Facts First: A News Literacy Project for Adult Angelenos

Adult literacy

City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit) County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

We live in an information crisis, where viral falsehoods spread faster than facts. It’s no surprise that, according to a 2024 Pew survey, the majority of Americans have little to no trust in the media. A 2024 LAEDC report noted both a need for digital literacy courses across Los Angeles and, moreover, an interest in them by the public. With the LA2050 grant period leading up to the 2026 election, it’s the perfect time to empower the most vulnerable citizens with news and digital literacy skills –– especially consider, according to a 2024 article from the LA Times, that communities of color have been subjects of misinformation attacks, especially in the lead up to the last election. LARC, along with our roster of local journalists and our partners at the Alliance for Trust in Media, is ready to lead this effort. As the Alliance notes on their website: “Without a strong bond of understanding between journalists and audiences, our democracy will only grow more confused and more divided.”

LARC will produce journalist-led news literacy workshops and supplemental materials across Los Angeles County with a focus on serving adults — especially older Angelenos. With guidance from the Alliance for Trust in Media, we’re developing LA-specific programming tailored for adult learners. Events will take place at a wide range of sites, including public libraries and senior centers. We'll give participants the skills to identify trustworthy sources of information on the topics of greatest relevance to their lives, like housing, elections and money. Led by working journalists with community ties, these workshops will give participants simple, hands-on tips to help them tell what’s real and what’s not, from spotting fake headlines and misleading photos to recognizing trustworthy websites. We know this work only sticks when it’s engaging, so we’re designing materials to be interactive, fun and grounded in real-world relevance. And we’re not doing it alone: we’ll co-develop these tools with community partners and workshop participants, ensuring everything we make is truly useful, culturally resonant, and reflective of the diverse LA communities we serve.
To extend the impact beyond the room, we’ll distribute a zine that’s fun, accessible, and translated into languages like Spanish, Korean, and Armenian through library branches citywide, including the Singleton Literacy Center. A companion website will offer a dynamic “digital toolkit” walking users through essential skills.

If successful, our work will equip older adults and other underserved Angelenos with the tools to spot false or misleading news. These residents, often targeted by disinformation campaigns, especially during elections, will instead become trusted sources in their communities: sharing what they’ve learned, asking sharper questions, and helping friends and neighbors stay informed. With the 2026 election approaching, we’re creating a network of adults who can better recognize AI-generated content, misleading headlines, or manipulated images — especially in communities of color that have been the focus of recent voting-related disinformation. Through the workshops, participants will build relationships with real local journalists and better understand the work they do. By offering Spanish-language workshops across neighborhoods like Boyle Heights & Pacoima and by creating zines in multiple languages, we aim to impact a wide array of communities.