Improving Media Literacy with Manipulated Media


Improving Media Literacy by Manipulating Media

Today's media culture muddles reality. Rapid advancements in technology allow anyone to create media quickly, and information gatekeepers can no longer filter information to the masses. Today, the world cannot keep up with the vast amounts of media manipulation. Add teenagers and their media consumption habits to the mix, and there's a perfect formula for decreased media literacy.


Researchers from Stanford University raised the media literacy alarm in a study in 2021. In the study, researchers asked over 3,000 diverse high school students to evaluate videos posted on Facebook claiming to demonstrate voter fraud in the 2016 election. Only three students of the three thousand successfully identified the footage as manipulated. In another study, 96% of high school students unsuccessfully uncovered the truth about an anti-climate change website—the website funded by the fossil fuels industry.


To improve media literacy skills, Fairhaven High School media students explored manipulated media techniques, including deceptive editing, audio editing, graphic creation, conspiracy theories, and tracing the spread of misinformation through social media and the consequence of a misinformed population.


We asked students: "Could you, a high school student with a basic understanding of editing media, create something that misleads an audience? If so, what can people with advanced knowledge of media creation create to mislead the masses?"

Manipulating Media

In this project, students chose to manipulate three different types of media, and attempt to change the context of the content. Project options include:

  • Altering the context of a news story

  • Altering the context of a film or film character

  • Manipulating a movie trailer that tells a different story.

Project Highlights

Gabby Wanted

Media Manipulation.mp4
"GABBY PETITTO WANTED FOR BOYFRIEND'S DISAPPEARANCE" -Produced by: Lindsay and unnamed student
A student example of this project demonstrates a good understanding of manipulating media. In the project above, this student group examined footage from the Gabby Petitto story and re-edited the story to suggest a different outcome occurred. They showed this story to peers who instantly believed the manipulated media.

Awkward Zuck

Manipulated Zucc.mp4
"ZUCKERBURG STONEWALLS INTERVIEW" - Manipulated Media produced by Colin and Amelia.

A student team chose to re-edit this Axios interview of Mark Zuckerburg to demonstrate their ability to manipulate media. In this project, students added additional sound effects, edited audio, and replaced footage of Mark Zuckerburg's interview to seemlessly alter the original footage.

Zootopia as a Suspense Film

scary zootopia MK II.mp4
"Zootopia as a Suspense Film" - Produced by: Austin, Griffin, and Sam

A Media Arts 1 team imagined Zootopia as a suspense film, and created an original trailer. In the film, students reimagined a world where Zootopia characters acted as action heroes, attempting to save the world from a lurking monster.

Monster Girl

Manipulation Prject.mp4
"Monster Girl" A movie trailer mashup featuring Dreamwork's Monsters vs. Aliens and Batman. Produced by: Gabe

A Media Arts 2 student set a goal to transform Susan Murphy, heroine of Dreamwork's Monster vs. Aliens into the Batman. Gabe took the Warner Brother's newly released trailer Batman and re-edited scenes of Susan Murphy to completely change the context of the original character.

Cat Wrld

landon L trailer.mp4
The Cat in the Hat is reimagined as a terrifying character in Cat Wrld, an original trailer produced by: Landon.

Media Arts 2 student Landon spent four weeks diligently exploring editing techniques that best alter the context of the original Cat and the Hat film. His efforts lead him to transform the beloved Cat and the Hat into a horrific monster.

For More Student Projects

24 student groups completed the Media Manipulation project. To view all manipulated projects visit: Project #3: Editing With Context