In Russia, news literacy educators confront cynicism about the press among young people that can create its own blinders. Between the state repression of independent media, the heavy-handed propaganda of state media—and the widespread practice of “zakazukha,” in which flacks bribe reporters to write articles, or to withhold them—young Russians often assume all major media outlets are corrupt or biased. “They’ve stopped watching television,” says Sanders, who has reported extensively from Russia and Eastern Europe. “They watch programs online.” News literacy teaches Russian students how to assess the credibility of a news story or segment on its own terms, rather than assuming information is credible, or not, based just on its source.

News literacy goes global : Columbia Journalism Review

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