UNESCO - MIL in Lebanon and Kyrgystan - and hate speech

A couple of news releases from UNESCO reporting on Media and Information Literacy initiatives:
UNESCO. (2026, July 9). Walk Into Truth: Youth from South Lebanon Strengthen Critical Thinking and Media and Information Literacy. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/walk-truth-youth-south-lebanon-strengthen-critical-thinking-and-media-and-information-literacy

UNESCO. (July 23). Youth capacities in media and information literacy for peacebuilding enhanced in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/youth-capacities-media-and-information-literacy-peacebuilding-enhanced-osh-kyrgyzstan

Also a fairly recent publication:
Roksa-Zubcevic, A. (2026). Media and information literacy: combating hate speech in the digital age.  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000398298?posInSet=1&queryId=0e9a466e-b510-4d4f-9c90-b17b7ecc3913
Photo by Sheila Webber: roses, July 2026

No Filter: Believe Everything? Think Again

The Ministry of Information in Lebanon, UNESCO, and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) have launched a national media and information Literacy campaign No Filter: Believe Everything? Think Again.
There is a press release in English and Arabic here
Photo by Sheila Webber: pine branch, June 2025

Media and Information Literacy news

A couple of UNESCO-related news items. Firstly, various news outlets have reported on Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, saying why he thinks that Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is important. This is as plans go ahead for Nigeria hosting the in-person Global MIL Week conference in October 2022.
Oyedeji, N. (2022, 7 August). UNESCO confab to boost war against fake news, misinformation – Lai Mohammed. https://factcheckhub.com/unesco-confab-to-boost-war-against-fake-news-misinformation-lai-mohammed/ 

Secondly, there is a short report on a training session organised by UN Lebanon via UNESCO, for 15 young people, to help youth combat hate speech and misinformation under the Youth Countering Hate Speech and Misinformation project
Lebanese youth learn to stand up to hate speech. (2022, 12 August). https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/08/1124502
I also came across a series of short Youtube videos from UNESCO Beirut Office Verified - Youth Countering Hate Speech and Disinformation - the first one is here (n.b. I haven't viewed them) https://youtu.be/KGfbCwszh1Y

Photo by Sheila Webber: my hydrangea, August 2022

New articles: Fake news; Stress; government sources; theatre students; theses; interdisciplinary infolit

The latest issue of priced publication Reference Services Review is Volume 46 Issue 1. Articles include:
- Seeing through the network: A focus on interdisciplinary student research and information discovery: Dany Savard (pp. 4 - 15)
- Thesis consultation: a review: Karlene Patricia Robinson, Karlene Saundria Nelson, Jessica Claire Lewis (pp. 16 - 28)
- Tapping government sources for course assignments: Eleonora Dubicki, Susan Bucks (pp. 29 - 41)
- Performance review: online research guides for theater students: Julia Furay (pp. 91 - 109)
- A rubric and methodology for benchmarking referral goals: David Ward, JoAnn Jacoby (pp. 110 - 127)
- Stress among reference library staff in academic and public libraries: Marija Petek (pp. 128 - 145)
- Fake news judgement: The case of undergraduate students at Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon: Maroun El Rayess, Charla Chebl, Joseph Mhanna, Re-Mi Hage (pp. 146 - 149)
Table of contents and abstracts at https://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/rsr/46/1
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry blossom in my garden, April 2018

#MILID yearbook: Opportunities for Media and Information Literacy in the Middle East and North Africa

The open access book has been published:
Abu-fadil, M., Torrent, J. and Grizzle, A. (Eds) (2016). Opportunities for Media and Information Literacy in the Middle East and North Africa. Gothenburg, Sweden: The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media. ISBN 978-91-87957-33-8
This is the latest MILID Yearbook (Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue). The chapters are:
- Magda Abu-Fadil: Introduction:
- Alton Grizzle: Preliminary Comparative Analysis of Media and Information Literacy in the MENA Region
- Jad Melki & Lubna Maaliki: Helping Arab Digital and Media Literacy Blossom. Three years of the Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB)
- Jordi Torrent: Youth and Digital Media. Drafting a Landscape from Fez and Cairo
- Lucy Nuseibeh & Mohammed Abu Arqoub: An Overview from the Occupied Palestinian Territories
- Abdul Ameer Al-Faisal: An Iraqi Perspective
- Redouane Boujemaa: An Algerian Perspective
- Abdelhamid Nfissi & Drissia Chouit: A Moroccan Perspective
- Samy Tayie: An Egyptian Perspective
- Yasar Durra: A Jordanian Perspective
- Naifa Eid Saleem: An Omani Perspective
- Magda Abu-Fadil: A Lebanese Perspective
- Carmilla Floyd & Gabriella Thinz: Empowering Children and Youth in Tunisia
The page with links to all the MILID yearbooks is http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/global-alliance-for-partnerships-on-media-and-information-literacy/milid-network/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Seagulls over the Thames, December 2017