12 | MAY 16 • 2024

citing examples from the
Middle Ages, when Jews were
blamed for the Black Plague,
to the destructive Nazi propa-
ganda of the 1930s and ’40s.
“People have gone to great
lengths to call out Jews as ‘the
others’ and foment hatred
about everything from what
we wear, what we eat and how
we pray to how we live or
whom we support.”
Normandin cites a fabricat-
ed and long-discredited 1800s
text called The Protocols of
the Elders of Zion as the basis
of many conspiracy theories
espoused by white suprema-
cists today.
“We see manifestations and
recalibrated hatred of these
conspiracies in movements
like ‘The Great Replacement
Theory’ promulgated by a
variety of hate groups,” said
Normandin.
One of the 1,717 sources
McQuade cites in her book
is a Strategic Intelligence
Assessment by the FBI and
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security stating that one
of the most lethal terrorist
threats to our country comes
from homegrown groups
“advocating the superiority of
the white race.”
Disinformation about peo-
ple of color “replacing” white
Americans is sparking hate
crimes against Jews and other
minorities, including Black
and Latinx individuals and
Asian Americans.
The annual “Audit of
Antisemitic Incidents”
released last month by the
ADL revealed a staggering
rise in antisemitic activity
during 2023, including an
increase in white supremacist
events and dissemination of
antisemitic propaganda by
organized neo-Nazi groups.
Normandin also attri-

butes the recent upsurge in
antisemitism to a growing
mistrust of the media by
groups and individuals. The
phrase “enemy of the people,”
used by some to describe the
free press, is the same rhetoric
used by Adolph Hitler and
Joseph Stalin.
“A bedrock of conspiracy
theorists is to discredit legit-
imate news sources and to
discount anything that doesn’t
comport with a conspiracy,”
she said.

TEACHING MEDIA
LITERACY
Educators agree that teaching
young people how to verify
what they read before passing
it on is essential to stemming
the flow of dis- and misinfor-
mation. This is why media lit-
eracy education begins in kin-
dergarten at Hillel Day School
of Metropolitan Detroit.
“It’s incredibly important
to educate kids and families
about digital literacy, so we
begin early using age-appro-
priate resources,” said Marnie
Diem, coordi-
nator of Digital
Adventures at
Hillel.
Although there
are dedicated
media liter-
acy classes
for older students,
Hillel takes a holistic
approach to digital
learning, integrating the
subject into every aspect
of the curriculum.
“We teach students to
question and verify what they
read, to understand what a
reliable source is and how to
verify the credibility of an
author,” Diem said.
“Disinformation has been
taken to a new level where
we should be teaching kids to

question everything they see
online.”
First-graders at Hillel are
introduced to internet safety
in Webster’s Friend, a book by
Hannah Whaley where a spi-
der learns his online friend is
not who he claims to be.
Diem helps teachers incor-
porate digital learning into
their lessons using a variety
of resources that include
Common Sense Media’s digi-
tal citizenship curriculum and
fairy tale-based books depict-
ing technology-related experi-
ences and challenges.
Older students learn how to
use “lateral reading” to cor-
roborate information. Instead
of assuming the content of a
news story or website is accu-
rate, students find four addi-
tional sources that address
the same topic and read “side-
ways,” hopping back and forth
between multiple tabs.
“If they find one valid
counter-argument, then
they can keep researching or
choose not to share it,” said
Diem.
She encourages doing this
exercise on a computer,
which dis-
plays

content differently than a
mobile device designed for
“vertical reading” that encour-
ages continuous scrolling.
“The growing use of AI
makes it more important than
ever to use lateral reading to
avoid sharing false or mis-
leading content,” she said.
The process of looking at
the same story from different
perspectives helps students
focus on facts and avoid emo-
tion-based reactions.
“A lot of us are in our own
echo chamber; we get fed
more of what we want,” Diem
says. “I encourage people to
keep their social media feeds
balanced.”
She said the biggest
challenges are keeping up
with constantly evolving AI
technology and bringing the
parents on board, many of
whom are unaccustomed to
scrutinizing media with the
diligence required
in today’s digital
environment.
Na’amah
Rosenzweig, a
Hillel graduate
and current
freshman at
Frankel Jewish

Marnie
Diem

Na’amah
Rosenzweig

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