RI is polarized because of – our media? $700K Homeland Security program to make us literate

Courageous RI – Stay curious, not furious.

Bolstered with a federal grant from the US Department of Homeland Security, a program called “Courageous RI” had a soft launch a few days ago with a RI State House press conference. Speakers addressed attendees from a podium with the slogan – “Stay Curious, Not Furious” on it. The goal of the new project was stated, “to build the media literacy comPetencies through training, tools, and community participation”. The group is “building a network of partners and collaborators who use the power of media literacy and deep listening to prevent targeted violence and extremism in our state”.

The Project is funded by a $700,000 grant from the US Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security says in their materials that they acknowledges media literacy is a promising practice for building resilience for propaganda and disinformation through the general public”.

RINewsToday, a 6-year old digital news source focusing on news for greater Rhode Island, with over 20 local writers, was not invited, and not asked to be part of the “networking of partners and collaborators” the project is building. The first notice of this initiative targeted the media was the news conference being held.

The project consists of an initial 3 phases:

1. Community conversations – beginning next week
2. Courageous questions – scheduled for summer (lesson plans for educators, librarians and law enforcement)
3. Courageous creativity – fall of 2024, contest for high school and college students to develop media messages and a media campaign

Dr. Renee Hobbs of the URI Harrington School of Communication spoke about this “time where it is never more important to discuss propaganda, misinformation, and polarization. She began her address by saying that “information has been a tool of warfare since humans have been humans”. The Media Education Lab is part of the Harrington School.

Here is the video of the press conference:

Pam Steager, Director of Public Engagement of the group, Media Education Lab:

The Media Education Lab receives its support from:

The Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island, the URI College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS), the U.S. State Department, the Institute for Museum and Library Studies (IMLS), John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Alliance of Civilizations (United Nations), and foundations including William Penn Foundation, Verizon Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and Otto Haas Charitable Trusts.

Another speaker at the press event was Ed Garcia from the RI Library system. His presentation got significant feedback in social media. Notably the library group has been supportive in presenting new books for children that have been questioned by some for their age appropriateness, while removing books seen as racist or derogatory, some of which are older classics.

Ed Garcia spoke directly after Rep @BrianCNewberry, who advocated that implementation of the Courageous RI be balanced.

Ed didn't have his listening ears on. He whines about parents exercising their civic rights and petitioning govt to criminalize porn for kids. pic.twitter.com/DIc3vlAsTz

— Laurie (@laurieinri) February 28, 2023

One comment to us – “Just an opinion, but Ed Garcia did All The Things the media literacy project is supposed to be teaching against. That he’s a member of the Advisory Board for the project is especially chilling. Courageous RI project – failure to launch. Can’t wait to see the media spin.”

Case Examples are included in the groups materials as ‘lesson plans’ or exercises for students to view and respond to, with prompt questions and position statements, and are plentiful on the Courageous RI website.

One on the origins of COVID noted the “misinformation” of the claim. Interestingly enough, the major story of the week has been federal departments – including the FBI and others – acknowledging that this claim is quite likely to be true. There are several referencing former President Donald Trump:

The lesson plan for this example:

Launching on Tuesday, March 7th,

This ZOOM meeting will be the first for the general public – it’s format is unclear as to who will be presenting in this one hour call, but the public can sign on. They note the purpose is to ask:

Why is media literacy a fundamental citizenship skill? How can a coalition of people help to depolarize Rhode Island?

We are Celebrating Civic Learning Week in Rhode Island!

In this session, we demonstrate practical strategies for critically analyzing media messages that are now shaping public opinion about education in the state of Rhode Island. We consider the power of media literacy as a civic skill and examine how people of all ages can learn to spot disinformation and hoaxes.

Choose one:

Session A: 12 PM – 1 PM

Session B: 7 PM – 8 PM

Courageous Conversations are lively facilitated discussions where we activate critical thinking, listening, and self-expression skills by sharing our interpretations of social media, news stories, memes, social influencers, and more.

We are thrilled to be partnering with Cortico, a social media listening platform that brings people together for small-group conversations around their lived experiences. Through a powerful combination of AI and human listening, we aim to surface community voices into public dialogues that showcase and strengthen media literacy competencies that are essential for all Rhode Islanders.

Learn More: https://www.courageousri.com/

Civic Learning Week 2023. Courageous Conversations is one of many events occurring March 6-10, 2023. These programs seek to highlight the importance of civic education in sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States. The week’s programs, events, and activities are hosted and organized by the Rhode Island Civic Learning Coalition in partnership with Courageous RI, Generation Citizen, RIDE, the RI Department of State, United Way RI, URI’s Media Education Lab, as well as teachers and students from across Rhode Island.

Everyone is invited to attend and participate in Civic Learning Week events, including students, teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, and the general public.

Learn more: https://ricivics.org/2023clw