Click, Learn, Thrive

Whiletermslike ‘game-changing’ and disruptive’ have become watchwordsinmodernday digitalinformationcontextsin theageofAL as educators weare notoblivious tothe hypeof paperless education, whiteboardsandsimilar educationfads. Theutilities of suchchangesarehardly contested but whatseems to havereceded into the backgroundis theethical education thatshould drive digitalinformation drives, acute and activeawareness campaigns among stakeholders todecipherthetruefromthe falseand misleading, and active penalprovisions to deter information misuse

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Long before the information explosion of the present times, a newspaper in the United States published a six-part series in August 1835 describing detailed sightings of living creatures on the moon supposedly seen through a newly discovered telescope by a fictitious astronomer.

Later gaining notoriety as the ‘Great Moon Hoax’, the incident is usually considered as the first concerted misinformation campaign in the age of mass media and still remains as the classic example of what can go wrong if those controlling the media deliberately falsify and distort information either for disrupting society at large or gaining popularity at the expense of mass media ethics.

Moving forward to the present times when aclick ofa button and digital media algorithms dictate the reach and credibility ofinformation, the issue of misinformation has attained importance not merely because of the reach and scope of media but also due to the potential harm such abuse can cause both to individuals and the society as a whole.

With literacy evolving beyond the mere use of alphabets and numbers in everyday life, the penetrative scope of the electronic media, including social media and its ease of dissemination ofinformation has established itself as a double-edged sword to modern lives. As a force multiplier in propagating vital information in a timely and economic manner, digital information platforms serve crucial roles such as lifesavers in natural calamities, health support systems during public health adversities, and even positively impact vital human endeavors such as education, sports, outreach activities and economic activities and trade.