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

continued on page 14

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