CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Problem

The current phenomenon called misinformation is still progressively becoming a

provocation on learners regardless of all the efforts made in different academic institutions to

provide necessary databases and resources. Therefore, everyone now has the ability to alter

information due to the vast amount of publicly available news online. As a result, there is confusion

and false information spread, making it difficult to assess someone's authenticity and

dependability (Paglinawan, 2022). According to Vosoughi et al., (2018), with social media being

the main source of news for many people, it became easier for them to manipulate facts and

spread misinformation. An analysis of rumors that was spread by over three million people online

found out that misinformation spreads far greater than the real news, and this case was the

greatest when it comes to the spread of political misinformation.

Political misinformation is rampant in the Philippines especially during the elections. It has

been discovered that there are organizations behind the political misinformation efforts, and they

are mostly made up of major opinion leaders, false operators at the community level, and digital

influencers. Most frequently, they are paid to disseminate false information about a candidate of

their opposition. The ones being paid for by large cyber armies are particular or wannabe

politicians (Chen et al., 2021). In the study of Camus (2018), misinformation contains a variety of

schemes such as troll accounts, propaganda pages, and political memes that have truly

proliferate the learners in the Philippines, where there are an estimated 67 million users of social

networking sites, thus turning the internet into a misleading threat and weapon. Moreover, in the

study done by Ateneo Policy Center (2021), they have found out that the learners only scored

about 60% in detecting fake news, which is below the Philippines’ passing rate of 75%. In line

with that, it can be seen that political misinformation has spread throughout Filipino youth.

1
With the spread of this political misinformation comes the significance of media and information

literacy. According to UNESCO (2016), media and information literacy is the ability to seek,

evaluate, apply, and participate in media and information wisely. In these times where social

media serves as a platform for misinformation, MIL helps individuals to combat false news and

rumors, develop and strengthen their critical thinking to determine which news is real and which

is not. Being media and information literate can therefore help an individual to distinguish a fact

from an opinion that can help to stop the spread of false information and prevent it from reaching

a larger audience. (Al Zou’bi, 2022).

In the study conducted by Lopes et al., (2018), they measured the media and information

literacy rate of the youths and the adults and have found out that the ones who have attained the

highest educational attainment got the highest score which means that they are the ones who are

more media and information literate than the others. Furthermore, the study of Gaultney et al.,

(2022), have found out that 80% of the learners have their smartphones as their main source of

information while 44% of the respondents said they are likely to share the news only after reading

the headline, 33% of them did not recognize the news source and 27% of them have shared a

news that turned out to be fake. With that, it is shown that media and information literacy must

also be given to the learners as it will help them to tell the credibility of an information.

Evidently, political misinformation is very rampant in the Philippines most especially in the

youths. In line with this, the researchers decided to conduct this study to further look into the

spread of political misinformation among the senior high school learners and how will media and

information literacy contribute in addressing this problem. The researchers also believe that this

study will be more beneficial for the school administration and educators, because with this, they

will be able to see how media and information literate are the learners and how their minds are

corrupted with misinformation. Through that, they will be able to come up with a lesson plan on

how to effectively and efficiently teach the media and information literacy subject among the

learners.

2
Statement of the Problem

The study will be conducted to determine the relationship between media and information

literacy and political misinformation of learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following:

1. What is sociodemographic profile of respondents in terms of:

1.1. age;

1.2. sex;

1.3. grade level; and

1.4. learning strand?

2. What is the media and information literacy rate of the learners in SHS in San Nicholas

III, Bacoor City in terms of digital/new media?

3. How prevalent is the political misinformation among the learners in SHS in San Nicholas

III, Bacoor City?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the media and information literacy and the

prevalence of political misinformation among the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III,

Bacoor City?

5. Is there a significant relationship between the media and information literacy and the

age of the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

6. Is there a significant difference between the prevalence of political misinformation and

the age of the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

7. Is there a significant difference between the media and information literacy among the

male and female learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

8. Is there a significant difference between the prevalence of political misinformation

among the male and female learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

9. Is there a significant difference between the media and information literacy among the

Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

3
 10. Is there a significant difference between the prevalence of political misinformation

among the Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

11. Are there significant differences among the media and information literacy of the

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

12. Are there significant differences among the prevalence of political misinformation in

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

Hypotheses

Based on the problems stated, the following hypotheses were drawn:

1. There is a significant relationship between media and information literacy and the

prevalence of political misinformation among the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III,

Bacoor City.

2. There is a significant relationship between the media and information literacy and the

age of the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

3. There is a significant relationship between the prevalence of political misinformation

and the age of the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

4. There is no significant difference between the media and information literacy among the

male and female learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

5. There is no significant difference between the prevalence of political misinformation

among the male and female learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

6. There is no significant difference between the media and information literacy among the

Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

7. There is no significant difference between the prevalence of political misinformation

among the Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

8. There are no significant differences among the media and information literacy of the

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

4
 9. There are no significant differences among the prevalence of political misinformation in

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

Significance of the Study

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between media and information

literacy and political misinformation. It is significant to the following:

It is crucial for learners to learn and use media and information literacy effectively to

combat the spread of misinformation, especially in political matters. Being media and information

literate will help them to distinguish which is the real news and which are the fake ones. Media

and Information Literacy (MIL) teaches students how to use information and also provides some

of the essential skills necessary for critical thinking, analysis, self-expression, and creativity – all

necessary skills for learners in a democratic society.

It is essential to teachers. Media and information literacy is a core subject for senior high

school students, and with this study, the educators will be able to know what adjustments and

strategies they should do to be able to effectively teach MIL and in the long run, make their

students media and information literate.

This study beneficial for the school administration as this will enable them to identify and

meet the needs of the students, including tools and equipment, and what learning programs

should be done to teach them the skills that will equip the learners with media and information

literacy specially in this technological world.

This study will help future researchers become aware of and informed about existing

situation with regards to media and information literacy and political misinformation. It will provide

data and will be a useful reference for researchers who intend to conduct a related study on media

and information literacy as well as political misinformation.

This study will greatly help and motivate researchers to be more aware of how important media

and information literacy are to learn and how important it is to apply MIL effectively in political

matters and in society as a whole.

5
Conceptual Framework

Media and information literacy provide individuals with cognitive ability to distinguish facts

from fake stories and equip them with a critical ability to process and handle misinformation (Flynn

et al., 2017). The concept of MIL and political misinformation having a significant relationship

conforms with Arnett’s message interpretation process (MIP) theory. According to the theory,

proper message interventions or education mediate the relationship between harmful messages

and the decision-making of the people. In regards to media and information literacy and political

misinformation, the MIP theory shows that an individual’s exposure to misinformation may not

lead to poor decision-making such as deciding to believe in a political misinformation for as long

as adequate MIL education is provided.

In order to determine the relationship of media and information literacy and political

misinformation among the senior high school learners, the MIL rate of the students as well as the

prevalence of political misinformation among them were examined.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focused on the Relationship of Media and Information Literacy and Political

Misinformation among students in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City. Both grades from the

academic track - Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Strand and General Academic Strand

(GAS), and Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track - Home Economics (HE) Strand and

Information Communications Technology (ICT) Strand were used as the respondents of this

6
study. The other public senior high schools in the City Schools Division of Bacoor will not be

included in this study.

Definition of Terms

Broadcast Media – is traditionally the mass communication or programming from a single

source to a television or radio.

Digital Media – any form of media that uses electronic devices for distribution.

Media and Information Literacy - literacy is a set of knowledge, skill, and abilities to

search, critically evaluate, and wisely use the information and media content

seen online.

Media Literacy – is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety

of forms.

Misinformation – false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately

intended to deceive.

Political Misinformation – false information or stories created to deliberately misinform

or deceive readers for political motives.

Prevalent - widespread in a particular area or at a particular time

Printed Media – oldest and one of the basic forms of mass communication that come to

the public in printed forms and hard copies.

Relationship - the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected.

7
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter shows an overview of the relationship of media and information literacy and

political misinformation among learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City. It includes the

definition of political misinformation and how prevalent it is in the Philippines, factors affecting the

prevalence of political misinformation, definition of media and information literacy as well as its

types, media and information literacy rate among the learners in the Philippines, factors affecting

thereof, and the related studies that will serve as basis of the study.

Related Literature

Definition of Political Misinformation

In 2017, “fake news” was named by the Collins Dictionary as the word of the year (Hunt,

2017). This dubious honor reflects the large impact of fake news— false information distributed

as if it is real news— has had on economic, political, and social discourses. Fake news is just one

form of misinformation, which also includes disinformation, rumors, propaganda, and conspiracy

theories (Guess et al., 2020). Misinformation poses a serious threat to democracy because it can

make it harder for citizens to make informed political choices and hold politicians accountable for

their actions, foster social conflict, and undercut trust in important institutions. The spread of

misinformation including “fake news”, propaganda, and conspiracy theories represents a serious

threat to society as it has the potential to alter beliefs, behavior, and policies.

While the SARS-CoV-2 virus— responsible for causing the COVID-19 disease— spreads

aggressively and rapidly across the globe, many societies have also witnessed the spread of

other seemingly viral phenomena such as fake news, conspiracy theories, and general mass

suspicions about what is really going on. Some of the most prevailing narratives are the ones

claiming that the virus is caused by 5G cellular technology, and that Bill Gates uses the virus to

8
enslave humanity by enforcing a global vaccination and surveillance program (Vincent, 2020;

Shahsavari et al., 2020). Even though most of these stories were quickly debunked and proven

untrue, the pervasiveness of misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media and in the

news cycle has led the Director-General of the World Health Organization to warn that we are not

just fighting an epidemic; we are fighting an info emic and that fake news spreads faster and more

easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.

The spread of false and/or misleading information is not new. However, today’s

information ecosystem has drastically changed the ways in which mis- and disinformation are

produced, disseminated, and consumed (Benkler et al., 2018; Törnberg, 2018). Social media

platforms and digital technologies have facilitated high-speed information sharing between news

media producers and consumers, as well as cross-platform information cascades (Shu et al.,

2016; Vosoughi et al., 2018). Within these online environments, false and fake narratives tend to

outperform real news in terms of popularity and audience engagements (Silverman, 2016).

The issue of misinformation is compounded by the rapid growth of social media. Over a

billion people are now actively using social media around the world as social media has become

the main source of news for many, the reason why it has also become easier to create and spread

misinformation (Shearer et al., 2017). Indeed, an analysis of rumors spread by over three million

of people online found that misinformation spreads significantly more than the truth— and this

was the greatest for political misinformation (Vosoughi et al., 2018). With that, misinformation

appears to be amplified around major political events. As such, there is a dangerous potential for

a cycle in which political division feeds both the belief in, and sharing of, partisan misinformation

and this increases political division (Sarlin et al., 2018).

As per the Center for Strategic & International Studies (2021), over 90 percent of Filipinos

with access to the internet are on social media. Social media is a fundamental force in Philippine

9
society. Facebook has been deeply entrenched in Philippine society largely thanks to its initiatives

to expand into developing countries. It is a convenient and accessible means of consuming

content, especially since internet connectivity is often slow and unreliable. The accessibility of

social media makes it a prime platform for swaying public opinion; consequently, political actors

are willing to do anything to capture the public’s attention. But with unreliable internet coverage

and the rest of the web effectively paywalled, it is very difficult for Filipinos to fact-check what they

see.

With 2016 being the Philippines’ first “social media election,” the hotly contested 2022

elections may prove to be a more dramatic second act. After all of that, misinformation is

embedded even deeper in Philippine society. And this has been exacerbated by the COVID-

19pandemic, during which misinformation posed a threat to government public initiatives

(Quitzon, 2021).

Fact-checking and warnings of misinformation are increasingly salient and prevalent

components of modern news media and political communications. While many warnings about

political misinformation are valid and enable people to reject misleading information, the quality

and validity of misinformation warnings can vary widely. However, when informative news is

wrongly labeled as inaccurate, these false warnings reduce the news’ credibility. Invalid

misinformation warnings taint the truth, lead individuals to discard authentic information, and

impede political memory.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories have thus continued to bedevil and politicize

public health discussions and policy decisions globally. Contemporaneously, the growing

prominence of social and digital media, and a high choice news media environment, make it

increasingly difficult for citizens to judge the quality of the information they encounter in their daily

10
lives. Understanding the mechanics of political misinformation and its connections with public

opinion formation is therefore a vital challenge for democracy as high-quality information is critical

for its functioning. (Choi et al., 2020)

Furthermore, Clayton et al., (2019) find that general warnings of misinformation shown to

people before news exposure reduce the perceived accuracy of both real and false news

headlines. Mistrust and rejection of news is beneficial when that news is misleading, but when

the mistrust and rejection spills over to real news, the potential drawbacks of misinformation

warnings become apparent. Pennycook et al., (2017) also uncover other drawbacks of

misinformation warnings. An implied truth effect emerges when some, but not all, false stories are

tagged as misinformation. Those false stories which fail to get tagged are considered validated

and seen as more accurate. Even legitimate misinformation warnings, if not fully deployed, can

enhance the effects of misinformation in the larger system. Sophisticated organizations seek to

employ nuanced and specific fact-checking techniques, but less valid warnings of misinformation

continue to be used by both political elites and in broad public conversations on misinformation

and the news media.

Prevalence of Political Misinformation among the learners in the Philippines

The immensity of the exposed news online has given everybody the chance to manipulate

information; and so, confusion and misinformation transpire, and the evaluation of credibility and

trustworthiness becomes intricate. In spite of the continuous efforts of various academic

institutions to provide a wide array of databases and resources among learners – still the current

phenomenon called fake news has become incessantly dispersing (Paglinawan, 2022).

In the Philippines, where there were an estimated 67 million users of social networking

websites, there has been a proliferation of troll accounts, propaganda pages, and political memes-

effectively weaponizing the internet (Camus, 2018). Competing views articulated in the internet

11
may turn into unsafe environments and teachers are faced with the challenge of creating learning

opportunities to address these concerns. As educational institutions incorporate multiliteracies in

teaching and learning (The New London Group, 1996), language lessons become opportunities

for students to engage in using different modalities in creating messages through a range of

resources. For instance, the use of pictures, sounds, and film can result in interactive multimodal

messages for a variety of audiences.

Misinformation spread via communication technology is a growing concern around the

world. This has resulted in problematic scenarios such as oversimplification of complex issues,

opposition to facts, and even the absence of a middle ground among diverse groups. Recently,

the COVID-19 pandemic has not only halted global processes due to the health risks posed

among populations, but competition for resources among communities has also persisted. In the

case of education, teachers have been pressed to the frontline as they have been forced to

drastically alter their approaches to teaching and learning as physical interaction with students

has been prohibited. A further complication is the issue of misinformation surrounding the COVID

19 virus and pandemic management among various state agents. Literacy with a critical

orientation questions problematic assumptions about the production, circulation, and

consumption of texts. The strength of critical literacy lies in creating conditions of possibility by

allowing students to question assumptions about texts, maximizing opportunities for authentic

dialogue between learners and teachers and engaging in worthwhile community projects for

collective action (Banegas et al., 2016; Chen, 2020; Huang, 2012; Mambu, 2011; Valdez, 2020).

However, the emergence of the post-truth era in politics, fake news, conspiracy theories

and spin proliferating via social media have posed challenges for educators (Frechette, 2014;

Picton et al., 2017; Farkas., 2020). Misinformation has created problematic assumptions about

people, practices and concepts. Moreover, communication technology has created echo

12
chambers for communities of practice that may hold problematic beliefs about aspects of society

leading to misunderstanding and even violence.

While the internet has democratized the production and consumption of information

through first-hand accounts, narratives and reports from the ground, the absence of proper vetting

procedures in verifying information and the wide range of sources available for information open

possibilities for misinterpreting facts. The prominence of social media as a platform for the

creation and convergence of different groups with similar interests have also resulted in

problematic ideas which may have gained traction over the years and have influenced political,

scientific, and even economic movements. For instance, the emergence of conspiracy theories,

alternative facts, and revisionist histories have contributed greatly to conflicts over these

platforms. It is critical to examine the use of language and multimodal resources in constructing

informational texts. While other scholars have identified specific features of misinformation in texts

such as credibility of source, relevance and currency of information and contributing contexts, the

use of language and multimodal resources are equally important in understanding this problem

(Alvermann, 2017; Fajardo, 2016; Goodnight, 2009; Navera et al., 2019; Valdez, 2020).

At the Ateneo Policy Center in Manila, researchers have developed a potential diagnostic

tool to measure the presence and depth of fake news vulnerability, particularly among the young

(aged 18-29), expected to account for 24 million voters in the Philippines’ May 2022 elections.

With the aim of contributing to this nascent field, the policy center has partnered with educational

institutions, organizations, and student governments from universities and colleges in the

country’s top 25 vote-rich cities and in the country’s capital. The diagnostic tool is based on a

survey fielded online, which allows respondents to take a five-minute quiz identifying possible

fake news examples.

13
 Figure 2.1. Distribution of respondents by fake news scores

Source: Ateneo Policy Center, 2021

The survey consists of several sections on the thoughts of young people and elections,

with one section taking the form of a fake news quiz. The quiz consists of five accurate news

items and five fake news items, which respondents’ rate as either true or false. The fake news

items were randomly selected from a list of stories between January and June 2021 generated

from Vera Files and Rappler, which are fact-checking websites certified through a non-partisan

International Fact-Checking Network and Facebook partners for third-party fact-checking

programs in the Philippines.

The accurate news items were selected to mirror the format and time frame of the fake

news items as well as contain absurd statements that could pass off as real news. The survey

was rolled out in late August 2021 through various social media and learning management

platforms. By the time it concluded in late September, around 24,625 young Filipinos from 25

partner colleges and universities had participated.

The results were compelling and begin to map the landscape in the battle against fake

news. For a significant percentage of the youth in particular geographical areas, the ability to spot

14
fake news is below the pass rate, which is typically 75 per cent in the Philippines. Those who

failed, typically scored around 60 per cent (The two charts show the number of people able to

accurately identify the five fake and five real news items). The distribution of fake news scores in

the four major study areas (the National Capital Region, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao)

appears very similar.

While these results should not be extrapolated to all youth in these major regions, the

indicators raise possibilities for further research and educational action. These initial results could

equip educators and researchers with the necessary information to map susceptibility to infodemic

among young people, and possibly track the spread of misinformation across groups and over

time. (Ateneo Policy Center, 2021)

Figure 2.2. Distribution of respondents by geographical region

Source: Ateneo Policy Center, 2021

15
Factors Affecting the Prevalence of Political Misinformation among the Learners in the

Philippines

Political Misinformation is very rampant in the Philippines most especially during the

election season. Ong et al., in 2018 has found out that there are groups behind the political

misinformation campaigns and that they are mostly comprised of digital influencers, key opinion

leaders, and community-level fake operators. They are most of the time hired to spread false

information about a candidate that would benefit them. Mass cyber armies are the ones being

paid for a specific or an aspiring politician. (Chen et al., 2021)

According to Broughton (2022), a 2020 Oxford Internet Institute Survey have found out

that different political parties have personally conducted or hired private firms that will conduct a

series of digital manipulation campaigns that are supported or backed by networks or troll farms.

With these, people are whitewashed to believe fake narratives and misleading claims. This

distortion of facts has contributed to the prevalence of political misinformation in the Philippines.

It has been spreading through the Filipino people as they frequently see a lot of fake news

in the internet everyday but fail to distinguish which is the real one and which is not. One of the

factors that helps political misinformation to constantly prevail among Filipinos is their high trust

to the news and information they see online without first verifying whether it is true or not. More

likely, those who are pro-administration are more susceptible to misinformation and inaccurately

identify which is the real news compared to those who support the opposition. (Deinla et al., 2022)

According to Jesmin (2022), another factor that contributes to the spread of political

misinformation is when the people discredit the journalists. Even the professionals whose job is

to deliver the truth is being targeted by the trolls saying that their news are biased and are always

anti-administration. Due to it, people now tend to rely on social media for information rather than

the trusted news outlets. Discrediting the journalists, online intimidation and false accusations

originate from a single account and are then escalated by troll farms or support networks that

16
repost and distribute the original post. Almost immediately after posing a challenging question

during a live broadcast, journalists frequently receive death threats on social media. A journalist

may encounter an impenetrable wall of opposition when a single death threat is multiplied by

10,000 online trolls, making it difficult for them to continue covering important information critical

of the administration. (UNESCO, 2018)

It was also found that frequent visits to social media sites, or even just liking a post of a

political party and sharing a political post of a friend increases the chance of the people to be

susceptible to misinformation. For even with these simplest things, a person tends to believe a

statement they have not even verified. The prevalence of political misinformation is greatly

affected also by the people’s opinions and biases, thinking that what they see online is the most

reliable source of information for as long as it is sided with their beliefs. (Bringula et al., 2021)

Definition of Media and Information Literacy

Media and information literacy is a set of knowledge, skill, and abilities to search, critically

evaluate, and wisely use the information and media content seen online. Moreover, United

Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (2016) also defined it as the knowledge

of one’s right in the online world as well as the ability of a person to engage with media to make

use of it and promote equality, freedom of expression, intercultural dialogue, etc.

According to Lau et al., (2020), the term media and information literacy was coined by the

UNESCO in 2007 stating that through it, the citizens will be able to understand the functions of

media and the providers of information, to critically evaluate the content, and make decisions as

the users and producers of information.

According to Terra (2022), media literacy is the capability to access, analyze, evaluate, and

create media in different forms. Media literacy is the ability to decode media messages such as

the system in which they exist; assess the influence of messages on feelings, thoughts, and

behaviors; create media with thoughts and conscience; and encompasses 10 vital skills such as:

17
Identifying fake news that involves reading and checking the credentials of certain sources; using

multiple sources that checks sources having the same news story; questioning tone and language

that entails an ear for credible language; questioning numbers and figures that seeks where the

information came from and how did the audience arrive at the figures; Understanding images and

their effect on the brain; cultivating multimedia skills; recognizing bias to confirm if there’s a bias;

shaping media ourselves that covers forming rules in engaging and other standards and enforcing

them; and becoming responsible media creators that promotes relevant and accurate information.

Media Literacy is also considered an important element of education as our time is filled

with media that has both positive and negative impacts on the user’s lives. Media literacy is the

capability to participate in media culture in a productive way. Media literacy necessitates some

fundamental elements, such as awareness, which allows users to contrast them with social

media, where anyone can post anything; access, which is based on two foundations: digital

literacy and research skills; media issues, which allow for a broad exploration of the social issues

surrounding media; media safety, which protects privacy and information security; media habits

and production, which emphasizes media participation and creation skills (Spacey, 2020).

Moreover, media literacy is defined as the ability to use and understand all forms of

modern media. Beyond understanding and usage of media, critical thinking elements such as

analysis, bias, and identifying propaganda are some of the elements of media literacy. Being

media literate means we can be able to understand our responsibilities as users, how it might

affect us, and how the media industry works. (Wollacott, 2022).

In the statement of Mazzoli (2022), the set of combined abilities surrounded the reflective

discovery of information, the understanding of how the information is produced and valued, and

how the information is being used in creating new knowledge and partaking ethically in

communities of learning. It is also the ability to evaluate, locate, and use the information to become

an independent life-long learner.

18
 On the other hand, information literacy refers to the access, evaluation, and the use of

information. Thus, it has been considered to go hand in hand as media and information literacy

plays a vital role in empowering people with critical knowledge not only when it comes to how the

media functions but with its information system and content as well. (Pamaih et al., 2021)

According to UNESCO (2022), media and information literacy helps the people to

maximize advantages and minimize harm in this new information, communication, and digital age

for it enables them to interact with the contents critically and effectively they see.

As the world gets too technological, this kind of competency is necessary for everyone of

all ages because media and information literacy serve as the backbone of the understanding in

media and its role in the society. It also provides some of the essential skills necessary for the

citizens because with all the various types of media that is spread out on the internet today, MIL

is necessary for them to become responsible citizens in a democratic society. Furthermore, MIL

is also beneficial for the children because it serves as their foundation to be responsible for what

they see, like, and share online. (Council of Europe, 2022)

According to UNESCO (2017), media and technology inevitably shapes our knowledge

for it is mostly where the information is seen daily. Therefore, competencies that are from being

media and information literate are very much needed by the people in this media-saturated world.

Aside from it, MIL also helps the people to seek, evaluate, use, and create information

effectively. In that way, they will not just only be responsible citizens, but they will also be able to

achieve their goals; whether it may be personal, social, occupational, or even educational.

(Sanchez et al., 2021)

According to Kajimoto et al., (2020), MIL is an essential skill that shapes one’s perceptions,

beliefs, and attitudes toward the world. The information people acquire from the different types of

media helps them in making decisions and formulating opinions. When the information is twisted,

false, exaggerated, or even distorted, one may view the world inaccurately and differently. It is

19
very crucial for a person to obtain the right information so that they can make the right decisions

and stick to what is the truth.

Nowadays, it is hard to tell which is real, and which is fake. That is where MIL comes in,

through being media and information literate, people can determine what is credible and

trustworthy. They will also be able to create doubts and not just easily believe on what they see

and on what is the trend (Haider et al., 2022).

Types of Media and Information Literacy

The word "media" refers to a wide range of things in the twenty-first century, from

traditional media to the numerous new forms of digital media. Even though one can probably think

of a variety of examples and is almost certainly exposed to the media in one’s daily life, it can be

challenging to define the term succinctly. Media is a form of expression that transfers information

or entertainment from one person to another. Before the digital age, radio, newspapers,

magazines, billboards, journals, and other traditional media were the most widely used forms of

communication. Since then, the technological revolution has brought about a number of new

media types that today significantly contribute to the dissemination of knowledge and

entertainment to people all over the world (Maryville Online, 2020).

According to Oxillo (2017), there are three types of media: print media, broadcast media,

and digital/new media. Print media includes newspapers, books, magazines, comics, and

brochures that are not handwritten or typed. It is any written or pictorial form of communication

that is produced mechanically or electronically through the use of printing, photocopying, or digital

methods, from which multiple copies can be made through automated processes. Print media is

a type of publishing that uses paper as a medium. Print media includes magazines, newspapers,

flyers, and books. Print media has been challenged by new media such as the internet and

television. Nonetheless, print media is still relevant in some situations. Large newspaper

publications, for example, are still regarded as elite venues for political debate. Print media refers

20
to any form of media that is available in a printed, in-person format. It is contrasted with digital

media, which is a technological innovation that has surpassed it in many ways (Drew, 2022).

Broadcast media involves electronically and simultaneously sending information

containing signals, print messages, and audio or video content to a vast group of recipients using

television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and digital media, including the Internet, emails, and

texts. (TOP Agency, 2022)

Digital media, in contrast to traditional media, is transmitted as digital data, which, at its

most basic, entails sending binary signals from digital cables or satellites to equipment that

converts them into audio, video, graphics, text, and other formats. People consume digital media

whenever they use a computer, tablet, or cellphone to access websites and apps. Digital media

can take the form of articles, podcasts, audiobooks, videos, articles, advertisements, music,

virtual reality, or digital art (Maryville Online, 2020).

Systematic knowledge of the development of digital media is a necessary component of

digital literacy. A person who is technologically literate can search effectively, evaluate various

sources, and separate documents that are relevant and those that are irrelevant. Learning how

to use a computer and keyboard or conduct online searches is only one aspect of digital literacy

(Buckingham, 2015).

According to Athique (2013), the evolution of media technology from traditional to digital

has played a significant role in the major changes in life over the past century. It is no secret that

technology has become an integral component of daily life and the crucial role it plays in a

developing society cannot be overemphasized. The "new media" applications resulting from the

adoption of digital technologies have significantly altered how we view mass communication in

contemporary society over the last two decades. Digital media has evolved to be regarded as the

pinnacle of modern technology in a variety of ways. Nearly every aspect of life is impacted by the

21
potent union of mechanical calculation, electronics, binary code, and human language systems.

Digital media have literally taken over as the "operating system" for almost everything else. Our

interpersonal interactions take place in large part through digital communications in daily life. It is

encouraging to learn that many people place a high priority on their media and information literacy

education in this age of fake news and politicized truth-seeking.

According to Cvetković, et al. (2018), the expansion of new digital media and the

development of information technology give even bigger importance to media and information

literacy, which is recognized as one of the key skills in the educational system almost everywhere

in the world. Most people consider media literacy to be the ability to critically think about

information received through mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, etc.), whereas others consider

media literacy to be the ability to use not only traditional media such as newspapers, radio, and

TV, but also new digital media. A person who is information-literate knows how to learn because

he/she knows in which way certain knowledge has been organized, how to find information which

he/she needs and how to process and use certain information in a way that makes it possible for

others to learn from them.

Understanding media literacy, the skills required to comprehend mass communication and

analyze its purposes and content has grown in significance for comprehending the democratic

process. Media literacy has become more crucial in one's life because of the increased disruption

that politics has caused in the media. People's minds are easily manipulated by political messages

when they lack media literacy. They are more susceptible to manipulation and deception

regarding the truth. As a result, media literacy is essential for people to exercise their civic rights

(Penplusbytes, 2019).

22
Media and Information Literacy Rate among the Learners in the Philippines

According to the results of the 2019 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media

Survey (FLEMMS) by Mapa (2020), Filipinos aged ten (10) to sixty-four (64) years old who are

exposed to various forms of mass media reported a high functional rate. However, the functional

rate decreased from 92.6% to 97.1%, which uses the internet for research purposes, work

purposes, and email. Based on the data, females have a higher functional literacy rate than males.

During 2019, Filipinos from the given age range usually watched television (96.0%), made

calculations (80.3%), and listened to radio (75.2%). Surfing the internet for research work and e-

mail (63.6%), reading a newspaper (63.3%), and writing a report or correspondence (43.9%). In

the urban areas of the Philippines, people watched television (97.3%), used the internet through

social media (82.5%), and made calculations (80.4%). Their exposure to reading newspapers

(68.6%), attending meetings (67.2%), and writing a report or correspondence (47.0%) is the

lowest. While in the rural areas, there was a high exposure to televisions (94.4%), making

calculations (80.2%) and listening to radio (74.7%) were typical for them. They are also least

exposed to reading newspapers (56.5%), surfing the internet for research work and e-mail

(52.3%), and writing a report/correspondence (40.0%) in 2019.Filipinos from ten (20) to thirty (30)

years old who are enrolled to schools in 2019 are watching televisions (97.2%), reads magazine

(88.8%), and surfed the internet for social media (86.8%). Writing a report/correspondence

(62.7%), attending meetings (61.9%), and reading a newspaper (59.7%). Media and information

literacy rates among the learners in the Philippines

On the other hand, Filipinos from urban areas with the same age range attending school

watched television (97.8%), surfed the internet for social media (92.9%), and read magazines

(88.0%). People from urban areas were least exposed to writing a report or correspondence

(63.2%), attending meetings (62.8%), and reading a newspaper (61.1%).

23
Figure 2.3. 10 to 30 years old in urban areas’ exposure to various forms of mass media

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2019

Figure 2.4. 10-30 years old in rural areas’ exposure to various forms of mass media

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2019

24
 Eighty seven percent of Filipino students used the internet more frequently for social

media than research work and email, with 81.4%. This is an observation across people from urban

and rural areas, sexes, and age groups.

The result based on the 2019 FLEMMS also added that ninety-four (94) out of everyone

hundred (100) Filipinos aged five (5) years old and above are basic literate. This shows that

females got a higher basic literacy with 94.5% compared to males with 93.2%. And across the

regions, the National Capital Region (NCR) reported the highest basic literacy rate with 97.6%,

while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest at

78.7%. In terms of the age group, fifteen (15) to nineteen (19) year olds among the population

had the highest basic literacy rate, garnering 98.6%, while people from the age group of five (5)

to nine (9) years old got the lowest with only 73.2%. Filipinos who were at least a junior high

school completer in the K-12 curriculum reached 100% or a very high basic literacy rate compared

with those who had no grade completed, or early childhood education recorded a low basic

literacy rate with 40.1%.

Factors Affecting Media and Information Literacy Rate among the Learners in the

Philippines

According to Eristi et al., (2017), the first three factors of media literacy are access,

analysis, and evaluation. These factors are the ones needed for someone to be considered as an

effecient media user.

Developments in technology made everything accessible in the internet. It has allowed

media users to access media contents anytime they want to (American Press Institute, 2015;

Deloitte, 2015).

According to Boczkowski et al., (2017), young people tend to look only at the specific

pieces of information they need whilst skipping the other contents there is in the same article.

25
This only shows that young people seem to seek only a few pieces of information only when they

need it for, they tend to only maximize their access to media and information primarily for

entertainment purposes and not for news consumption.

Furthermore, analysis is also seen as one of the factors that affects the media and

information literacy of the learners. The ability to examine the structure, content, design, form,

etc., divide messages into meaningful units, inspect the authorship and the context of the text,

and the ability to percieve the implicit and explicit meanings behind every message are what

characterizes a media literate person. (Eristi et al., 2017)

According to Pentina et al., 2014, youth nowadays are not good in analyzing media

contents. They tend to care less and less on the information seen in digital platforms. Since the

information is readily available online, youth do not exert time and effort in double checking the

author, sources, contents, designs, or forms. Moreover, information overload went on since a

huge amount of information can be easily accessed. It has also been argued that even though

the youth have digital access, they tend to be incidental news consumers who only look into the

content they need and fail to analyze the full context of the article. Moreover, analysis is completed

through evaluation. In the consumption of news, the consumers firstly analyze the information

through looking into the author and source.

Afterwards, they are to evaluate if the contents correspond to their beliefs and values.

While the analysis is guided by the aspects of the articles itself such as the contents and format,

evaluation of the people is affected by truthfulness and credibility. This only shows that when

audiences investigate different media contents, their judgements are guided by their personal

view about what is credible and what is not. (Eristi et al., 2017)

26
Related Studies

There are several studies about the relationship of media and information literacy and

political misinformation among learners that are conducted internationally and locally.

According to the study of Koc et al., (2016), along with the emergence of new technologies,

individuals are not just expected to only consume media and information but as well as to produce,

share, and criticize the information they see online.

The researchers of their study quantify new media literacy based on the quantitative

exploration of it such as the concepts and outcomes. They adopted it from the theoretical

framework of new media and literacy of Lin et al., (2013). The research instrument used was a

survey questionnaire composed of a 5-point Likert scale; five being strongly agree, 4 is for agree,

3 is for neither agree nor disagree, 2 is for disagree, and one is strongly disagree.

The participants of their study were a total of 1311 volunteer students from a large

university at Turkey. They were drawn from different departments or colleges Arts and Sciences

(26%), Forestry (15%), Agriculture (12%), Theology (12%), Economics and Administrative

Sciences (11%), Engineering (10%), Education (5%), Technology (5%), and Law (4%). Almost

half of the students (49%) were freshman, 13% were sophomore, 20% were junior, and 18% were

senior. Out of all the respondents, 55% were female and 45% were male, their ages ranged from

18 to 30 years old. 27% of the individuals who have the highest mean scores and 27% of those

who have obtained the lowest mean scores were grouped to distinguish those with high

competency and those who has low competency.

The researchers have concluded that their diagnostic tool will be of great help for future

research that would also like to measure the media and information literacy of the individuals.

They have found out that they have produced a reliable and psychometrically valid scale for the

assessment of MIL and NML.

27
 In the study of Kiernan, R. (2017), there is a rapidly growing demand for quality information

over misinformation and fake news, both in print and online. In recent years, the term “fake news”

has come to the fore online, and more specifically, on social media networks. However, despite

this significant rise in fake news online, few studies have examined what impact this is having on

students.

The researchers used a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire. The nature of the

research has been exploratory. The research strategy chosen is a survey. The use of a survey

strategy gives the research the ability to produce data based on real world observations. Also,

the breadth of coverage of people allows the researcher to obtain data based on a representative

sample. A large amount of data can also be produced in a short amount of time, at a relatively

low cost. The research choice is mono methods. This is because the research requires only

quantitative research methods. The method of data collection takes place in the form of a

questionnaire. The questionnaire is completed online and then returned by the respondent. The

questionnaire contains thirty questions, of which twenty-six are multiple choice questions, while

four are open ended questions. The sampling chosen is probability, and from that random

sampling is deemed the most appropriate type of sampling for this study. Probability is the best

method to achieve a representative sample. Random sampling is the selecting of subjects in order

that all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected.

The total sample population is 859 students. The response rate of the questionnaire was

16.41%. This means that of the total sample population (859) only 141 people responded. This

could be deemed a low response rate. However, although this is a lower response rate than other

research on the field, the time limitations can be seen to have had a major impact. Of the 141

responses, 128 useable surveys were returned. In addition to these 128 responses, 13 were

returned not sufficiently complete, and so these were deemed unusable. Therefore, the

completion rate was 90.78%. The first section of the questionnaire considered the demographics

of the respondents. Firstly, respondents were asked their gender. 41% of respondents were male,

28
58% were female and 1% of the respondents chose not to answer. Respondents were then asked

which of the six age groups they belonged to. Most respondents were aged between 24 and 39

(68% or 87 respondents). Only 23% or 30 respondents were 23 years old or under, while 9% or

11 respondents were 40 years old or over. Respondents were then asked what social media sites

they had an account with. This was asked to determine the most popular social media sites among

students, as well as those that were not active at all on social media. 122 respondents had a

Facebook account, while 79 had a YouTube account. Only 2 respondents had no account on any

social media site. 6 respondents had accounts on other sites, 1 each on Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit,

Google+, and WhatsApp. 1 respondent failed to divulge what another site they had an account

on. Regarding information literacy, and whether students had heard of the term, 67 respondents

(52%) had heard of the term Information Literacy or Information Skills. 59 respondents or 46%

had never heard of either. 2% did not specify.

When students were asked if they look and check the reliability and relevance when

reading articles on social media, in the same way that they would when reading articles for an

assignment, the results were as follows: 12 respondents never look at the reliability or relevance

of articles on social media. 25 respondents always do, while 42 do most of the time. To determine

if and how students were able to detect fake news, respondents were asked if they had ever used

a fact checking site. 15 respondents had previously used a fact checking site. 107 respondents

had never used a fact checking site, while 6 did not specify.

With these although students may know how to evaluate information for assignments and

other academic works, there can often be a disconnect in applying these evaluation skills to non-

academic works. This is something that is only going to get more and more important, with the

rise in levels of fake news in combination with the ongoing growth in levels of people using social

media. There should be a focus of information literacy education programs on how to evaluate

and use information from social media. Students are more likely to check the reliability of a source

only if they are using it for academic purposes, as they are required to cite their source.

29
 According to the study of Lopes et al. (2018), few research regarding media and

information literacy are solely done to examine the media practices than assessing media and

information literacy skills. That is why their study aimed to construct and implement a scale to

measure media and information literacy.

In this empirical research, the researchers used a quantitative extensive methodology and

a questionnaire survey. The participants are adults and students. The quota sample of the adult

population was comprised of adults who have acquired primary, secondary, and higher education

programs. While the selection of students was proportional to the weight of the population of each

type of educational program in higher education level. The sample consists of 500 adults and

9.8% of which attended primary education, 15.6% attended secondary education while 74.6%

attended higher education courses with different degrees. During the conducted study, the

respondents’ age varied from 18-81 years old with an average age of 27 and 57.9% of them were

women.

The data was collected by the research team who visited the educational institutions

where the respondents are and then administered the questionnaire through a paper-and-paper

test individually without time limit. The questionnaire survey was used to examine the media and

citizenship practices while the media and information literacy test was used to evaluate the

respondents’ media and information literacy skills.

The media and information literacy test composed of 20 questions and the results of the

test are as follows: the students’ scores vary between -3.25 and 2.66 with a mean of zero and a

median of 0.18. On the other hand, the adults’ scores vary because of their educational

attainment. The mean for the lowest educational level was -1.40, while -0.88 for intermedium level

and 0.35 for the highest educational level. As expected, the adults who have the highest

educational attainment has a higher literacy in media and information. Moreover, there were no

statistically significant differences observed between the scores of the males and the females in

the test.

30
 The study of Santos (2020) aimed to get the measurement of the manifestation in

developing cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal potentials of the students through

reinventing and using the 21st century competencies (21CC) basis in teaching the Media and

Information Literacy (MIL) course or subject plus to determine if there's any correlation between

the demonstration of the respondents in implementing the output-based curriculum to their

performance in class with the goal to measure comprehension on 17 topics.

Measuring the three categories of 21st century skills, particularly cognitive, interpersonal,

and intrapersonal (CII) competencies was the overall goal as the students performed the

necessary projects through the project-based CII paradigm to determine the range where the

three domains were enhanced and developed.

This is quantitative research that follows a survey method to gather data from the target

audience. The participants for this research were Senior High School (SHS) students specifically

grade 11 students who are studying MIL courses at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P),

Pasig City. Using the non-probability sampling, particularly, purposive, or judgement sampling,

the population was selected with the total of 150 students from grade 11. 138 out of 150 students

answered the survey that is considered as more than sufficient.

In order to determine the validity of the approach, a pilot-testing was conducted through

the hardcopy version of the survey for getting a possible improvement of the research design.

Three (3) qualified grade 11 MIL students—one (1) male and two (2) females that is fit for the

target participant randomly selected to have a participation for the pilot test. The testing occurred

for about 3 to 5 minutes and the students were asked questions to determine the validity and

reliability of the approach after taking the preliminary runs of the survey. Participants found the

material easy and clear where the vocabularies used was understandable and did not encounter

any difficulties in answering the questions despite of the number of statements given in the design.

31
This proves that the design was valid and reliable according on the feedback from the participants

answered the survey.

As a post-activity survey and to assess how effective the activities in the cognitive,

interpersonal, intrapersonal (CII) skills, a self-assessment survey was designed that uses a 5-

point Likert scale where the participants were ask to rate how the given statement applied to them.

1-point rating as the lowest (strongly disagree) and 5-point rating as the highest (strongly agree)

having 42 questions in total that includes variety of number of statements per category from one

(1) being the lowest and three (3) as the highest number. Under the cognitive category, they were

15 questions, 10 questions from interpersonal sphere, and 17 for the intrapersonal domain.

The study shows that the students developed all three essential (cognitive, interpersonal,

and intrapersonal) 21CC skillset indicated through the data having the intrapersonal sphere got

the highest developed among those three that reflects the 21st century core competencies. As of

the findings, the result based on the study shows two possible factors that influenced students.

The participants completed the assigned projects in order to satisfy themselves to at least pass

the course or subject. Thus, those development might not be fully attributable in implementing a

new curriculum despite of the revised MIL curriculum appeared to affect the development of the

21st century skills.

Although the output-based CII design was instrumental for the development of 21CC

among the respondents, one semester might not be enough to fully represent the actual skills

development.

There is a wide-range implications for pedagogical practice and also for the policymakers,

educators, and learners as they bring fore weakness of the current curriculum guide for MIL that

is lacking in terms of intentionality in building 21st century skills known as CII competencies in

this work.

32
 The study of Bringula et al. (2021), aimed to identify the factors that could predict university

students' vulnerability to misinformation, (e.g., fake news). Their study attempted to close this

research gap by using binary logistic regression to identify the factors that could predict university

students' susceptibility to fake news.

Four Manila universities' students took part in this study. Participants are 693 students

and split nearly evenly between men (n = 361, 52%) and women (n = 332, 48%). They were

enrolled in a variety of programs, including computer studies/information technology (326, or

47%), health (119, or 17%), business (106, or 15%), engineering (83, or 12%), education (25, or

4%), and arts and sciences (22, or 3%). Twelve (12) students, however, omitted to state their

degree programs.

The study used a research questionnaire as its research instrument. There were five

sections to the questionnaire. The students' access to ICT was covered in the first section. It was

calculated based on the quantity of owned devices, the variety of Internet access methods, and

the distribution of Internet access points. The second section gathered data regarding the

students' political consciousness. Knowledge of national political issues, the significance of

knowing about national political issues, and the amount of attention paid to knowing about national

political issues were used to measure political awareness. The third section asked about social

media use, including how often people used it daily and how satisfied they were with the

information they found there. It also asked about the perception of fake news' prevalence (i.e.,

chances of seeing a fake news post). The fourth section assessed a news sharer's credibility and

confirmation bias. According to the study, confirmation bias is when someone expresses their

agreement by sharing, commenting on, or liking another person's post. There are nine items total.

The items were determined to be reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87) and valid (factor loading ≥

0.50). Regarding their propensity to believe that they are posting with the political context of their

friends, respected person, political party, or unknown person, trust toward news sharers (hence

referred to as trust) includes four components. The items' reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.896)

33
and validity (factor loading ≥ 0.50) are both good. The final section of the questionnaire assessed

the students' susceptibility to false information. If the students had been duped by false

information—that is, if they had initially believed a political post to be factual but later realized it

was false—they were asked to respond. The response was marked as 1 if a student had been

duped by false information, and 0 otherwise.

A Likert scale of 1 to 5 was used to assess the frequency of visits, contentment, the

prevalence of fake news, political awareness, confirmation bias, and trust. The findings of each

research question (RQ) are as follows, RQ1: students' access to ICT. More student own

cellphones than desktop/laptop computers. Almost all of them have a cell phone. Students have

access to the ICT device because they all have at least one gadget. The majority of individuals

connect to the Internet via their home WIFI or mobile data. In RQ 2, you will be asked about false

news exposure, and in RQ 3, they are asked about your level of national political awareness.

Facebook and YouTube are the most popular social media platforms. Social media is occasionally

utilized to bring students up to date on national political concerns. They feel that when they access

their social media accounts, they will most likely come across bogus news pieces. Students are

relatively familiar with national political concerns, and they devote some of their effort to being

informed about these issues. They believe that being informed about national political issues is

essential. The majority of interviewees (61%), admitted to been duped by fake news at least once.

RQ4 is about confirmation bias, RQ5 is about trust in news sharers, and RQ6 is about

factchecking tactics. Students are slightly in agreement on all items concerning their prejudices

and trust in news sharers. The highest mean rating was given to liking a similar post of a friend,

demonstrating that students are more likely to like a similar post of a friend. Sharing a political

post by another politician. The party had the lowest mean rating. Although they agree to a lesser

extent, students have a predisposition to believe a post from someone they admire. Students

react to, like, and share political tweets from individuals they don't know. Google is the most used

34
platform for post verification. When verifying social media posts, students believe that the opinions

of friends and family members are important

It was identified that the factors that may lead to students' vulnerability to fake news at

private institutions in Manila. It has been shown that students have extensive ICT access and use

social media. They believe that fake news is common on social media. They value political

awareness and devote a portion of their time and knowledge to staying current on the country's

political affairs. They are exposed to fake news items published on social media. More than half

of them have been duped by fake news. They have less confirmation bias and a higher level of

trust in news sharers. Because of their accessibility, they check the validity of fake news using

technology (e.g., Google search) or human judgment (e.g., family and friends). However, the

library, which has a wealth of verified knowledge, is the last place students turn for credible

materials.

The results of the study have practical implications for reducing the susceptibility to fake

news. The findings show that students should always be skeptical of political posts on social

media, even if they are shared by friends. According to the study, confirmation bias can have a

good or negative impact on false news susceptibility, depending on whether students

communicate their views by sharing the post (positive effect) or by like a political post (bad effect)

(negative effect).

The study of Mendoza et al. (2022) aimed to examine how social media, a platform for

spreading misinformation and incivility affects the voting likelihood among the Filipino youth as

they are the crucial sector for Philippine democracy.

This study aimed to test these four hypotheses: accuracy in detecting fake news, accuracy

in detecting real news, self-reported ability in detecting fake news, and frequency in coming

across almost completely fake news. To test this, a statistical model was used, specifically,

Likelihood to Vote = Accuracy in detecting Fake News + Accuracy in detecting Real News + Job

Approval Rating for Philippine President Duterte + Age + Gender + Income + Region of

35
Respondent's University + Frequency in coming across almost completely fake news + Self-

reported ability in detecting fake news + Trust in Mainstream Media + Trust in social media +

Voting Intention + Polling Precinct Knowledge.

The researchers used a five-minute survey through Google Forms to identify the likelihood

of voting among the youth by using a scale of 1-4, 1 being the lowest and 4 being the highest,

and another questionnaire that served as a fake news quiz to measure the students’ susceptibility

to fake news and their accuracy to tell if the news is real. The quiz consisted of five fake news

items and five real news items, and the respondents were asked to rate the quiz items as true or

false. The items were from Facebook quote cards that were widely used in disseminating

misinformation in the Philippines. The researchers used a snowball sampling, a non-probability

sampling technique and it was distributed through social media and learning management

platforms of the different universities the researchers partnered with.

The results of the study show that the odds of male college students being more likely to

vote in the elections are 26% less than the odds of the female to vote. Furthermore, the odds of

being more likely to vote increases by 16% for every point increase in trust in mainstream media

and it decreases by 8% for every point increase in trust in social media. Meanwhile, the odds of

being more likely to vote is 152% higher for those who are confident that they are able to detect

fake news than those who are not confident at all. Confidence in one’s ability to detect

misinformation can be a product of political awareness and engagement. Those respondents who

has a higher Real News Score in the Fake News Quiz are more likely to vote. The odds ratio

between the Real News Scores and the Fake News Scores are 1.09 and 1.08 respectively. This

only shows that informed Filipino youths are more inclined to vote than those who are

misinformed.

According to the study of Gaultney et al. (2022), today’s college students live with digital

news media and social media as it is easily available in their smartphones. However, social media

is a platform for the spread of misinformation. The study aimed to investigate media literacy and

36
what role does it portray in addressing the issue of the spreading misinformation among the

learners of today.

The researchers distributed 1,341 emails to undergraduate students in a university in

Southwestern United States but only 268 students responded to the said email. The participants

are in the school of journalism and took mass communication. The questionnaire they used

consisted of 50 items that measured demographics, social media use, news consumption, media

bias and credibility, fact checking, news trustworthiness, political affiliation, access of news,

frequency of accessing news, and determining real or fake news. It also included a five-article

news quiz that has a headline and the first paragraph of five articles.

The results show that smartphones are the most common device where you can acquire

news. The study shows that 80% of the respondents get their news through their smartphones,

13% said they got it from computers, 5% said that they saw it in television, and less than 1% listed

newspapers, radio, or tablets. Moreover, 83% of the Republican students said that the media only

makes up stories about their president compared to the 41% of the Democrats. Out of the

participants, only 24% correctly identified all the five articles, 30% correctly identified four of it,

58% identified at least four, and 24% miscategorized two or more news.

Two practices also appeared to be the reason of the increased spread of misinformation

online as 44% of the respondents said that they were likely to share a news after reading the

headline and 33% of them said that they did not recognize the news source. 27% of them said

that they have shared a news that turned out to be fake. With these results, it is evident that

students must also be given the information literacy to be able to use the internet with knowing

the credibility of the news reports.

Analysis of Related Literature and Studies

Based on the related literature and studies, the issue of misinformation is compounded by

the rapid growth of social media. According to Vosoughi et al., (2018), over a billion people are

37
now actively using social media around the world as social media has become the main source

of news for many, the reason why it has also become easier to create and spread misinformation.

Indeed, an analysis of rumors spread by over three million of people online found that

misinformation spreads significantly more than the truth— and this was the greatest for political

misinformation. In line with that, Sarlin et al., (2018) explained that misinformation appears to be

amplified around major political events. As such, there is a dangerous potential for a cycle in

which political division feeds both the belief in, and sharing of, partisan misinformation and this

increases political division.

According to the survey conducted by Ateneo Policy Center (2021), the respondents’

ability to spot fake news is below the passing rate, for they only scored around 60% which is lower

than the Philippines’ typical passing rate of 75%. On the other hand, the study of Kiernan (2017)

in Dublin revealed that 15.36% of the students never looked at the reliability or relevance of the

articles in social media while 32% always look into it and 32.81% do it most of the time. Only 19%

of the respondents also said that they use a fact-checking sites for the articles and information

they access online.

Moreover, Deinla et al., (2018) discussed that one of the factors of this prevalence of

political misinformation is the people’s high trust to the news and information they see online

without verification whether it is true or not. Jesmin (2022) also added that another factor that

contributes to the spread of the said misinformation is when the people discredit the journalists

and their work. Meanwhile, Bringula et al., (2021) also found out that frequent visits to social

media sites, or even just liking a post of a political party and sharing a political post from a friend

increases the chance of the people to be susceptible to misinformation. Furthermore,

contentment, prevalence of fake news, political awareness, confirmation bias and media and

information literacy are factors that contribute to the student’s susceptibility to misinformation.

38
 According to UNESCO (2016), media and information literacy is the ability to seek,

evaluate, apply, and participate in media and information wisely, having knowledge of people's

online rights, understanding method handling with online hate speech and bullying, understanding

ethics issues, participating with media and information technology to promote equality in free

expression and culture exchange, and associating in religions and peace issues, among other

things. On the other hand, Wollacott (2022) defined media and information literacy as beyond

understanding and the usage of media, for it has elements such as analysis, bias and identifying

propaganda or misinformation.

In line with this, Cvetković, et al. (2018), explained that media and information literacy is

not only the ability to use traditional media but also the ability to use the other types of media.

According to Oxillo (2017), there are three types of media: print media, broadcast media, and

digital media. Print media is any written material that are not handwritten or typed. Meanwhile,

Drew (2022) explained that broadcast media involves electronical and simultaneously sending of

information with signals, print messages, audio or video content. Maryville Online (2020), on the

other hand, discussed that digital media is transmitted as digital data that can be consumed with

the use of computers, tablets, and smartphones.

In the study of Lopes et al., (2018), they aimed to measure media and information literacy

through a scale and they have found out that the youth’s scores vary between -3.25 and 2.66 with

a mean of zero and a median of 0.18. While for the adults, the ones who have attained the highest

educational attainment got the highest score of 0.35.

According to Eristi et al., (2017), the factors that affect media and information literacy rate

are access, analysis, and evaluation. Deloitte (2015) explained that developments in technology

have made everything accessible in the internet and it has allowed users to access it anywhere

and anytime they want. In addition, Boczkowski et al., (2017) also said that young people fail to

39
analyze the contents fully as they are only looking at the specific information they need while

skipping the other ones. Eristi et al., (2017) also added that evaluating media contents is heavily

affected by a person’s subjective view and that when they look into different media accounts, their

judgements are guided by biases about what is real and what is not.

In the study of Gaultney et al., (2022), they aimed to look into media and information and

how will it be of use in addressing the spread of misinformation. The study shows that 80% of the

respondents get their news through their smartphones and 44% of them said that they were likely

to share the news after only reading the headline, 33% of them said they did not recognize the

news source, while 27% of them have shared information online that turned out to be fake.

Evidently, results show that media and information must also be given to the students so that they

will be able to tell the credibility of an information.

These related literature and studies have shown the need to address the spread of political

misinformation here in the Philippines and how media and information literacy should be used to

address the said issue. It was also found out that local studies that show the media and

information literacy rate of the Filipinos are still limited. With regards to these limitations, the

researchers will opt to determine relationship of media and information literacy and the spread of

political misinformation among the students of SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

40
 This chapter presents the research design, sampling and participants, research

instrument, data gathering procedures, statistical analysis of data, and the potential ethical issues

that were used in the study to correlate political misinformation and media information literacy rate

of the students in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

Research Design

Correlational descriptive research design will be utilized in the study due to the

researchers' primary interest in correlating two variables as well as in analyzing and evaluating

the statistical relationship between them.

This is also supported by Creswell (2012), as he said that in correlational research design,

investigators use the correlation statistical test to describe and measure the degree of association

(or relationship) between two or more variables or sets of scores. Survey is also conducted in the

study, and survey questionnaires were used as the main tool in the collection of data.

Sampling and Participants

Convenience Sampling will be used to determine the participants of this study. It is based

on the availability and the willingness of the participants to participate in the research by

answering the survey questions.

Three hundred fifty-two learners from SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City will serve as

the participants of this study. The total number of the participants is determined through the use

of Slovin’s formula. Denoting n as the sample size, the Slovin’s formula is as follows:

Equation 1. Slovin’s formula

n = N/1+Ne2

where n is the sample size, N is the population size, and e is the margin of error.

Research Instrument

41
 A survey questionnaire on printed forms will be prepared as the main tool of data

collection. The actual survey questionnaire included general sociodemographic characteristics

such as age, sex, grade level, strand, media and information literacy of the learners, and

prevalence of political misinformation.

There will be two questionnaires for this study: One for the measurement of media and

information literacy, that is based on Koc et al., (2016) and the other for the assessment of the

spread of political misinformation that is based from Deinla et al., (2021). The spread of political

misinformation among the learners will be measured using the fake news quiz developed by the

Ateneo Policy Center. It will consist of 10 questions, five real news, and five fake news, the

respondents will be asked to identify whether the news is true or false. While the media and

information literacy will be measured using the Likert Scale. A Likert scale is a psychometric scale

that has multiple categories from which respondents choose to indicate their opinions, attitudes,

or feelings about a particular issue, there is a score of 1 to 5 for each item with the following

descriptions, strongly agree (5), agree (4), fair (3), neither agree nor disagree (2), and strongly

disagree (1). The respondents will indicate their level of agreement with the statement in their

responses to the said Likert-scale survey. and the answers shall be chosen by the respondents

by shading the appropriate box in each column of a table containing the items (strongly agree,

agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree).

Data Gathering Procedure

The face-to-face survey will be conducted for three weeks. This study will be conducted

using a printed survey to collect data. The survey will also be distributed to the students from all

strands of SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City. The researchers will ask the participants their

grade level and strand for the validity of the record. Moreover, the researchers will not request for

the name of the participants to maintain the confidentiality.

42
Statistical Analysis

The mean and the standard deviation of data will be calculated to determine the

relationship between media and information literacy and political misinformation among learners

in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City. The data will be statistically analyzed using the Pearson’s,

correlation, coefficient, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variants. The Pearson's

correlation coefficient will be used to assess the significant relationship of media and information

literacy and political misinformation among the learners in terms of age. Meanwhile, the

independent t-test will be used to measure the significant difference between media and

information and the prevalence of political misinformation among the learners in terms of sex and

grade level. The one-way analysis of variants, on the other hand, will be used to assess the

significant differences of media and information literacy and political misinformation among the

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

Potential Ethical Issues

Preceding to conduct of the study, the researchers requested permission from the school

administration of SHS San Nicholas III, Bacoor City and a copy of informed consent will be also

given to the respondents. The gathered information will be secured as it is protected under RA

10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012. Those will be handled with utmost confidentiality.

43
 CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter includes all the data gathered from the survey. The data obtained were

interpreted and furthered discussed through statistical analysis.

The study was conducted to determine the relationship of media and information literacy

and the ability to spot political misinformation among learners in SHS in San Nicholas III Bacoor

City.

Sub-problem 1: What is sociodemographic profile of respondents in terms of sex, grade level,

and strand?

The sociodemographic profile of the respondents such as the sex, grade level, and the

strand of the respondents were shown in Table 1.

Table 4.1. Sociodemographic profile of the respondents.

Features f %

Sex Male 181 51.42

Female 171 48.58

Grade Level Grade 11 199 56.53

Grade 12 153 43.47

Strand GAS 83 23.58

HUMSS 105 29.83

HE 109 30.97

ICT 55 15.63

44
 Total 352 100

A total of 352 senior high school learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City

participated as respondents in the study, and they consisted of 181 (51.42%) male learners and

171 (48.58%) female learners. In terms of their grade level, 199 (56.53%) of them were in Grade

11 and 153 (43.47%) were in Grade 12. Out of the 352 respondents, 83 (23.58%) came from

General Academic Strand; 105 (29.83%) was from Humanities and Social Sciences; 109

(30.97%) came from Home Economics; and 55 (15.63%) of them was from Information

Communication Technology.

Sub-problem 2: What is the media and information literacy rate of the learners in SHS in San

Nicholas III, Bacoor City in terms of digital/new media?

Table 2 showed the media and information literacy rate of learners in SHS in San Nicholas

III, Bacoor City.

Table 4.2. Media and information literacy rate of the learners.

QUESTION MEAN REMARKS

1. I know how to use searching tools 4.57 ADVANCED

(e.g Google) to get information needed in the

media.

2. I make use of various media 4.43 ADVANCED

platforms (e.g Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to

reach information.

3. I realize that some media 4.09 ADVANCED

45
messages are explicit and straightforward such

as TV commercial ads.

4. I realize that some media messages intend to 4.06 ADVANCED

hide what is the true meaning behind them such

as political propagandas.

5. I notice media contents containing violence 4.00 ADVANCED

such as physical harming and offenses such as

discriminatory languages.

6. I perceive different opinions and thoughts in 4.26 ADVANCED

the media contents that can usually found in

various media platforms (e.g Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, etc.)

7. I can distinguish different functions 4.20 ADVANCED

of media such as which is used for

communication, entertainment, etc.

8. I can determine whether or not media 4.06 ADVANCED

contents have commercial messages or if they

are only used to promote.

9. I classify media messages based on their 3.93 ADVANCED

producers (who created them?) types

(information or entertainment), purposes (to

deceive or to inform), etc.

10. I can compare news and information across 4.14 ADVANCED

different media environments such as

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, etc.

46
11. I interpret media messages based on my 3.82 ADVANCED

own opinions

12. I can tell whether the information shown in 4.07 ADVANCED

various media platforms such as Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram, etc. is real or fake.

13. I analyze the positive effects of media 4.22 ADVANCED

contents to people (e.g. the citizens become

easily alerted if there is a natural calamity such

as typhoon or volcanic eruption through the

news online.)

14. I evaluate media in terms of legal and ethical 4.06 ADVANCED

rules (e.g. if the information is valid and real or

is it plagiarized).

15. I assess the media in terms of credibility (is 4.10 ADVANCED

it real or not), reliability (did it come from a

reliable person or news outlet), objectivity (is it

general or specific) and currency (when was this

released? Was it in the present or a few years

ago?)

16. As a digital citizen, I criticize the information 4.22 ADVANCED

I see online to determine if it is real or fake

before I share it to my feed.

17. As a digital citizen, I synthesize the 4.08 ADVANCED

information I find online to connect everything

47
and see if there is a loophole in the story that

makes it unreliable and fake.

Results from Table 2 revealed that the respondents had an advanced media and

information literacy rate with a total mean score of 4.12. It can also be seen that the respondents

have an advanced literacy in all the aspects of media and information literacy such as using,

comparing, classifying, interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, assessing, criticizing, and

synthesizing. These results are in line with the study of Lopes et al., (2018) where they have also

found out that the learners who obtained a higher level of education such as senior high school

or tertiary level have an advanced media and information literacy.

Sub-problem 4: Is there a significant relationship between the media and information literacy and

the ability to spot political misinformation among the learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor

City?

The relationship between media and information literacy and political misinformation using

Pearson’s correlation coefficient was shown in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4. Relationship between media and information literacy and political misinformation using

Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

Variables N df r sig Remarks

Media and Information 352 351 -0.125 0.05 NO

Literacy SIGNIFICANT

RELATIONSHIP
Ability to Spot Political 352

Misinformation

As shown in Table 4, results reveal that there is no significant relationship between media

and information literacy and the ability to spot political misinformation. In contrast to the results of

48
the study of Al Zou’bi (2022) that showed the impact of being media and information literate to

the ability of the learners in detecting political misinformation this study has revealed that media

and information literacy is not the only factor that could contribute to the ability of learners to spot

misinformation. Based on the results, even with an advanced MIL, an individual could still have a

fair ability in detecting fake news. Meanwhile, these results are supported by the study of Bringula

et al., (2021) that revealed that there are other factors which affect the ability of the Filipino youth

in spotting political misinformation. That aside from MIL, their ability is affected by their political

awareness, confirmation bias, and their trust in social media.

Sub-problem 5: Is there a significant difference between the ability to spot political misinformation

among the male and female learners in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

Table 5 shows the difference between media and information literacy of the male and

female learners. The results were obtained using an independent t-test.

Table 5.5. Difference between media and information literacy of the male and female learners

using independent t-test.

Sex N Mean SD df t t crit Remarks

Male 181 4.13 0.30 350 -0.564 1.649 NOT

SIGNIFICANT

Female 171 4.10 0.23

It shows that the computed t value which is 1.649 is greater than the obtained t value of -

0.564, with that, it only shows that there is no significant difference between the media and

information literacy rate of the male and female learners. The results obtained are in line with the

study of Lopes et al., (2018) where they have also found out that there is no significant difference

between the media and information literacy of their male and female respondents.

49
Sub-problem 9: Are there significant differences among the media and information literacy of the

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City?

Table 9 showed the statistical variations among the media and information literacy of the

various strands in SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City.

Table 4.9. Differences among the media and information literacy of various strands using One-

way ANOVA.

Source of Variance SS df MS F P-value F crit Remarks

Between groups 1.174 3 0.391 1.456 0.226 2.630 NOT

SIGNIFICANT

Within groups 93.824 34 0.268

Total 94.999 35

The significant differences among the media and information literacy of various strands,

specifically General Academic Strand, Home Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, and

Information Communication Technology were obtained using one-way analysis of variance. As

shown in Table 9, the computed f value which is 2.630 is greater than the obtained f value of

1.456. Therefore, there was no significant difference found in the media and information literacy

rates among the various strands.

50
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of findings and conclusions based on the gathered

data and results. In addition, recommendations for the future development and improvement of

results in this research were also included in this chapter.

Summary of Findings

Conclusions

Based on the results of the study, there is no significant relationship between the media

and information literacy rate and the ability to spot political misinformation among the learners in

SHS in San Nicholas III, Bacoor City. This only shows that despite being media and information

literate, an individual can still be politically misinformed. These results can also be supported by

the study of Bringula et al., (2021) in which they have also found out the other factors affecting

the ability of an individual to detect fake news. The other factors were mainly political awareness,

confirmation bias, and their trust in social media.

Furthermore, this study has also found out that the media and information literacy rate of

the respondents had no significant differences in terms of sex, grade level, and strand. On the

other hand, it was found out that there was a significant difference in the ability to spot political

misinformation of the respondents in terms of sex and strand, but in terms of their grade level,

there was no significant difference found.

Recommendations

This study may provide new opportunities to determine the other factors that affect the

susceptibility of learners in political misinformation, specially that it has found out that an

advanced media and information literacy does not ensure the ability to spot political

misinformation. The researchers would like to suggest the following to develop and refine the

findings of this study.

51
1. Determine the other factors that affect the ability of the learners to spot political

misinformation.

2. Determine the relationship of media and information literacy to other types of fabricated

information such as disinformation and mal information.

3. Execute large-scale studies that would determine the media and information literacy rate

and the ability to spot political misinformation of many more learners.

52