Teaching Critical Media Literacy to Fight Fake News in Moroccan Higher Education: Focus on Facebook and YouTube

Abstract

Since the appearance of COVID-19, there has been a global concern over the unprecedented spread of fake news on social media. In Morocco, social networks have become principal tools for spreading a vast array of fake news on different events, namely those connected to COVID-19. The large spread of fake news also made teaching Critical Media Literacy a must today to fight its devastating effects in countries where it is still primarily ignored, namely at the university level. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to explore the types of fake news posts Moroccan university students are exposed to on Facebook and YouTube and to examine the pedagogies Moroccan teachers use to teach Critical Media Literacy in higher education to combat fake news. A short survey, semi-structured interviews, and teaching materials were used to collect data on Moroccan university students’ exposition o fake news and the strategies Moroccan teachers use to effectively teach Critical Media Literacy. The findings showed that Moroccan students were frequently exposed to various fake news posts on different issues and were not equipped with enough tools to spot fake news on social networks. Moroccan university teachers also faced adverse challenges in implementing adequate pedagogies to enhance Critical Media Literacy.