Revising a measure of anti-oppressive social media literacy through the use of cognitive interviewing

Current theories and measures of social media literacy are politically neutral, which poses a problem as far-right influences permeate mainstream social media platforms. The theory of Anti-Oppressive Social Media Literacy describes three orientations social media users may display toward far-right content: endorsement of far-right content, ambivalence toward far-right content, or rejection of far-right content. Based on this theory, we created a survey measure in which participants were asked to rate their likelihood of responding in various ways to hypothetical social media posts that included far-right dog whistles. Our sample of 14 young adults aged 18–24 consisted of 57% Black participants, 71% full-time students, and 71% people who worked at least part-time. We conducted cognitive interviews to examine how participants interpreted these scenarios and their response items. Findings revealed the measure’s overall effectiveness and identified actionable revisions. This study can inform future measure development based on Anti-Oppressive Social Media Literacy.