Media Literacy Takes Root in the Amazon: How One Journalist is Fighting Misinformation

In the heart of the Amazon, where the Madeira River flows and forest communities thrive, journalist and activist Josi Gonçalves is leading a quiet revolution in media literacy. Her innovative approach doesn’t rely on high-tech tools or complex digital platforms but on something much more fundamental—connecting with people through their own languages, cultural references, and natural surroundings.

With ancestral ties to northeastern Brazil, where her forebears experienced modern slave labor, Gonçalves has dedicated her career to empowering marginalized communities. Her recent work through the International Center for Journalists’ (ICFJ) Disarming Disinformation initiative represents a crucial intervention in a region where misinformation does more than confuse—it shapes public policy, fractures communities, and sometimes threatens survival itself.

“In the Amazon, misinformation isn’t just a virtual problem,” Gonçalves explains. “False information about environmental policies or indigenous rights can have immediate, tangible consequences for people who depend on the forest.”

The ICFJ program, supported by the Scripps Howard Foundation and implemented in partnership with MediaWise from the Poynter Institute, aims to slow disinformation’s spread through various approaches including investigative journalism, capacity building, and media literacy education. The initiative has trained 27 trainers globally who have already reached over 3,200 people.

Gonçalves’ challenge was distinctive: How could she make abstract concepts of digital literacy meaningful to riverside communities with limited internet access and diverse cultural backgrounds?

Her solution was elegantly simple—start with what people know. At a riverside school in Vila Dnit, she gathered approximately 70 students aged 14 to 17, along with their teachers and administrators, for a workshop that blended local knowledge with critical media skills. Instead of PowerPoint presentations, she used tree bark, local photographs, and simply narrated videos.

“I was surprised by how quickly the students absorbed the content when it was presented with local examples,” Gonçalves noted. “One student independently connected a fake image with a news story about a flood on the Madeira River, identifying that the photo was old and from elsewhere. This showed that when we connect media literacy with real-life experiences, critical thinking becomes stronger.”

The workshop engaged family farmers, fishermen, extractivists, and young people of indigenous descent—groups often overlooked in digital literacy initiatives. Participants discussed what misinformation is, how it circulates, its potential impacts, and practical techniques for verification.

Student reactions revealed the workshop’s transformative potential. Many expressed surprise that content on their phones might be false or that trusted family members could unknowingly share misinformation. One student declared her intention to “transform the place where she lives” by sharing her new knowledge.

Perhaps the most powerful takeaway was also the simplest: pause before sharing. “Ask who posted this and in what context,” Gonçalves advised participants. “If everyone implemented this critical thinking in their lives, the world would be less vulnerable to manipulation.”

The impact of Gonçalves’ approach is spreading rapidly through the Amazon. Other rural schools have requested similar workshops, and she has received an invitation to lead training for the Karipuna Indigenous Territory. She also plans to extend her work through Voz da Terra, the online media outlet she founded to tell stories about environmental and indigenous issues in the Amazon.

Future initiatives include developing media literacy materials adapted to oral traditions and podcast formats—approaches that respect the rhythm and customs of riverside communities. Rather than imposing urban digital literacy frameworks, Gonçalves is creating something more sustainable: a model that treats each community not just as recipients of knowledge but as producers in their own right.

This grassroots approach to combating disinformation represents an important counterpoint to tech-centric solutions that often dominate media literacy discussions. By connecting verification skills to local knowledge systems and everyday materials, Gonçalves demonstrates that effective media literacy can flourish anywhere—even in places where the internet is less accessible than the forest.

As misinformation continues to challenge democratic societies worldwide, Gonçalves’ work reminds us that lasting solutions must be culturally appropriate, locally driven, and accessible to all communities—including those along the Amazon’s winding rivers.