Langevin Introduces Bill
to Combat Disinformation and Foreign Interference in U.S. Political Process
Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced the Digital
Citizenship and Media Literacy Act, a bill to strengthen media literacy and
disinformation education. U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Lauren Underwood (D-JL) cosponsored the bill alongside Langevin.
The bill introduction follows the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s bipartisan report detailing Russia’s robust and ongoing disinformation
campaign to influence the U.S. political process, stating that, “addressing the
challenge of disinformation in the long-term will ultimately need to be tackled
by an informed and discerning population of citizens who are both alert to the
threat and armed with the critical thinking skills necessary to protect against
malicious influence.”
The report includes a specific recommendation for “a public
initiative propelled by federal funding… focused on building media literacy
from an early age would help build long-term resilience to foreign manipulation
of our democracy.”
“During the 2016 election, Russia waged an extensive dis- and mis-information campaign targeting American voters, and our foreign adversaries continue to attempt to interfere with our elections” said Congressman Langevin, who earlier this year led an effort to include civics education in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020.
“We must combat this grave threat to our democracy, and increasing
media literacy is an important tool to improve resiliency. I am proud to join
my colleagues in Congress to safeguard our democracy and better educate the
American people on how to identify misinformation.”
Foreign adversaries are using social and traditional media
platforms to influence political processes in the United States and in
democracies across the world. Experts agree that
one of the best ways to combat foreign influence campaigns is to educate people
on how to identify misinformation.
Improving digital media literacy will ensure American citizens are
able to access, analyze, and evaluate information. While media literacy is
important for media consumers of all ages, media literacy education that begins
at an early age can cultivate life-long skills.
The Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy Act would:
Create a Department of
Education grant program to support K-12 digital citizenship and media literacy
education.
The grant program would be available to local educational agencies to incorporate media literacy into existing curriculum, establish new curriculum, hire educators experienced with media literacy, and promote educator professional development in media literacy.
The grant program would be available to local educational agencies to incorporate media literacy into existing curriculum, establish new curriculum, hire educators experienced with media literacy, and promote educator professional development in media literacy.
Funds could also be used
for state education agencies to establish media literacy advisory councils to
create state-wide guidelines and best practices for media literacy education,
and for state education agencies to implement the advisory councils’
recommendations.
$20 million in grant
funding would be authorized for the Department of Education to administer the program.
