We’re drowning in sketchy information. Media literacy can keep you from going under. – Poynter

We’re drowning in sketchy information. Media literacy can keep you from going under.  Poynter

This column is part of the Indianapolis Public Editor project, a pilot program designed to test whether the presence of a public editor who analyzes local coverage can elevate audience trust in journalism and promote media literacy. Last year, Indianapolis parents were bombarded with text messages sharing a video that was critical of the superintendent. An unknown source had deceptively edited videos of public comments at school board meetings to criticize school leadership at a time when IPS was making its case for more funding at the state legislature. That raised red flags for Mirror Indy K-12 education reporter Carley Lanich. She set out to hunt down the source of the text messages and debunk what appeared to be a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the superintendent.

At the end of her reporting, Lanich was unable to expose who sent the deceptive messages. But she was able to knock down that bad information and provide accurate insight into public opinion. “We wound up with a story that tried to provide context for what was seen in the video texted to Indy residents, but also show that we at least attempted to run down where this had come from and express that we still don’t quite know,” she said. “But we do know what is true and accurate about what people’s