CRITICAL MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY

APPLIED METHODOLOGY

Abstract

This article presents the results of a postdoctoral action research project that developed and tested an educational methodology based on Paulo Freire's Critical Pedagogy to address disinformation. Called Critical Pedagogy of Information (CPI), the proposal adapts the Freirean literacy method — notably the Angicos experience — to information and media education, aiming to promote Critical Media and Information Literacy (CMIL). The research, conducted between 2024 and 2026, involved in-person and hybrid interventions in five Brazilian high schools, one Bororo indigenous school, as well as mediator training workshops in three Brazilian states and Angola. The results indicate that the playful-dialogical approach, based on game-based activities, culture circles, and generative themes, fosters critical thinking, autonomy, and informational resilience. The methodology demonstrated cross-cultural effectiveness and adaptability to different audiences, generating products such as an Ideas Manual and an educational fanzine. We conclude that CPI, anchored in CMIL, constitutes a promising and replicable path for resistance to disinformation in the contemporary context.