Digital Media Literacy In the Age of Mis/Disinformation: The Case of Moroccan University Students

Abstract

This paper set out to explore online users' perceptions, attitudes, and practices towards mis/disinformation on social networking sites and investigate how they engage with, identify, and evaluate information disorder on social networking sites. The correlation study provides empirical insights into the complex relationship between digital media literacy and online information processing. To this end, a web-based survey was administered to gauge Moroccan undergraduate students' digital media literacy skills, particularly in what regards their ability to identify and evaluate the credibility of information online. The data obtained are consistent with the hypothesis guiding this research that there is a significant relationship between digital media literacy skills (DMLS) and students' ability to identify information disorder online (IDO). Based on the empirical findings, important implications and strategies for higher education institutions are addressed to help students become more digitally media literate consumers of information.