ACCESS THE REPORT AND WEBSITE: https://bit.ly/palestineML
SLIDE DECK: https://bit.ly/MLPalestine-Nov5
FINAL PROGRAM REPORT
Developing a Professional Learning Community for Media Literacy in Palestine
Media Literacy: Critical Thinking for an AI World
RECIPIENT
University of Rhode Island
DIRECTOR / PI
Prof. Renee Hobbs
PARTNERS
Yatta Institute · Columbia College Chicago
FUNDER
U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem · Public Diplomacy
Oct 2024 – June 2026 · 15-month program · Award $199,462 · SIS50024GR0508
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
A train-the-trainer model with measurable reach
Over 21 months, a cohort of West Bank educators built a media-literacy learning community, then designed and led their own workshops for young Palestinians ages 16–25 in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Hebron.
17
Faculty Educators
completed the full program
138
Youth Program Participants
From across the West Bank
9
youth workshops
each a 3-hour online program
number of students reached
by faculty integrating media literacy
44 recruited
against a target of 20
1.25M impressions
Facebook recruitment campaign
22 hours
of instruction per educator
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
2
2,590
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Five connected phases, from assessment to public outreach
A train-the-trainer architecture: program leaders built educators' capacity, who then designed and delivered their own youth programs — extended by a youth-led social media campaign.
1
Needs
Assessment
Focus group + interviews shape the design
›
2
PD Learning
Community
8 online sessions · 22 hours · bilingual
›
3
Coaching
Faculty pair up to plan in
“The Power of Two”
›
4
Youth
Workshops
9 teams deliver 3-hour programs to 210 youth
›
5
Social Media
Outreach
Youth-created campaign on @palestineML
“The Power of Two” — In 8 of 9 teams a framework lead paired with a relational co-lead, so someone always carried content while someone else watched the room.
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
4
PHASE 2 · THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
An online learning community for Palestinian educators
Eight thematic sessions (plus a relaunch) built knowledge, confidence, and a community of practice, with real-time Arabic translation and bilingual breakout rooms.
1
What is Media Literacy?
2
Facts and Feelings
3
Conflict Entrepreneurs
4
Targets of Propaganda
5
The Power of Two
6
Teaching Media Literacy
7
The Influencers
8
Free Speech & Censorship
Program completed late January 2026, followed by individualized coaching before and after Ramadan.
Recurring instructional tools
Media Literacy Smartphone
A shared set of critical questions carried from the PD into classrooms
AACRA model
Access · Analyze · Evaluate · Create · Reflect · Take Action
“Love–Hate” activity
Surfaces values and feelings about different types of media
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
5
WHAT MADE IT INNOVATIVE
Nine teams, nine localized teaching frameworks
Each faculty pair synthesized 22 hours of instruction into a distinct analytic vocabulary for Palestinian youth — culturally grounded adaptation, not a single imported curriculum.
M
Magenta team
7-step influencer analysis
Authority vs. authenticity
R
Red team
“Zoom In, Zoom Out”
A shaping metaphor
P
Purple team
Four-pillar definition
Foundations of media literacy
G
Green team
“Stop, Think, Verify”
Golden rule + 3 protections
B
Blue team
“Conflict entrepreneurs”
Who profits from conflict
O
Orange team
Access·Analyze·Evaluate·Produce
The four stages taught explicitly
B
Brown team
Eight smartphone questions
Focused on influencers
A
Aqua team
5 questions + AI prompts
A verification workflow for AI
Y
Yellow team
CAPSS acronym
Creator·Audience·Purpose·Structure·Source
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
6
PHASE 4 · YOUTH WORKSHOP IMPLEMENTATION
138 young Palestinians, grounded in their own media
138
youth ages 16–25 from the West Bank
9 workshops, April 1–10, 2026
Online program
Two 90-minute sessions
A consistent three-part structure
Model & Analyze
Facilitators model critical analysis of real media texts.
Dialogue & Discuss
Structured dialogue on media's influence — every voice pulled in.
Create & Share
Each youth publishes 1–3 public posts under the program hashtag.
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
7
Faculty Created Memes
Youth Created Memes
FINDINGS · INDUCTIVE THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF 210 YOUTH POSTS
Eight themes, named in the youth's own words
1. “Not everything you see is true”
The crisis of visual truth in the AI era
2. “Awareness is my shield”
Media literacy as armor and defense
3. “Pause before you share”
The discipline of slowing down
4. “Emotion is the bait”
How feelings get weaponized
5. “Followers ≠ credibility”
Influencers under the microscope
6. “I am not just a follower”
Reclaiming agency in digital space
7. “A turning point in my thinking”
Narratives of personal transformation
8. “Satire as teaching”
Media literacy through memes & parody
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
8
SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT
The youth campaign reached 4.9 million views in 90 days
Under the program hashtag, 210 young Palestinians published their own verified media to @palestinemedialit . Reach concentrated among young women across the West Bank — precisely the audience the program set out to serve.
INSTAGRAM · LAST 90 DAYS
VIEWS
4,904,355
NET FOLLOWERS
+368
INTERACTIONS
1,294
GENDER
Women
65.1%
Men
34.9%
AUDIENCE BY AGE
0.3%
13–17
26.3%
18–24
31.8%
25–34
22.0%
35–44
8.0%
45–54
7.0%
55–64
4.6%
65+
TOP CITIES
Gaza City
20.9%
Khan Yunis
12.0%
Ramallah
11.4%
Hebron
8.7%
Nablus
4.6%
TOP POSTS BY REACH
Accounts reached · matched to youth themes
01
212.8K
“In times of transition…”
A TURNING POINT IN MY THINKING
02
142.3K
Spotting fake news in 6 steps
PAUSE BEFORE YOU SHARE
03
141.0K
Memes as media literacy
SATIRE AS TEACHING
04
127.7K
The Ronaldo health hoax
NOT EVERYTHING YOU SEE IS TRUE
05
104.9K
“Emotion is the bait”
EMOTION IS THE BAIT
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
9
IMPACT & RESULTS · FACULTY SURVEY
Growth, then intellectual humility
Faculty increase their knowledge and confidence in implementing media literacy, peaking in mid-April 2026 after the PD was completed. Scores dipped in May after faculty led their own youth workshops and recalibrated their expertise.
Classroom implementation: 6.0 → 8.2 → 8.9 → 6.7. Both indices on a 0–10 scale (knowledge ×2). Peak: mid-April 2026.
+3.7 points
ML background self-rating jumped 5.9 → 9.6 after the program launched.
9.9 / 10
Mean likelihood to recommend the program at the mid-April peak.
4.9 / 5
Rated likelihood of continuing to implement media literacy.
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
9
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
REACH, RECRUITMENT & RECEPTION
Strong demand, high retention, broad reach
Recruitment funnel
44
highly qualified applicants recruited (target: 20)
20
retained at the November 2025 relaunch
17
completed the entire program
17 completers represent the original cohort target, retained through a six-month pause.
Recruitment campaign reach
1,251,283
Facebook impressions in the West Bank
272,780
unique people reached
11,767
click-throughs to the program page
Highly rated across the board
Program leaders 3.8 · Faculty presentations 3.7 · Group discussions 3.7 · Collaborative activities 3.6 · Creative expression 3.5
Component value ratings, 1–4 scale (4 = very valuable)
Media Literacy in Palestine · Final Program Report 2026
10
young Palestinians, ages 17 - 25 participated in a 3-hour training
138
WHAT THE PROGRAM REVEALED
Media literacy in Palestine is a survival skill
A survival skill, not an elective
Educators framed media literacy in existential terms — safety, agency, and resilience.
Trust is relational
Across every group, family was the #1 named influencer — before celebrities or platforms.
Learning by doing wins
Engagement rose with group work, visuals, memes, and real Palestinian examples; it fell during lecture.
Infrastructure is pedagogy
Unstable internet and electricity shaped what was possible — a structural condition, not a footnote.
JOIN US NEXT WEEK for Session 2
Faculty Perspectives on Implementing Media Literacy Education in the West Bank
DATE: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
TIME: 6 - 7 PM Jerusalem time
Presenters: Bilal, Rana, Nisreen, Nibal, Hilmi
Repondent: Yonty Friesem
Palestinian faculty worked in pairs through a "power of two" model to author nine culturally grounded teaching frameworks, from a "Stop, Think, Verify" golden rule to lessons built on the images and claims their students were already arguing about online. In this session, program faculty describe what changed in their own practice, what "learning by doing" actually required, and why teaching media literacy became an act of responsibility toward neighbors living through the same events.