AI: Both Contributor to Media Illiteracy and Potential Solution

In the face of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence technology, UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week begins Friday with a heightened sense of purpose. This year’s focus examines AI’s transformative impact on how people consume, evaluate, and trust information in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

The flagship conference will be held October 23-24 in Cartagena, Colombia, accompanied by worldwide events marking the occasion. Across the Middle East and North Africa, countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and the Palestinian territories are demonstrating strong commitment through various media literacy initiatives.

“The challenge now lies in transforming literacy from individual awareness into collective civic competence,” said Shehata El-Sayed, founder of Cairo-based OshAi for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Industries. His organization helps Arabic-speaking journalists leverage AI for verification, data analysis, and disinformation detection.

El-Sayed, who brings over a decade of investigative journalism experience to his work, explained that while digital literacy initiatives have grown globally, “the speed, scale, and sophistication of misinformation have outpaced these improvements.”

With UNESCO and IFRDT support, El-Sayed developed a platform to equip educators and media professionals with AI tools to combat false information. He noted that while AI can detect manipulated media, trace false claims, and map coordinated inauthentic behavior, it simultaneously poses risks through deepfakes, synthetic voices, and AI-generated propaganda.

Algorithmic amplification remains a significant concern. “Social media platforms often elevate divisive content to maximize engagement, creating fertile ground for the spread of falsehoods,” El-Sayed explained. In the MENA region, these challenges are compounded by linguistic gaps in automated moderation, limited access to credible local journalism, and the weaponization of digital narratives.

Samy Tayie, regional representative for Arab states in the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance, has dedicated more than 30 years to advancing media literacy across Egypt and the Arab world. After limited success with teachers and media professionals, Tayie’s approach has shifted: “We tried with the teachers, we tried with media professionals, but the success was very limited. So now we go directly to people, and especially younger people.”

For nine months, Tayie has served as lead consultant on a UNESCO-supported project integrating media education into Jordanian high schools. He hopes to establish a similar program in Egypt and helped establish the Media and Information Literacy and Global Understanding conference, which will hold its third meeting in Cairo in April 2026.

Regional initiatives are addressing specific challenges. The Saudi Data and AI Authority, collaborating with the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics, has organized an event on “Deepfakes: Responsible Use and Social Risks.” Meanwhile, UNESCO’s Ramallah office and Palestinian education authorities are conducting training sessions on digital safety, psychological wellbeing, and AI.

In the United States, Media Literacy Week runs from October 27-31, organized by the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). Donnell Probst, NAMLE’s interim executive director, highlighted the unique challenges facing American media literacy efforts.

“Education by default is very slow and often does not keep up with the pace of technology,” Probst said, noting that AI’s rapid advancement presents unprecedented challenges. “Seeing something that is changing and growing so rapidly is a much bigger challenge than what we’ve seen in the past.”

Despite technological factors, Probst emphasized human responsibility: “Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the reason that misinformation spreads is because of people.” She stressed that media literacy fundamentals remain constant regardless of technological changes.

In Arab countries, Tayie identified specific regional concerns, including early adoption of smartphones among children as young as seven or eight. “In Egypt, the phone ownership rate is 120%,” he noted, emphasizing the importance of equipping parents with tools to guide their children’s media consumption.

“I think digital literacy will be the license which will help you to live,” Tayie said, expressing concern about social media becoming a platform for hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation—issues exacerbated by AI development.

As technology continues to outpace education, the global push for media literacy becomes increasingly urgent. While awareness of the problem is growing, the fundamental challenge remains: building critical thinking skills that can keep pace with rapidly evolving information technologies in an increasingly complex media landscape.