UNESCO describes media and information literacy as an important part of education and citizenship. It helps learners ask who created a message, what evidence it uses and which voices may be missing. These habits matter when people meet misinformation, artificial intelligence and rapidly changing digital media.
A media-literacy curriculum should develop critical judgment rather than provide a fixed list of approved information. Learners can compare sources, examine context and explain why one claim is more credible than another. UNESCO also encourages educators to adapt learning activities to the characteristics of the local context. Media literacy teaches people how to judge information critically. The purpose is not to distrust everything, but to make the reason for trust visible, explainable and open to later revision and debate.