MANILA — A non-government organization has launched a handbook that aims to help teachers educate young people on media literacy ahead of the 2022 national elections.

The "#MIL4Democracy Handbook: Teaching Media and Information Literacy for Democracy" contains 18 lesson plans that can help students become critical consumers of news and information, helping them counter disinformation that is expected to become more prevalent as the elections near.

Launched last July, the handbook was co-authored by the Out of The Box (OOTB) Media Literacy Initiative and alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program, a professional exchange program of the United States Department of State.

"Media and information literacy (MIL) provides the important tools that enable citizens to prevent the further spread of such deceiving and divisive messages and to push back on such content and its peddlers," said OOTB co-founder Marlon Nombrado.

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The handbook provides "local case studies based on current events, news articles, viral social media content, and social issues that reflect contemporary realities of the country," said OOTB.

"These are complemented by teaching and learning activities that challenge students’ skills in media critique and creation, research, deliberation and problem-solving," it added.

Philippine Association for Media and Information Literacy President Arniel Ping, meanwhile, said media literacy helps students become critical about the information they share about the next leaders.

"In teaching MIL, we don't say who to vote for. We provide you with the skills to discern which information is accurate or false, so that you'll make the right decision," he said.

OOTB also held a pilot training program last Aug. 14 to 15 for 32 MIL high school teachers.

The handbook is free to download on the OOTB website. Limited printed copies are also up for grabs on the group's Instagram and Facebook pages.

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