Navigating the Post-Truth Era: A Critical Study on Media Literacy and Misinformation in Higher Education

Authors

  • Mohamad Ikhwan Rosyidi Universitas Negeri Semarang Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9570-4654
  • Indri Kustantinah Universitas PGRI Semarang Author
  • Asri Sekar Mawar Firdausi Universitas Pembangunan Veteran Yogyakarta Author
  • Ruly Indra Darmawan Universitas Negeri Semarang Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26877/allure.v6i2.680

Keywords:

critical thinking, higher education, media literacy, misinformation, post-truth

Abstract

The term post-truth captures a moment when settling disagreements now often depends less on hard evidence than on the emotions a claim stirs. In that environment, misinformation slips into classrooms faster than most instructors can build an awareness filter. Scholarly investigations reveal the simple act of checking a source is no longer optional; it is the bare minimum for any student who hopes to make sense of a scrolling news feed or a tweet storm. Educators have begun to notice that when learners practice those checks, their broader critical-thinking habits visibly strengthen. Traditional lectures, however reliable in the print era, fall short because they do not mirror the fast-moving, fragmented digital world students actually inhabit. Literature on media literacy in higher education teaching illustrates a range of course designs and instructional methods that now leave an imprint across the curriculum. Collectively, the studies testify both to increased student interest and to stronger long-term recall of key concepts. This study argues that overhauling the syllabus to treat source scrutiny as routine instruction, rather than an add-on workshop, might give graduates the tools to meet a landscape where truth no longer stands still.

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2026-07-30

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