To promote responsible media engagement among students, the Media Education Research Centre (MERC), University of Kashmir (KU), conducted a four-day workshop on Media and Information Literacy.

Organised under the FactShala University Network Programme, an initiative by DataLEADS with support from the Google News Initiative, the workshop aimed to build students’ capacity to navigate the evolving media landscape and combat misinformation.

The sessions, led by Dr. Afsana Rashid, Assistant Professor, MERC KU and certified FactShala Trainer, covered themes such as media bias, misinformation ecosystems, deepfakes, artificial intelligence, and critical thinking.

Students and scholars from the Department of Library and Information Sciences, Department of Sociology, Institute of Kashmir Studies, Department of Social Work, MERC, and Design Your Degree (DYD) participated in the multidisciplinary workshop.

Prof. Sabeha Mufti, Head MERC KU, emphasised the importance of equipping students with media literacy skills. “We need to develop students' ability to critically assess media content so they become informed and responsible citizens,” she said.

Dr. Rashid Maqbool, faculty at MERC KU, said that without proper media literacy, audiences become susceptible to misinformation and manipulation.

The workshop logistics were managed by Dr. Nayeem Showkat, faculty at MERC KU.