Media Literacy in the Age of Deepfakes
Course Description
Media Literacy in the Age of Deepfakes aims to equip students with the critical skills to better understand the past and contemporary threat of misinformation. Students will learn about different ways to analyze emerging forms of misinformation such as “deepfake” videos as well as how new technologies can be used to create a more just and equitable society. This module consists of three interconnected sections. We begin by defining and contextualizing some key terms related to misinformation. We then focus on the proliferation of deepfakes within our media environment. Lastly, we explore synthetic media for the civic good, including AI-enabled projects geared towards satire, investigative documentary, and public history. In Event of Moon Disaster, an award-winning deepfake art installation about the “failed” Apollo 11 moon landing, serves as a central case study.
This learning module also includes a suite of educator resources that consists of a syllabus, bibliography, and design prompts. We encourage teachers to draw on and adapt these resources for the purposes of their own classes.
Visit Media Literacy in the Age of Deepfakes to access the learning module and educator resources. A sample of some of these materials can be found on OCW.
This course was produced by the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality, with support from the J-WEL: Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab.
Learning Goals
- Understand key concepts in our emerging media landscape such as “misinformation,” “deepfake,” and “civic media.”
- Interpret the disruptive role deepfakes play within our information ecology and the threat they pose to democratic society.
- Develop techniques for close audio-visual analysis as well as gain familiarity with how digital forensics, platform moderation, and policy can help combat misinformation.
- Recognize the ways that synthetic media and related AI-based media forms can be used for the civic good.
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