MFEdu Introduction Course / Lesson 4 of 14 · Media Literacy
Media Literacy
Digital Media Literacy
While researching stories and advocacy interests, a lot of questionable information will be found online. MakeFashion Edu presents Michael Caulfield’s SIFT Course — a series of lessons on separating fact from fiction online.
Key Terms
- Misinformation: Unintentional mistakes such as inaccurate photo captions, dates, statistics, translations, or when satire is taken seriously.
- Disinformation: Fabricated or deliberately manipulated audio/visual content. Intentionally created conspiracy theories or rumors.
- Malinformation: True information used with intent to harm.
The SIFT Method
Stop. Investigate. Find. Trace.
- 🛑 Stop — Pause before sharing or believing something
- 🔍 Investigate — Look into the source, not just the claim
- 🔎 Find — Look for better coverage of the same topic
- 🔗 Trace — Follow claims, quotes, and media back to their original context
📚 Check, Please! Starter Course — For Teachers 📚 Check, Please! MFEdu Student Lessons — For Students 📝 Teacher Notes for Check, Please! Course
Quick Version (10-minute adaptation)
If full media literacy time is not available, a quick discussion about how the concept relates to these projects is very helpful.
Activity: Each project team should answer the following questions:
- What do you know about the issue you are interested in?
- How did you learn what you know? (Experience, saw news/social media, heard from somebody, etc.)
- Where will you research more information?
In order to advocate for or against something, it is best to educate yourself about it. If the electronics of a project are assembled with the wrong facts in mind, it can take a lot of time to change plans! Search and research — but beware of disinformation and misinformation.
Example: Fashion Industry & Pollution
This is a worked example of using SIFT for a MakeFashion project:
Say I hear that the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world and I want my design to encourage people to change their habits and buy used clothing instead of new fast fashion.
I do a Google search for “fashion industry pollution rank” and find a New York Times article stating that the claim that the fashion industry is the 2nd biggest polluter is disputed. I STOP and think about this. The NYT is a trusted news source. I’ll see what they have to say. I see several studies cited with links to other pieces.
I don’t just stop at one source — I continue searching and find differing opinions and statistics. I FIND that the fashion industry is a contributor to pollution, but the “2nd largest” claim is contested. Because of this, I adjust how I would present it on my runway piece — I would not claim “2nd biggest polluter” because that would be spreading misinformation. I can still advocate for sustainable fashion using accurate information.
Useful links on this example: