The Urgency of Media Literacy for Exercising Citizenship and Its Contribution to Guaranteeing Information Integrity - EducaMídia Case Study

Abstract

The digitalization of society and the democratization of technology provide vast opportunities for access to information and diverse voices, but they also bring challenges such as misinformation and manipulation. Furthermore, algorithms and artificial intelligence impact information integrity by creating biased content and limiting plurality. A lack of knowledge about digital tools excludes many from critical knowledge construction, leading to inequality. Media literacy emerges as a solution, empowering citizens to understand the informational environment, critically analyze content, and produce information ethically. This article aims to show how the EducaMídia program, created in 2019 by the Palavra Aberta Institute, has been working to strengthen media literacy in Brazil by training educators and contributing to the development of public policies in the country.