Promoting Mis/Disinformation Literacy Among Adults: A Scoping Review of Interventions and Recommendations

Abstract

This scoping review contributes an overview of recent research on effective media literacy interventions and recommendations relevant to cultivating critical mis/disinformation literacies for adults. The review examines articles published between 1 January 2016–22 November 2021 that report on or provide recommendations for media literacy interventions for adults suited to the emerging challenges of disinformation. Our findings reveal diverse intervention formats and evaluation methods including course-, web-, or game-based interventions, public events, and visual resources. Experts recommended teaching about emotion targeting and regulation, algorithmic governance, lateral reading, visual technology, and using interactive formats. Studies of evaluated interventions outside of formal education were scarce. Our review reveals significant debates around the usefulness of checklists and how to address politically sensitive issues, skepticism, and authority in programing. Future research and programing must attend to the needs of adult populations outside of formal education, and draw particularly upon librarians’ integral role in delivering community-based mis/disinformation literacy programing.