COPAIR & CSSPR Conducted a 5-Day Digital Media Literacy Course successfully
Islamabad (VOM) : CSSPR and COPAIR Conducted a 5-Day-Long Digital Media Literacy Course from August 28 to September 1, 2023, The Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research(CSSPR), The University of Lahore (UOL), and Center of Pakistan & International Relations(COPAIR) jointly conducted free online Certificate Course entitled “Digital Media Literacy in South Asia: Combating Disinformation in The Age of AI. ” Director, CSSPR , Rabia Akhtar , and President, Center of Pakistan and International Relations (COPAIR) , Amna Munawwar Awan, curated and supervised this Course as Organizers. With media landscapes morphing into complex phenomena and making truth hazier and propaganda more appealing, it was important to equip the masses with such skills to deal with the challenges entailed with these scenarios. Therefore, both CSSPR and COPAIR are committed to fulfilling their corporate social responsibility. At the ocassion prolific speakers were present to help participants understand the various facets of digital media, and as to how misinformation can be dealt with. The course has been divided into 8 modules. The interactive Course introduced participants to some of the key concepts and ideas that govern the digital media space. Further, participants got to know how fake news and disinformation are spread in this domain. This, among other things, will ultimately enable participants to detect and counter such threats. The Course particularly focused on the ramifications of Artificial Intelligence ‘s generative capacity with regard to fake news. Furthermore, the phenomenon of social media was discussed in detail with an aspect to understanding its role in spreading fake news and propaganda. Discussions on these sets of issues was followed by cogent analyses on the overarching concepts of fake news and propaganda. Apart from this, a module was dedicated to discussing South Asia-specific challenges in countering mendacious and dangerous propaganda. The Course also delved into the ethical considerations apropos of the evolving digital media landscape. Last but not the least, participants asked various thought-provoking questions and raised a plethora of concerns that digital media brings along. The Course featured a list of impressive speakers comprising Faeza Dawood , Raja Faisal , Khalid Banuri , Fahad Nabeel ,Dr. Waqas Ejaz , and Dr.Muhammad Ittefaq.
All speakers shared their insights, thoughts, and recommendations on key issues shaping and affecting the social media landscape. Special attention was laid on understanding how a spectrum of digital media contribute to spreading fake news. They argued that violations of fundamental principles were identified as a major problem in the Pakistani media landscape. At the end of the Course, the social media phenomenon in the context of national security was discussed by Dr. Akhtar and Khalid Banuri. Both speakers stressed the need for striking a balance between rights and responsibilities along with responsible usage of social media outlets and careful navigation of the pervasive, dangerous cyber space.
In this context an elaborated reading list was shared with the participants. It comprised of books and research articles on the related topics. Both CSSPR and COPAIR agreed to engage more young people in follow up events and programs with a view to enhancing digital media literacy in Pakistan and South Asia.