Homo medialiteratus and the media literacy proxy war: mapping the U.S. response to digital dismisinfo

Abstract

This article presents findings from a visual network analysis study mapping the collective response to digital disinformation and misinformation, or digital dismisinfo, in the United States. Inspired by the digital dismisinfo-driven 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the study has identified key public and private actors actively responding to digital dismisinfo, examined the nature of their responses, and traced how their responses interact with those of other actors. The study’s findings reveal how media literacy efforts have become embroiled in a proxy war between platforms and politicians over the causes and consequences of digital dismisinfo. The authors argue that through such dynamics emerges the figure of homo medialiteratus, the media consuming individual who must bootstrap their way to truth in the face of an unrelenting tide of digital dismisinfo.