Digitally Right Launches Dismislab to Promote Media Literacy
Digitally Right launched Dismislab, an independent information laboratory to tackle online misinformation and disinformation and enhance the critical thinking ability of the audience and media professionals in Bangladesh.
Launched as an experimental project in January 2023, the Dismislab carries out cutting-edge research to understand the trends in media and information space; factcheck and debunk falsehoods that impact society and people’s lives and offers training on online verification for newsrooms and university students to improve their fact-checking skills.
It provides in-depth articles to improve media literacy and act as a media watchdog by providing a space for journalists and academics to publish well-researched pieces on the role and practices of the media as a provider of critical information to its audience.
With the name Dismislab, inspired by the words “dis” and “mis” information and “dismissal”, it seeks to dismiss false and harmful information by presenting facts and contexts. It also aims to look into the source and intent of (mis)information to help the audience navigate an information disorder.
Dismislab has four objectives:
- To build and promote media literacy at all levels through verification and research.
- To present facts by verifying online misinformation and disinformation.
- To help the media to avoid disinformation traps by providing training and mentoring.
- To make open source data accessible and understandable to the people.
In its launch, the site published various articles including on influence operations, financially motivated disinformation, clickbait networks, and critical issues like health and religion. For more, please visit the site: dismislab.com