students acquired the skills needed 2 Inner intuition 23%
to detect fake news (Table 3). 3 I do not know 12%

Table 3. Friedman non-parametric test results

Table 5 indicates that two methods were employed
Study to detect fake news before studying MIL: “doubting it”
Degrees was employed the most (65.4%), followed by “inner
sample Chi-
Study tools of Sig.
Average of Square
freedom
intuition” (22.6%) and “I don’t know” (12%).
ranks
Pre-test 1.12 136.8 2 0.000
Table 6. Percentages of methods used to detect fake
Post-test 2.45 news in the post-test
Post post-test 2.43
# Method Percentage
As indicated, statistically significant differences (p < 1 Googling it 70%
0.05) were observed between the averages of the three 2 Checking the name of the news 18%
measures in favor of the post-test and post post-test), the agency reported in News
average of ranks for which were 2.45 and 2.43, 3 Using the critical thinking skill to 7%
answer the 5WS
respectively, far exceeding the average of ranks for the
4 I don’t know 5%
pre-test (1.12). This indicates a positive effect of MIL
on students’ acquisition of the skills needed to detect

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 Table 6 indicates that students followed three falsehood. This result is fully compliant with the
methods to detect fake news after studying MIL, the findings of the previous research (Guess et al., 2020;
most common of which was: “Googling it” (70%), IREX, 2018; Jones-Jang et al., 2019; McDougall, 2019),
followed by “Checking the name of the news agency all of which agreed that MIL helps to equip the digital
reported in News” (18%), “Using the critical thinking generation with the appropriate skills needed to confront
skill to answer the 5WS” (7%), and “I don’t know” and respond to fake news.
(5%). In response to the second research question, the
responses indicated that participants employed two main
Table 7. Percentages of methods used to detect fake methods of checking fake news before studying MIL.
news in the post post-test The first is intuition, which refers to the effect of
unconscious emotional information emanating from the
# Method Percentage body or brain such as instinctive thinking or sensation
1 Googling it 56% (Khalifa, 2000). This cannot be considered a scientific
2 Checking the name of the news 21% method for detecting false media news as it depends
agency reported in News more on speculation. The second is doubt, a situation in
3 Using the critical thinking skill to 16% which the mind is caught between two conflicting
answer the 5WS
4 I don’t know 7%
propositions and cannot agree with either (Sharpe,
1909). However, this cannot be regarded as a scientific
method of verifying fake news as it has no empirical
Table 7 indicates that students again followed three grounding. After studying MIL, the methods became
methods to detect fake news after studying MIL, the more specific, reasonable, and practical. Students’
most common of which was “Googling it” (56%), favored methods were googling the news, identifying
followed by “Checking the name of the news agency the source of the news, and applying the critical thinking
reported in News” (21%), “Using the critical thinking method. This can be attributed to the fact that these
skill to answer the 5WS” (16%), and “I don’t know” methods were presented to students who received online
(7%). training sessions on how to detect fake news for each
one.
DISCUSSION The previous result demonstrates that what is offered
to students in the MIL course strengthens their ability to
The results of this research highlighted the impact of detect fake news, and is consistent with the methods
MIL on students’ acquisition of the skills needed to cited by other researchers (Al-Zubidi, 2018; Devlin &
detect fake news. It thus serves as a tool that assists the Pohjola, 2020; Parikh & Atrey, 2018). Unsurprisingly,
user in analyzing the material they are exposed to and the “I do not know” percentage of the pre-test results
increases the possibility of verifying the news, photos, was 12%, suggesting that this group were totally
and videos they are watching. ignorant of the right methods to use to detect false news
The results of the first research question identified owing to their MIL illiteracy. After studying MIL, only
statistically significant differences between the averages 5% of the sample did not know how to detect fake news
of the measures (pre- and post- tests). The researcher in the post-test and 7% in the post post-test. This finding
taught a generation with reasonably good digital indicates the role of MIL in reducing students’
capabilities (Drewish et al., 2019; Manfra and Holmes ignorance of the right methods to employ to detect fake
2019; Melki, 2015), but it was relatively ignorant when news.
it came to dealing with and evaluating media news, as
evidenced by the pre-test findings. This aligns with the CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
findings of Abbasi and Haung (2020), whose results
revealed the ignorance of the digital generation in According to the results of this research, MIL’s role
checking the credibility of news. The previous result revolves around combating false news and rumors,
changed significantly after the students received exposing false information, and developing and
extensive training on ways to verify false media news. strengthening the capabilities and skills of critical
This demonstrated that studying MIL is necessary to thinking among individuals to identify negative and
train individuals and empower them with the appropriate positive messages. This enables users to distinguish
skills to criticize and distinguish between truth and between facts and opinions, and helps stop the spread of

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 65

false news and prevent it from reaching larger numbers Al-Mashagbeh, Y. (2018). Al al-Bayt University is the
of recipients. It can therefore be an inspiring method for center for teaching the media and information
students as it provides them with powerful immunity to literacy course. https://maqar.com/archives/283819
the fake news shared by users of social media platforms Al-Omari, N., & Al-Assal, H. (2017). The principles of
and news outlets. In this study, the training students media information and literacy. Jordan Media
received on the MIL course developed their ability to Institute.
understand, criticize, and verify the content of media Al-Shammari, F. (2014). Mediaeducation: dealing with
messages, and detect fake content. Thus, the researcher media. Alwaqfeya Publishing House.
believes that if media literacy becomes a mandatory https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=9429
topic in schools and universities, and is taught as a Al-Tawisi, B., Hamed, S., & Al-Banna, N. (2016).
proactive form of literacy education, it will help Public policy paper: Media and information literacy
empower the young generation to become more resilient in Jordan: Needs and Opportunities.
towards “fake news”. https://www.jmi.edu.jo/en/public-policy-paper-
However, caution is needed when interpreting the %E2%80%9Cmedia-and-information-literacy-
results as the small sample size limits the extent to which jordan-needs-and-opportunities%E2%80%9D
they can be generalized. Therefore, research on larger Al-Zou’bi, R. (2021). The impact of media and
samples is recommended and these results need to be information literacy on acquiring the critical
tested in multiple universities or schools with different thinking skill by the educational faculty’s students.
(non-Arab) populations. Nevertheless, the current study Thinking Skills and Creativity, (39(.
plays an important role in highlighting the importance of https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100782
MIL in combating and countering fake news. Therefore, Al-Zubidi, M. (2018). Important tips and websites for
the researcher believes that integrating MIL into the checking fake news and rumors.
strategic plans of the Ministry of Higher Education and https://ijnet.org/en/node/371
Scientific Research needs to become a priority in
Andelová, L. (2018). The importance of media
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Ascoott, T. (2020, February 28). Is media literacy the
and instructors to direct them toward the best ways to
magic bullet for fake news?. The Interpretor.
verify the credibility of the news circulated in the media.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-
Finally, further research on MIL and its methods of fake interpreter/media-literacy-magic-bullet-fake-news
news checking should be conducted, to obtain valid and
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 APPENDIX A
Electronic Pre-test (translated from Arabic)

Name:
Gender:
Academic year:

Are these news headlines true or false?

1. After the farmers’ sit-in, the Irbid Municipality asked the government to reduce their fees.
2. Dozens of young men and women were surprised on Saturday with the “Zumba” dance, part of a festival program
that will continue for 3 days during the opening of the first “health club - preventive”. Its aim is to stimulate
medical tourism in the Middle East region in Alexandria, with investments totalling 85 million Egyptian pounds.
3. Minister Al-Batayneh launches a “Careers from Gold” initiative, which calls on youths not to wait for
government jobs and to join the labor market
4. Al al-Bayt University announces the establishment of the first television station in Mafraq.
5. Marka Military Airport is sold following the approval of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
6. One of the representatives appointed 100 employees with a blessing from the prime minister
7. A citizen intentionally burned his wife and children in southern Jordan due to their living conditions.
8. The Arab army is involved in the killing of a Syrian woman in the Al-Rukban camp.
9. The actress Ahlam transferred to Petra by a private military plane
10. The army’s airbase and lands, owned by the Jordanian Armed Forces in the Tla ‘Al-Ali areas, have been sold.
I checked the previous news via: _______________________________

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 69

 APPENDIX B
Electronic Post-test (translated from Arabic)

Name:
Gender:
Academic year:

Are these news headlines true or false?

1. The spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, Fadela Al-Shayeb, announced that the source of the
coronavirus is a bat and was transmitted to humans through an intermediary.
2. The Akeed platform registered 14 rumors in March since the government announced its decision to implement
Defense Law No. 13 of 1992.
3. Two non-Jordanian people were arrested after publishing a video of themselves shooting an endangered bird in one
of Amman’s areas during the COVID-19 ban (According to Petra news agency).
4. Sweden refuses to impose a strict closure on shops and the movement of its citizens to curb the spread of the new
coronavirus (COVID-19), and bets on what is known as collective immunity or “herd immunity.”
5. The price of a regular mask in Jordan increased from 50 piasters to two dinars during the COVID-19 pandemic.
6. Regarding the Jordanian Tawjihi exam, the Ministry of Education has no intention to merge some majors into one
exam paper.
7. The Minister of Supply confirms there are indications of a shortage of stocks of basic and strategic commodities in
Jordan due to the coronavirus, according to the Sanaa Jordan news agency.
8. The Minister of Finance stated: The state’s general budget plan will be amended and 100 billion JD will be withdrawn
to deal with the repercussions of the spread of the coronavirus.
9. North Korea’s president, Kim, is dead and his sister will rule after him.
10. The Jordanian Private Hospitals Association became a member of the International Hospital Federation in
cooperation with the Health Institutions Accreditation Council and university hospitals. (Al Mamlakah TV site)
I checked the previous news via: _______________________________

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 70

 APPENDIX C
Electronic Post post-test (translated from Arabic)

Name:
Gender:
Academic year:

Are these news headlines true or false?

1. The President of South Korea receives a “Viber” vaccine against the coronavirus before his visit to Britain to
attend the G7 summit.
2. FIFA sets the official date and venue for the football competition in the Qatar Olympics.
3. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “Inequality in
access to vaccines against coronavirus, between rich and poor countries, is increasing and becoming scandalous.”
4. In the worst floods in half a century: Australia is evacuating thousands of people.
5. Iman Al-Bahr Darwish: I have recovered from paraplegia.
6. The Egyptian Mohamed Ibrahim Abu Senna and the Syrian Shawky Baghdadi won the Ahmed Shawky Prize
for Poetic Creativity in its second session, and were presented with the award by the General Syndicate of the
Egyptian Writers Union.
7. The Egyptian governorate of Kafr El Sheikh witnessed the opening ceremony of the second point in the path of
the Holy Family in Egypt, following the completion of the development project.
8. The Johns Hopkins University of America reported that the total number of coronavirus infections in the world
has risen to more than 123 million, and the total number of deaths to more than 2.7 million.
9. The “Times” newspaper reported that the British authorities intend to extend the ban on international travel until
July, indicating that violators could be fined 5,000 pounds.
10. The UAE will invest $ 10 billion in the Indonesian Investment Authority, which is an Indonesian sovereign fund
according to the Emirates News Agency.
I checked the previous news via: _______________________________

Al Zou’bi ǀ Journal of Media Literacy Education, 14(2), 58-71, 2022 71