Learn to Discern: Impact Study Results

In 1,5 years after the end of the program dedicated to information and media literacy development in high schools called "Learn to Discern" (L2D), that was jointly realized by IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board), the Academy of Ukrainian Press and online project StopFake with the support of the U.S. Embassy and the British Embassy in Ukraine, the long-term impact of the project was studied. By assessing news media literacy skills of program participants and comparing the results to a control group, the following findings were retrieved: 

Compared to people who did not participate in the program, L2D participants were:

• 28% more likely to demonstrate sophisticated knowledge of the news media industry
• 25% more likely to self-report checking multiple news sources
• 13% more likely to correctly identify and critically analyze a fake news story

We were excited to find out that these effects persisted even over time. The full report is available here. Taking this opportunity, we want to share an article published recently in the American online magazine "Slate" focused on L2D initiative. It is a brief overview of the approach and it suggests a possible adaptation for the United States. The article can be found here.