sometimes they give credit to us directly. We see that on a lot of media. Possibly every fact check we have done on the media, they have corrected themselves” (interview, Umesh Shrestha, 2021). This is an interesting situation because it shows the value of fact checking and can serve as inspiration for similar relationships to be formed in other countries of the region in order to improve journalistic standards. Injina Panthi shared similar thoughts on the topic. South Asia Check in Nepal have accounts on Twitter and Facebook as well as their own website, but they also work with other media organizations to increase their reach. As the factchecking and journalistic community in Nepal is small, they tend to rely on personal connections and networking rather than formal agreements to link with traditional media and disseminate fact checks (interview, 2021). Ellen Tordesillas discussed VERA Files’ collaboration with traditional media in the Philippines, in particular with a tabloid, in an attempt to engage with otherwise hard-to-reach audiences (interview, 2021). 3.2 MEDIA AND DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING AND AWARENESS Fact checking is only one of the tools used in tackling information disorder. Other essential methods to challenge the problems caused by information disorder include initiatives involving media and digital literacy training, and awareness campaigns targeting different groups of society, including school children, journalists, public officials, and the general public (Wardle and Derakhshan 2017). Media literacy programs also facilitate fact checking, as media-savvy individuals are more likely to notice the signs of information disorder and report this to authorities or notify fact checkers. Additionally, media literacy campaigns create awareness about the existence and scale of information disorder. This also motivates the general public to refer to fact checkers when they are doubtful about information they have received, and encourages people to do fact checking themselves (Brown-Hulme 2018; McDougall 2019). Masato Kajimoto noted that “the audience learning the skills and tools and techniques to identify quality information and detect potentially bogus claims” is the primary aim of media literacy programs (interview, 2021). I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH TYPES OF PROGRAMS AND TARGET GROUPS It is important that any type of training program be customized for the audience (Buckingham 2019). For example, in India, a training program targeting journalists would need to be customized to match the context and specific needs of a particular state. Journalists, academics, fact checkers, government institutions, media organizations, and civil society organizations carry out a wide variety of activities to promote awareness and media literacy (Livingstone and Wang 2013). For example, in Indonesia, as a way of tackling hoaxes and misinformation in rural areas with no internet access, Liputan6, a fact-checking organization, conducts road shows at Islamic schools, universities, and other community centers. They work with local community radio stations to improve media literacy among indigenous groups in the country (Mubtadi 2021). Rema Rajeshwari explained to us how she and her team conducted a three-day training program on social media literacy in India, targeting village heads. They taught them how to identify malicious content and how to reach out to the relevant officials regarding content verification. The main aim of this training was to prevent the spread of harmful content on community social media groups and WhatsApp groups. Songs and stories with cultural elements were used instead of speeches to communicate the message. In order to enable villagers to attend such programs, they also focused on not disrupting the villagers’ agricultural practices, by holding the events in the evenings (interview, 2021). In Pakistan, the Digital Rights Foundation educates journalists, human rights activists, and civil society organizations on topics such as digital security and safety, laws that can impact on journalism work, and how to advocate a stronger legal framework that protects the rights of journalists and human rights activists (Digital Rights Foundation 2021). In many cases, university academics have included media literacy classes in their curricula. Masato Kajimoto has trained not only university students but also journalists and school pupils in Hong Asia – 2 0 6