About Fehem

Fehem is a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) program launched by Media Matters for Democracy, which is one of Pakistan’s leading media development organisations, with the aim to strengthen MIL competencies among both the consumers and producers of information in Pakistan, produce research to improve the understanding of the information disorder, and produce knowledge to address the key gaps to push-back against misinformation.

‘Fehem’ is an Urdu word which can be translated to wisdom and comprehension. A word which, we believe, is among the core competencies required to tackle the information disorder. The programme was formally launched in January 2021 and since then over 200+ journalists and 50+ information consumers across Pakistan have been trained under it.

Understanding Media and Information Literacy

In the age of digital information exchange, the ability to critically analyse information being consumed through various mediums becomes extremely important. More importantly, nations with low literacy rates and a history of conflict are much more susceptible to fall for online misinformation. Most South Asian countries are considered at a high risk of getting affected by online misinformation, and thus, it has become imperative for civil society organisations in the South Asian to work towards popularising the concept Media and Information Literacy–commonly referred to as MIL.

According to UNESCO, MIL has been defined as the knowledge and skills required to find, analyse, critically evaluate and generate information in various media and contexts. It seeks to empower individuals to produce and consume online information responsibly, critically analyse it, and make informed decisions and judgement, especially the ones that can affect the democratic processes such as polling.