Consider these scenarios.

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An influential political commentator posts a reel on social media, cherry-picking facts to manipulate a situation for political gain. His post gets no likes, no shares, and no angry emojis from users.

A scammy online ad using a celebrity's image pops up on people's social media feeds. Nobody clicks on it.

A wellness influencer shares disproven health advice and is entirely ignored. And a deepfake artificial intelligence (AI) video is downgraded by the algorithm because nobody believes it.

Instead, people are fact-checking before sharing or commenting. They're consulting experts and scrolling beyond the AI summary at the top to seek out reliable information sources that abide by the standards of accuracy, independence and ethics.

These situations may seem laughable in our algorithm- and AI-driven online world where emotion is key to engagement.

But they are, in fact, the simple practical outcomes of a media literate society. And our report on a newly developed media literacy course shows there's a cheap and effective solution to the scourge of misinformation at the heart of our overwhelming, and often polarised, online environment.

Misinformation is a global risk

We live in a world where anyone with an internet connection can publish instantly to the world - with few guardrails for accuracy or ethics.

Misinformation has been ranked first or second in the top short-term global risks by the World Economic Forum for three years running. Misinformation is often at the heart of fear campaigns and hate speech that can help fuel extremism and polarisation. It erodes trust in governments and institutions. It's a public health hazard and a threat to public order and disaster management.

And now it's being supercharged by low-effort generative AI. These tools spit out plausible and convincing content, but can also be wildly inaccurate and biased. As such, Australians are deeply concerned about misinformation. More so than many of........

© Canberra Times