KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Media literacy has become a skill that needs to be mastered by the current generation of news consumers, said Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Teo Nie Ching.

She said this is because every individual can easily become citizen journalists or content creators on social media where information is available almost everywhere.

"For the general public, raising media literacy will ensure that they know how to obtain, consume and read information (from the right channels).

"This (media literacy) is a skill that is needed by the current generation, where information is available almost everywhere but (it’s also required to know) how to find the correct information and make informed decisions,” she said.

Teo said as a guest panelist for the "State of the Media: Freedom Isn’t Free” dialogue held by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia (FCCM) here, today.

Meanwhile, Teo reminded the public to exercise caution when consuming information disseminated via either traditional mediums or social media platforms as content creators tend to project one-sided views on certain issues.

She added that the public needs to understand the intention behind media entities taking certain stands on various issues, which she added was not an unusual occurrence in the country.

"Even though we know the reason why they take the stand, that does not mean they are completely unreliable; it’s for us (readers) to have different sources of information so we obtain a more informed opinion and decision,” she said. — Bernama