Poynter’s MediaWise is looking for a select group of college students to serve in our next cohort of Campus Correspondents. These unique fact-finding students earn money while debunking misinformation online — and teach their peers to do that same.
The ideal candidates will be college students who love social media, understand the dangers of online misinformation and have a knack for leadership and public speaking.
Eligible candidates are encouraged to apply, but hurry! The deadline is May 31.
MediaWise — a digital media literacy initiative — will hire a group of up to 10 Campus Correspondents to teach crucial digital literacy skills to their peers. Students from universities, college campuses, HBCUs, community colleges, technical or other school students from across America are all encouraged to apply.
Campus Correspondents will learn how to spot misinformation online, find reliable information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and learn how to train their peers on these important skills. Campus Correspondents will conduct virtual media literacy trainings to schools across the country, produce a range of educational social media content and create a 10-part Instagram PSA campaign.
Over the course of the 2021/22 school year, students will produce media literacy tips and fact-checking videos across social media platforms.
We are especially interested in students with strong social media/content creation skills who can create striking Instagram graphics, Instagram stories, Reels, TikToks and more.
This project will begin this summer and last through April 2022. Onboarding will take place in June and July to prepare students to lead presentations. Students will give three to five presentations between August 2021 and April 2022.
Students will be paid $300 per training, but will be expected to have current, updated relevant materials each training session. Compensation for social media content creation will vary.
Applications and more information can be found here.
The first cohort of MediaWise’s Campus Correspondents was central to the success of the MediaWise Voter Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan program of The Poynter Institute that taught digital literacy skills to more than 1 million first-time voters in 2020.
This group of 10 college students conducted more than 80 virtual digital literacy trainings to more than 2,000 of their peers across campuses in more than 20 states.
In addition to training their peers through Zoom, the Campus Correspondents created fact-check and digital media literacy content for social media, including TikTok and Instagram.
“Although our program officially ended Nov. 3,” wrote Campus Correspondent Sonia Rao, “I’m leaving knowing that hundreds of thousands of college students across the country are now equipped to battle misinformation.”
Be like Rao and other campus correspondents — earn money for school while teaching your peers how to tell fact from fiction online.
