MediaWise Voter Project (#MVP)
We taught first-time voters how to find reliable and accurate information about the 2020 elections
The MediaWise Voter Project, which ended Nov. 3, 2020, helped thousands of young people vote based on fact, not fiction. Through 80+ virtual trainings, social media campaigns, celebrity and media partnerships, we reached millions of first-time voters in 2020. See all our resources here.
MediaWise Voter Guide
The MediaWise Voter Guide is an 8-part YouTube video series hosted by influencer Evelyn from the Internets. She covers political ads, research, polls and more.
In the news
- The New York Times: Recognize misinformation on the internet
- Axios: Facebook, Poynter and ATTN: partner on digital literacy project
- Des Moines Register: Digital info literacy group MediaWise brings info to first-time voters
- Forbes: These powerful journalists are on a mission to help you sift out the facts
- Reuters: TikTok launches U.S. elections guide to combat misinformation
- Business Insider: A network of teen fact-checkers is tackling online misinformation ahead of the election — here’s what they want you to know about spotting falsified facts
About #MVP
Ambassadors
MediaWise Ambassadors are prominent journalists, influencers, and creators who help us raise awareness about media literacy education with Americans of all ages. This year we welcomed YouTube creator Tyler Oakley, Washington Post TikTok creator Dave Jorgenson, anchor of PBS NewsHour Weekend Hari Sreenivasan, and PBS Student Reporting Labs as ambassadors for the MediaWise Voter Project.
Campus Correspondents
This group of 10 engaged first-time voters joined MVP at the start of the year to teach their peers how to fact-check the election. They created social media infographics, spread awareness of the project, and hosted more than 80 online media literacy trainings over six months — reaching 2,000+ students in
20+ states.
Partners
After successfully collaborating on the Navigating Digital Information series, MediaWise partnered with John Green’s production company Complexly again to produce the voter guide series. We worked with @kalesalad on Instagram to create posts that promoted media literacy skills ahead of the election, which attracted more than 2 million views overall. MediaWise also served in an advisory capacity for the production of three videos produced by ATTN:.
Events
Before travel was restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic, MVP held in-person teaching events for University of Iowa students in January 2020, University of New Hampshire students in February 2020, and in New York City for 200 high school students during a youth civic engagement summit in March hosted by WNET, America’s flagship PBS station.
Face the Facts: Election 2020 Youth Town Hall
Nearly 100,000 people watched our Face the Facts: Election 2020 Youth Town Hall, aired in partnership with PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs (SRL) on Oct. 6, 2020.
MediaWise Voter Project is made possible thanks to grant funding by:
Read our editorial standards and ethics policies. Questions? Emails us at mwtips@poytner.org.