Governor Hochul Directed Development of Toolkit Last Year Following a Surge in Online Hate Speech
Builds on Governor’s Efforts To Strengthen and Protect the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Students
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the release of New York’s first ‘Media Literacy’ toolkit for educators. Following a surge in online hate speech in November 2023 and after it was revealed that the perpetrator of the Tops mass shooting in Buffalo was radicalized online, Governor Hochul directed the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to work with experts to develop and distribute an ideologically neutral product which gives teachers resources to develop students’ ability to analyze, evaluate and assess all forms of media, including information delivered through social media.
“Whether it’s cell phones and social media or the scourge of misinformation teens encounter each day, I’m taking action to protect young people online and give them the tools to succeed,” Governor Hochul said. “New York's first Media Literacy toolkit is about giving our kids the tools to diligently interact with the information landscape and be responsible actors in the digital age.
The toolkit is the first in a series of resources on media literacy the Division intends to produce and serves as a primer for educators throughout New York looking to introduce their students to these concepts. The toolkit is organized into five sections:
- Overview of the 21st century media landscape
- Introduction to media literacy
- Key questions for analyzing, evaluating and using media
- Importance of media literacy
- Educator tools/resources
Through a partnership with the New York State Education Department, the toolkit is being distributed to all schools and districts and will be posted online on the Department’s website. The State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the New York State Education Department will work closely with BOCES across New York to provide professional learning opportunities for educators on how to use these resources to support student media and digital literacy.
As a society, Americans, especially young people, are spending more time interacting with media, particularly online as the advent of the Internet and smartphones have made media more accessible than ever. In fact, statistics show that American teens are spending upwards of a third of their day online. This has led to consumers being bombarded with overwhelming amounts of information, often with blurred lines between fact, fiction, and opinion. Scholars refer to this phenomenon as “information disorder,” a term that encompasses the various categories of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation (MDM) that pollute our media landscape.
Examples of MDM include conspiracy theories, propaganda, and hyper-partisan content. Modern technology and the proliferation of social media has not only made MDM more potent, but more difficult to identify. On a global scale, we are witnessing the increased weaponization of information, which has major implications for American democracy.
New York State has witnessed the dangers of MDM firsthand. May 2024 marked two years since the Buffalo shooting, in which 10 individuals were killed in a racially motivated act of domestic terrorism. The perpetrator had reportedly engaged with copious amounts of MDM prior to the attack, namely “The Great Replacement Theory,”a conspiracy theory common among white supremacists. Social media and other online platforms are increasingly being used to radicalize individuals — particularly young people — to violent extremism, as they enable greater visibility of conspiracy theories, hate speech and other extremist rhetoric.
In addition to its capacity to mobilize individuals to deadly violence, MDM can also cause confusion, waste resources and risk lives in times of disaster. For example, in the aftermath of the 2023 Maui Wildfires, posts circulated on social media discouraging residents from accepting disaster assistance, falsely claiming FEMA could seize control of their property.
Finally, MDM presents a grave threat to the health of American democracy. At a national scale, we are witnessing a significant decline in trust in formerly respected sources of factual information, and much of the democratic process relies on the validity of facts and data. Should the truth lose its value, it may cause the continued deterioration of healthy civil discourse, heightened political polarization and erosion of faith in civic institutions.
The release of this toolkit further builds on Governor Hochul’s leadership on youth mental health and wellbeing, which has included unveiling a plan to restrict smartphone use in schools statewide and ensure distraction-free learning after a statewide listening tour; signing a first-in-the-nation law to combat addictive social media feeds; expanding school-based mental health clinics and other resources; and launching the “Get Offline, Get Outside” campaign to encourage kids and families to put down their phone, take a break from social media and enjoy outdoor activities this summer.
