Did media literacy backfire?

Anxious about the widespread consumption and spread of propaganda and fake news during
this year’s US election cycle, many progressives are calling for an increased commitment
to media literacy programs. Others are clamouring for solutions that focus on expert
fact-checking and labelling. Both of these approaches are likely to fail – not because
they are bad ideas, but because they fail to take into consideration the cultural
context of information consumption that we’ve created over the last 30 years. The
problem on our hands is a lot bigger than most people appreciate.