As engaged citizens and consumers, older Americans are often the target of online misinformation. This short online course from MediaWise for Seniors will teach you how to tell what’s true and false online — especially when it comes to information about COVID vaccines.
You will learn the basic principles of fact-checking, techniques for identifying false information like reverse image searches and lessons on how to be a responsible news consumer.
Christiane Amanpour, Joan Lunden, Lester Holt, Hari Sreenivasan and Dave Jorgenson — our esteemed MediaWise Ambassadors — will also pop in to share their advice as world-renowned journalists and help you protect yourself against misinformation.
All course material will be available starting April 2, International Fact-Checking Day. This course was made available free thanks to support from Facebook and also from AARP.
We will not be telling you how to feel about topics or issues. Instead, we will teach you how to identify misinformation and disinformation online. Our goal is to help you make decisions that impact your life and your health, based on reliable, trustworthy information.
With ongoing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, falling for false information on the internet is truly a matter of life and death. Protect yourself by improving your media literacy with this self-paced course.
FAQ
What is MediaWise for Seniors?
MediaWise is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital media literacy initiative led by The Poynter Institute. Its mission is to teach Americans of all ages how to sort fact from fiction online. MediaWise content has been viewed 17 million times by more than 9 million people since the project launched in 2018.
MediaWise for Seniors was announced in 2020 to bring MediaWise tips to the 50+ population. MediaWise for Seniors has a program funded by AARP to provide resources to their membership and a program funded by Facebook bringing virtual training and a social media awareness campaign to the senior population. The foundation of MediaWise was created with support from Google.org as part of Google News Initiative. Learn more at poynter.org/mediawise.
Do funders have control over the course?
No. We prize our reputation for teaching excellence, developed over more than four decades. To preserve that reputation, we retain independence and control over our teaching whether it is funded by tuition or a donor, such as a foundation or corporation. Read more about our ethics policy here.
Who can I contact for more information?
We’d love to hear from you. Email us at info@poynter.org.
