Misinformation Prevalent Among Young Indians: Bihar Study Shows Media Literacy’s Effectiveness

In a groundbreaking study published in the 2025 American Political Science Review, researchers have found that classroom-based media literacy education can effectively combat misinformation among India’s youth, even in challenging rural environments.

The study, conducted across rural Bihar by researchers Sumitra Badrinathan, Simon Chauchard, Florian Sichart, and Priyadarshi Amar, revealed alarming baseline beliefs among teenage students. More than half of the students in the control group believed exorcism could cure snakebites, while over 60% thought cow urine could treat COVID-19.

“These weren’t fringe beliefs,” explains Amar, a Postdoctoral Researcher at University Carlos III in Madrid. “They reflect how widely health misinformation has penetrated communities, potentially influencing critical behaviors like whether to seek professional medical help.”

Bihar presents a particularly challenging environment for media literacy interventions. The state has one of India’s highest school dropout rates, strong cultural attachments to non-scientific medical approaches, and limited internet access, with only 19% of participants reporting internet usage.

The Bihar Information and Media Literacy Initiative implemented a randomized controlled trial involving more than 13,500 students in grades 8-12 across 583 villages. Working through government-run community libraries, researchers designed a curriculum focused on developing critical evaluation skills for health information.

The intervention consisted of four 90-minute sessions delivered over 14 weeks. Students were taught to identify misleading health content, verify information credibility, and share information responsibly. The program was implemented in partnership with Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (Jeevika), which significantly enhanced its legitimacy.

Results were impressive. Students who received media literacy training showed a 35% improvement in distinguishing true from false health headlines and a 42% improvement in source discernment. Perhaps most significantly, they were 27% less likely to forward questionable health claims.

“This change in sharing intention has the potential to slow the spread of health misinformation in community networks,” notes Amar.

The intervention also achieved a 15% reduction in preference for non-scientific medicine for serious health conditions, primarily by reducing vaccine hesitancy and reliance on alternative treatments. These effects persisted during a four-month follow-up assessment.

Remarkably, the program produced significant spillover effects to family members who did not directly participate. Parents of students showed improved information-evaluation abilities, demonstrating a “trickle-up” education effect from children to adults.

The findings come as governments worldwide grapple with misinformation challenges. Finland and New Jersey have mandated media literacy in schools, but according to UNESCO, fewer than 50% of member states have formally integrated such initiatives into education systems, with adoption much lower in Asian and African countries.

Implementation barriers include lack of dedicated funding, inadequate teacher training, and absence of coordinated policy frameworks. The Bihar study provides valuable evidence that such programs can succeed even in challenging environments.

The research also offers an alternative to restrictive approaches like Australia’s recent legislation banning children under 16 from social media platforms. Rather than relying on difficult-to-enforce bans, education-based interventions can build critical evaluation skills early, fostering resilience rather than dependence on restrictions.

“If children can learn to assess content critically before they encounter it unsupervised, the case for blanket bans weakens considerably,” Amar argues.

The researchers emphasize two key policy lessons: first, that media literacy interventions can work even in low-literacy, limited-digital-access environments; and second, that the skills acquired are transferable across different types of misinformation.

As India’s massive youth population comes of age, the study suggests that well-designed media literacy efforts could transform a potential “misinformation liability” into the country’s greatest asset for building a more discerning citizenry.