Media Literacy like a “primarily common good” in the civil society against algorithmic polarization

Today we live in an historical period where citizens don’t participate actively in democratic life; as a result, the so-called “media literacy” has become very important. This article examines in which way digital platforms act as “intermediaries” to shape public opinion between citizens and traditional institutions such as political parties, labor unions and third-sector organizations. The tools used by these “intermediaries”, such as business models that treat user attention as “currency” or generative artificial intelligence systems, tend to shape what is known as the “collective consciousness”.In this paper, drawing on Habermas’s theory of the public sphere, Zuboff’s surveillance capitalism and Freire’s critical pedagogy, we seek to demonstrate that “media literacy” can be considered an “essential public good”. The question posed is: “Can democratic institutions revive citizens’ democratic participation by attempting to counter technological and algorithmic tools?”. We try to answer this question examining the measures implemented by the European Union in the field of digital education like Digital Competence Framework (DigiComp), the Digital Education Action Plan and the Digital Services Act (DSA) and and comparing them with some best practices implemented by schools, universities or third-sector organizations. A particular attention will be focused on the measures implemented to identify fake news and on the critical use of generative AI. Three main arguments are analyzed. The “media literacy” policy are primarily oriented toward individual skills and individual knowledge. Furthermore, it is important for educational and associative institutions to resume their role as intermediaries between politics and citizens. We could also attempt to develop integrated educational models of “media literacy” that can transform awareness into shared action. Finally, the proposal to be explored in the paper are the recognition of “media literacy” as a “primarily common good”, the integration of digital education into learning paths and the development of participatory governance models that could involve students, teachers, citizens and public actors.