Gen Z Media Literacy: Trust And News Verification On Social Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37676/mj.v3i3.1749Keywords:
Media Literacy, Generation Z, Trust, News Verification, Social Media, TikTokAbstract
This study analyzes Gen Z media literacy in building trust and verifying news on social media, particularly TikTok, among students of the Communication Science Study Program at Universitas Dehasen Bengkulu. The problem addressed in this study is the high use of social media as a daily news source that is not always followed by adequate critical literacy and verification practices. This research used an exploratory qualitative approach based on W. James Potter's media literacy theory, focusing on analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, documentation, and literature review involving five purposively selected student informants. The findings show that students actively use TikTok to obtain news, but their understanding of news content tends to be brief and visual-oriented. Trust is often influenced by virality, number of likes, comments, and the popularity of influencers rather than source credibility. Verification is conducted only when information is considered important or doubtful. Therefore, students' media literacy is sufficient but still needs strengthening, especially in evaluation and synthesis skills.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dea Ananda Putri, Martha Heriniazwi Dianthi, Yanto Yanto
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