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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20170&cosponId=22583
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House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 30, 2017 09:58 AM
From: Representative Tim Briggs
To: All House members
Subject: Media Literacy for Grades 1 through 12
 
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would require media literacy be added to the social sciences curriculum for grades 1 through 12.

As the use of social media increases, many use it as not only a form of communication, but also a source of information. As the 2016 election progressed, the prominence of intentionally false stories made to appear as legitimate news reports increased. While it may be difficult to determine how much affect this “fake news” had on the outcome of the election it is, at a minimum, a disservice to our public discourse. Regardless of a person’s political affiliation, opinions should be grounded in facts.

The sophistication in how this false information is disguised and spread can make it very difficult for someone, particularly young people, to determine fact from fiction. Accordingly, I believe resources should be made available to help them understand how to analyze the media they consume. College courses are currently being developed to this end, but adding this to the curriculum for grades 1 through 12 would be much more effective.

I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.



Introduced as HB661