Peruvian Journalist Transforms Media Literacy Education Amid Rising Disinformation

When COVID-19 hit Peru, journalist Lucero Ascarza faced an unexpected challenge that would reshape her career path. As pandemic-related disinformation fueled Peru’s anti-vaccine movement, Ascarza recognized the urgent need for media literacy education in her community.

“I realized how central the fight against falsehoods had become,” said Ascarza, who began her career as an investigative reporter working on the Panama Papers before transitioning to teaching journalism at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

This realization propelled Ascarza to develop targeted media literacy workshops across Lima. Working through the International Center for Journalists’ Disarming Disinformation initiative, she has now equipped more than 150 Peruvians with critical skills to identify and counter false information.

The three-year Disarming Disinformation program, supported by the Scripps Howard Foundation, aims to slow the spread of false information through investigative journalism, capacity building, and media literacy education. ICFJ partnered with MediaWise from the Poynter Institute to train community leaders like Ascarza, who then educate others on practical media literacy skills.

Ascarza’s approach is notably practical. She named her workshop series “Verifica pe: Hablemos de desinformación y cómo combatirla” (“Verify: Let’s talk about disinformation and how to fight it”), incorporating Peruvian slang to make the content more relatable. Her framework distills media literacy into three straightforward steps: Stop, Distrust, and Verify.

“It’s important to choose examples that are relatable to the specific audience,” Ascarza explained, describing how she uses local news examples and content from gaming influencers that resonates with her participants.

Recognizing that traditional educational settings wouldn’t reach all vulnerable populations, Ascarza took an innovative approach to community outreach. She partnered with local Lutheran and Methodist churches in eastern Lima to access teenagers outside school settings, sometimes running workshops for more than 100 secondary school students at once.

This cross-denominational collaboration proved fruitful, as church leaders quickly aligned with her mission of equipping young people to navigate harmful online content. The partnership allowed Ascarza to reach demographics that might otherwise have missed formal media literacy training.

Post-workshop assessments revealed significant improvements in participants’ ability to question information sources. Educators reported a new understanding that social media posts aren’t necessarily reliable news sources, and learned to verify government-related information on official channels to avoid scams.

“I learned how to find out if we are being informed about real or adulterated news and events in order to be forewarned and not fall into scams,” said Edith C., a teacher who attended one of the workshops.

Students also expressed appreciation for the practical skills they gained. Jessica C., a student participant, noted: “I found it interesting, something we do not give importance to but it is necessary to know it and put it into practice.”

The impact extends beyond the immediate workshops. Several educators committed to incorporating Ascarza’s media literacy framework into their own teaching, creating a multiplier effect that will reach even more Peruvian youth. One high school even invited Ascarza to become an adviser for their journalism club, expanding activities in both journalism and media literacy.

As artificial intelligence creates new challenges for information verification, Ascarza is already planning to promote responsible AI use among educators and students. She’s also launching a new media venture called Contranoticia with former colleagues, focusing on community-centered stories with human rights and gender perspectives.

Within this new platform, Ascarza will implement fact-checking under the “Verifica pe” brand, continuing her mission to amplify facts over fiction while equipping individuals to evaluate information critically on their own.

Ascarza’s story exemplifies how journalists can apply their investigative skills to combat misinformation through education. Her work in Peru represents one success among the 27 trainers who have participated in ICFJ’s program, collectively reaching more than 3,200 people globally with critical media literacy skills.