The Paris Journal on AI & Digital Ethics

Abstract

Misinformation poses a threat to democratic resilience and informed citizenship, yet most interventions and studies focus on highly educated or already-engaged populations. This paper examines the work carried out with a sample of 630 young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds in Île-de-France, France. It offers unique insights into gaps in media literacy, critical thinking, civic confidence, and misinformation detection, underscoring the urgent need for multi-layered and evidence-based initiatives, while also assessing the impact of political and media literacy workshops.

The data highlight a significant trust deficit with only 9.5% of young adults reporting trust in institu-tions, further exacerbated by endorsement of conspiracy beliefs, with almost 40% agreeing with conspiratorial statements. Square offered media literacy workshops spanning 8 to 20 hours over 1.5 to 4 days to young adults in 2023 and 2024. The trainings aimed to develop critical thinking skills, support the ability to analyse information, and foster civic engagement of the participants.

They demonstrated clear improvements in defining key media literacy concepts. 79.4% reported checking sources more frequently and 73.8% said they would be seeking out diverse perspectives, suggesting an increased awareness of verification practices. They translated intention into action, maintaining their commitment to critical engagement with online content for up to three months. The report reinforces that simply raising awareness is not enough and that deep-rooted vulnerabilities cannot be addressed through short-term inter-ventions alone. Still, the findings illustrate that short-term media literacy interventions can effectively raise awareness and enhance conceptual understanding critical to navigating digital environments.