KU’s MERC holds 4-Day workshop on media literacy

Posted by admin_kas on 2025-04-18 21:19:54 |

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Students trained to critically engage with media & information landscape

KS News Desk

Srinagar, April 18: The Media Education Research Centre (MERC), University of Kashmir (KU), conducted a four-day workshop on Media and Information Literacy.

The event was held to promote responsible media engagement among students.

The workshop was organised under the FactShala University Network Programme, an initiative by DataLEADS with support from the Google News Initiative which aimed to build students’ capacity to navigate the evolving media landscape and combat misinformation.

The sessions, led by Dr. Afsana Rashid, Assistant Professor, MERC KU and certified FactShala Trainer, covered themes such as media bias, misinformation ecosystems, deepfakes, artificial intelligence, and critical thinking.

Students and scholars from the Department of Library and Information Sciences, Department of Sociology, Institute of Kashmir Studies, Department of Social Work, MERC, and Design Your Degree (DYD) participated in the multidisciplinary workshop.

Head MERC KU Prof. Sabeha Mufti in her address emphasised the importance of equipping students with media literacy skills.

“We need to develop students' ability to critically assess media content so they become informed and responsible citizens,” she said.

Dr. Rashid Maqbool, faculty at MERC KU, said that without proper media literacy, audiences become susceptible to misinformation and manipulation.

The workshop logistics were managed by Dr. Nayeem Showkat, faculty at MERC KU.