Integration of fact-checking and data verification into media communication curricula as a tool to counteract disinformation and manipulative technologies

Abstract

The article is devoted to analyzing the degree of integration of fact-checking and data verification into curricula in journalism, advertising and public relations, and media communications as a key tool for countering disinformation and manipulative technologies in the digital media environment. The purpose of the study is to identify, based on a comprehensive analysis of educational documentation and expert assessments, the extent of the «competence gap» between industry requirements and the real level of graduate training, as well as to substantiate directions for reforming curricula. The empirical base consists of 115 curricula and more than 450 course syllabi from 25 leading Russian universities (2018-2023), compared with programs from 15 foreign universities, as well as an expert survey of 150 respondents (75 practicing journalists and editors and 75 lecturers and department heads); quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation, and regression statistical methods in SPSS, along with content analysis and theoretical generalization methods. It is shown that only 16.4% of universities offer students a full-fledged specialized course on fact-checking and verification, with extremely low growth rates for this indicator and limited workload for such disciplines, while the predominant integration model consists of short modules within related courses with a minimal number of practical hours. Experts report a significant competence gap across all key skills, especially in working with synthetic media, metadata, and OSINT tools, which correlates with a lack of practice-oriented training. A strong correlation was identified between the presence of specialized courses and employment success: graduates of programs with comprehensive training in verification find jobs in their field more quickly and receive substantially higher employer evaluations. The discussion of the results characterizes the situation as a systemic crisis in media education and substantiates the need to include practice-oriented courses in fact-checking, digital forensics, and open-source intelligence in the core of professional educational programs, as well as to develop methodological materials and simulators for practicing skills in conditions approximating reality.