Promoting Disinformation Literacy Among Adults: A Scoping Review of Interventions and Recommendations

Abstract

This scoping review updates scholars, educators, policymakers and the public up-to-date on the state of “disinformation literacy” suited to adult populations. We reviewed articles published between 2016–2022 that report on or provide recommendations for disinformation literacy interventions for adults. We found that intervention formats and evaluation methods were diverse and include course-, web-, or game-based interventions, public events, and visual resources. Studies on evaluated interventions outside of formal education were scarce. Experts recommended teaching about emotion targeting and regulation, algorithmic governance, lateral reading, visual technology, and in interactive formats that account for learners’ needs and context. Finally, we discovered debates around the usefulness of checklists and how to address politically sensitive issues, scepticism, and authority in programming. Future research and programming must attend to the needs of adult populations outside of formal education and draw upon librarians’ integral role in delivering community-based disinformation literacy programming.