COMM students host Dark Money documentary event to kick off inaugural media literacy campaign at AUM
By: Christa Burns and Maya Thompson
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — This week communications students are hosting an inaugural media literacy campaign “Think Before You Click” at AUM with a series of engaging events designed to help students better their media literacy skills.
“With the prevalence of social media in today’s times it is crucial to be knowledgeable on the topic of media literacy. Most students rely on Instagram and TikTok for a big portion of their news. This is why media literacy is so important and I’m glad that our department is recognizing it,” says communication student Anna Grace Tompkins. An article by the Wall Street Journal in 2022 states that “More than half of the [Generation Z] news consumers (teens and adults) say they consume news on their smartphones exclusively.”
On Oct. 24 at 9 a.m. in Taylor Center Room 233, the Communication Department will be showing “Dark Money” for Media Literacy Week, which is sponsored by the AUM student chapter of Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRCA) The AUMnibus and AUMLive. According to the official Dark Money website, “Dark Money uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold.” The student event coordinators are encouraging participants to wear their pajama pants. Chick-fil-A, donuts and coffee will be provided.
On Oct. 23 and 24, Communication Public Relations students will be hosting events, games and snacks on AUM’s Quad at 11 a.m. providing information about media literacy week.
According to the official U.S. Media Literacy website, their mission is “to highlight the power of media literacy education and its essential role in education all across the country. U.S. Media Literacy Week calls attention to media literacy education by bringing together hundreds of partners for events and activities around the country.” The media literacy awareness event is for anyone who has ever wondered why they should care about fake news and misinformation and how it spreads rapidly. The United States Media Literacy Week was created to celebrate how important media is to our overall education by hosting events surrounding media literacy to bring awareness to the cause. Throughout the week, students will have the opportunity to participate in events focused on increasing media literacy.
Media Literacy Week will also allow students to keep up with the election news, spot AI-generated content or navigate away from misinformation. An article published by Pew Research on Sept. 19 highlighted Americans’ worries over the election season with the growing AI technology. “Thirty-nine percent of Americans say that AI will be used mostly for bad purposes during the presidential campaign, compared with only 5% who say it will be used mostly for good purposes. Seventy-nine percent of adults say they are not too or not at all confident that tech companies can stop the misuse of their platforms to influence the election.” Many Americans express their disbelief in being able to stop widespread misinformation of the election. Both the Democratic and Republican parties had similar problems with the AI usage on various media platforms showing that this issue spans far beyond political parties and elections. As a result, AUM students should become more educated on how to identify these common misinformation tactics scammers use. The AI Literacy event plans to tackle these hard topics and teach students how to not have their opinions negatively influenced by false media.
Media Literacy Week offers the tools and knowledge students need to succeed in a complex media environment. It’s more than a chance to watch a movie, but to gain more knowledge about media literacy. Join the event at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, for a “Dark Money” screening, and be sure to participate in the activities throughout the week.
For more information on this Media Literacy event, visit this link to access more information on the organizations involved in this event.
