ARTICLE 19, the UK-based international human rights organization which works to secure freedom of expression and the right to information, and Germany’s leading media development organization DW Akademie have launched an online course titled “Disinformation and Fact-Checking: Media Information Literacy,” according to a press release on Monday.

The course is designed to create awareness and hold news producers accountable as well as to foster critical thinking capacity to enrich and develop general news and information skills.

The course will build participants’ capacity regarding safe and responsible users and producers of information.

They will also learn about safe and responsible communication, especially in online communication, digital literacy, digital citizenship, digital etiquette, copyright, etc.

Anyone can take this course for free. In particular, communication and journalism students, journalists in print, broadcast and online media, online activists and social media users will find the course interesting and useful.

Course registration is now open. The course, offered in Bengali, will start on August 1, 2022 for 5 weeks. Anyone with a desktop computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone can take the course at their convenience if they only have an internet connection. You have to go to the link https://banglatutorial-media.org/ to register for the course. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive a Certificate of Achievement from DW Akademie and ARTICLE 19.

Faruq Faisel, Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 South Asia, said the global media situation is changing rapidly and Bangladesh is not immune to this influence. Online and social media in particular are becoming increasingly popular and important as a source of information and expression. But at the same time, people involved in the use of this medium run various negative and sensitive risks. Among these are rumors, use of false information, spreading intentional information, spreading hateful information, etc.

“Lack of media literacy skills exposes ordinary citizens, including journalists and social media users, to physical and legal risks. Without knowledge of mass media, any ordinary citizen, including journalists and social media users, can be misled by disinformation. Therefore, in order to overcome this situation, it is necessary to make the new generation of journalists and ordinary citizens, including social media users, efficient and aware,” he added.

By taking this course, students will be able to verify the veracity of news, misinformation and rumours, biased and intentionally disseminated news and produce quality information themselves. It will also help to enable the reader to acquire correct information and develop an aware and responsible audience.