Media Literacy Curriculum for Athletes: Teaching Materials

Authors

Miha Marinšek
Univerza v Mariboru, Pedagoška fakulteta , University of Maribor Library
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2018-0059
Jerneja Grašič
University of Maribor Library
Jerneja Ferlež
University of Maribor Library , University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3282-9356
Nino Flisar
University of Maribor Library
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7498-8310
Martina Prezelj Mlakar
University of Maribor Library
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1215-5775
Maja Šnofl
University of Maribor Library
Klemen Bedenik
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4133-6945
Dunja Legat
University of Maribor Library
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0087-1362
Sabina Fras Popović
University of Maribor Library , University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts

Keywords:

sport, media literacy, disinformation, reading, olympic values

Synopsis

The internet and social media have enabled athletes to establish direct contact with the public, fans, the media, and sponsors; at the same time, however, they have increased athletes' exposure to unverified information, sensationalist stories, manipulated content, and pressure to respond quickly. For athletes, therefore, the issue of media literacy is not an abstract topic: it can be linked to their health, public image, and athletic careers, as well as to decisions informed by information on training, nutrition, rehabilitation, or current events.

The OLYMP project—*Fostering Media Literacy and Athlete Empowerment through Olympic Values*—is grounded in the connection among reading, critical thinking, and resilience against disinformation. Its overall goal is to develop and pilot an innovative methodology and curriculum to enhance the media literacy of young athletes and improve their ability to critically evaluate information. The project is funded under the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(CERV) programme (Grant Agreement No. 101147018).

The project is coordinated by the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC), with a consortium that includes the University of Maribor, the University of Maribor Library (UKM), the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR), and the Lithuanian Olympians Association (LOA). The partnership brings together sports and cultural institutions to bring media literacy closer to athletes in the environments where they train, operate, and communicate.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Miha Marinšek, Univerza v Mariboru, Pedagoška fakulteta, University of Maribor Library

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: miha.marinsek@um.si

Jerneja Grašič, University of Maribor Library

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: jerneja.grasic@um.si

Jerneja Ferlež, University of Maribor Library, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: jerneja.ferlez@um.si

Nino Flisar, University of Maribor Library

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: nino.flisar1@um.si

Martina Prezelj Mlakar, University of Maribor Library

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: martina.prezelj1@um.si

Maja Šnofl, University of Maribor Library

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: manja.snofl@um.si

Klemen Bedenik

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: klemen.bedenik@gmail.com

Dunja Legat, University of Maribor Library

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: dunja.legat@um.si

Sabina Fras Popović, University of Maribor Library, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts

Maribor, Slovenija. E-pošta: sabina.fras@um.si

References

Adria Digital Media Observatory. (2026, February 25). What is ADMO? https://admohub.eu/en/

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Mind over misinformation. https://digital.apa.org/misinformation-effect

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Misinformation and disinformation. https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/misinformation-disinformation

Austin, J. (2017, January 25). Usain Bolt stripped of 2008 Olympic medal after anti-doping rule violation. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/usain-bolt-stripped-of-2008-olympic-medal-after-antidoping-rule-violation-a7545636.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Babson College, Horn Library. (2026, January 15). Evaluating Sources Guide: Techniques. https://libguides.babson.edu/evaluatingsources/techniques

Barry University. (2012, May 5). Shaquille O’Neal graduates from Barry University with doctoral degree in Education. Barry University News. https://my.barry.edu/news/article.html?id=21082

Brock University Library. (2021). Evaluating sources with RADAR [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlFWx4pBKx8

Brown, E. (2025, December 30). Misinformation & fake news: Getting started. Central Washington University Libraries. https://libguides.lib.cwu.edu/c.php?g=625394&p=4360255

Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Bias. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bias

CambriLearn. (2024, August 19). Types of reading skills and their purpose. https://cambrilearn.com/blog/types-of-reading-skills

Cockburn, H. (2018, October 2). US basketball star apologises for spreading flat-Earth conspiracy theory. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kyrie-irving-flat-earth-theory-basketball-nba-boston-celtics-conspiracy-theories-a8564476.html

College of Staten Island Library. (2026, January 14). Misinformation and disinformation: Thinking critically about information sources: Video: How to spot fake news. https://library.csi.cuny.edu/misinformation/spot-fake-news-video

De Paor, S., & Heravi, B. (2020). Information literacy and fake news: How the field of librarianship can help combat the epidemic of fake news. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(5), 102218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102218

Desai, S., & Oehrli, J. A. (2026, April 27). "Fake news," lies, and misinformation. University of Michigan Library. https://guides.lib.umich.edu/fakenews

Dimov, P. (2021). Recognition of fake news in sports. Strategies for Policy in Science and Education, 29(4s), 18–27. https://doi.org/10.53656/str2021-4s-2-fake

Eckert, S. & Hornung, P. (2018, July 23). Exclusiv im Ersten: Fake Science – Die Lügenmacher [Video]. ARD. https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/dokumentation-und-reportage/exclusiv-im-ersten-fake-science-die-luegenmacher-engl-ut/das-erste/Y3JpZDovL2Rhc2Vyc3RlLmRlL3JlcG9ydGFnZSBfIGRva3VtZW50YXRpb24gaW0gZXJzdGVuL2U1ODIzNWJkLWU2MzQtNDExNC05ZjgwLTNlMDQ0YTJmZWExMw

European Commission. (2026, March 12). Cooperating with fact-checkers, civil society, media and academia. https://commission.europa.eu/topics/countering-information-manipulation/cooperating-fact-checkers-civil-society-media-and-academia_en

European Parliament. (n.d.). How to spot disinformation: The tactics used to trick you [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHQxK2YVsFVtlgDH2_lliyTMfPyZ3Q03N

Facing History & Ourselves. (2016, May 8). Defining confirmation bias [Video]. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/defining-confirmation-bias

False posts about ‘new Argentinian banknote featuring Messi’ spread worldwide. (2022, December 28). AFP Fact Check. https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33664AA

Goldhamer, M. (2025, August 19). AI image falsely claimed to show European leaders outside Oval Office. AFP Fact Check. https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.69VD6G3

IFLA. (2017). How to spot fake news [Infographic]. https://repository.ifla.org/rest/api/core/bitstreams/448409bb-9e2e-4b7b-9ed7-22f5feaafeb5/content

Laaninen, T. (2025, May). Media literacy: Fostering a key civic skill in a digital information environment. European Parliament Research Service. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/772886/EPRS_BRI(2025)772886_EN.pdf

Loyola Marymount University, William H. Hannon Library. (2024, July 19). Evaluating sources: Using the RADAR framework. https://libguides.lmu.edu/aboutRADAR

Marcus Rashford. (2026, May 19). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marcus_Rashford&oldid=20260519

Olimpijski komite Slovenije. (n.d.). Športajmo in berimo. https://www.olympic.si/sportniki/sportajmo-in-berimo

Pachal, P. (2016, November 17). How to improve your Facebook feed, so we see the next Trump coming. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/avoid-facebook-filter-bubble

Paris, T., Kim, H., Torres, B., Ocampa, K., Janeway, K., & Zimmerman, L. (2017). Rapid genetic and developmental morphological change following extreme celerity. Austin Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 5(3), 1099. https://st3powers.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/fulltext_ajpt-v5-id1099.pdf

Pariser, E. (2011). Beware online "filter bubbles" [Video]. TED‑Ed. https://ed.ted.com/lessons/beware-online-filter-bubbles-eli-pariser

Pfleegor, A. (2010). Deception in sport: A conceptual and ethical analysis [Master’s thesis, Brock University]. Brock Digital Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/10464/3136

Polger, M. A. [Mark Aaron Polger Information Literacy Videos]. (2020, March 27). Evaluating web cites using the C.R.A.A.P. test [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SRgOAwbRtc

Revez, J., & Corujo, L. (2021). Librarians against fake news: A systematic literature review of library practices (Jan. 2018–Sept. 2020). The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(2), 102304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102304

Sailors, P. R., Teetzel, S., & Weaving, C. (2017). Cheating, lying, and trying in recreational sport and leisure practices. Annals of Leisure Research, 20(5), 563–577. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2017.1284009

Sugden, J., & Tomlinson, A. (2017). Football, corruption and lies: Revisiting ‘Badfellas ‘, the book FIFA tried to ban. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315545615

Sullivan, M. C. (2019). Libraries and fake news: What’s the problem? What’s the plan? Communications in Information Literacy, 13(1), 91–113. https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2019.13.1.7

Tavlin, N. (2015, August 27). How false news can spread [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSKGa_7XJkg

Tenbarge, K. (2024, September 13). The AI-generated Taylor Swift endorsement Trump shared was originally a pro-Biden Facebook meme. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ai-taylor-swift-endorsement-trump-shared-was-originally-biden-meme-rcna170945

The Food Foundation. (n.d.). #EndChildFoodPoverty campaign. https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/endchildfoodpoverty-campaign

UEFA. (n.d.). Take Care. https://www.uefa.com/takecare/

UNESCO. (2025). Media and information literacy. https://www.unesco.org/en/media-information-literacy

UNICEF. (2025, February 10). A quick guide to spotting misinformation: Tips for fact-checking, staying informed and talking it out. https://www.unicef.org/eca/stories/quick-guide-spotting-misinformation

Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S., & Punie, Y. (2022). DigComp 2.2, The digital competence framework for citizens: With new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/115376

Walters, J. (2021, December 3). How do you develop a reading habit at home? Independent Book Review. https://independentbookreview.com/2021/12/03/how-do-you-develop-a-reading-habit-at-home/

Young, J. C., Boyd, B., Yefimova, K., Wedlake, S., Coward, C., & Hapel, R. (2021). The role of libraries in misinformation programming: A research agenda. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 53(4), 539–550. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620966650

Downloads

Published

September 25, 2026

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Details about this monograph

ISBN-13 (15)

978-961-299-200-2

COBISS.SI ID (00)

THEMA Subject Codes (93)

FG

CIP date (35)

2026-09-16

Date of first publication in original language (20)

2026-09-25

How to Cite

Marinšek, M., Grašič, J., Ferlež, J., Flisar, N., Prezelj Mlakar, M., Šnofl, M., Bedenik, K., Legat, D., & Fras Popović, S. (2026). Media Literacy Curriculum for Athletes: Teaching Materials. University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ukm.3.2026