In our ever-expanding news environment, it’s abundantly clear that we need media literacy classes to be mandatory. 

Need any more explanation? Look in our comments section.

Any time an opinion piece is posted that some deem controversial, the comment section pops off.

“Journalism,” one reader comments with a GIF of Doctor Evil from “Austin Powers” using air quotes. It’s clear they disagree with our columnist’s piece, but really, people think this was an actual news article?

Opinion pieces are just that: the writer’s opinion. Just like right now, I’m writing an opinion on how media literacy classes should be required. Sure, a writer can interview sources for their piece — opinion pieces need to be rooted in some sort of fact. But ultimately, it comes down to proving that writer’s point.

Now, The Sunflower has to actively take steps to make sure readers know that what they’re reading is opinion by clearly labeling pieces as “OPINION:” before the title.

A news article, or “journalism,” is objective. We interview multiple sources, dig through documents, and sit in on hours of meetings that no one wants to go to. The end product is the blatant truth. This is journalism.

Not being able to tell opinion pieces from actual, fact-based articles is just the start of why we need media literacy classes.

Not being able to differentiate news articles from advertisements and sponsored content is an even bigger issue. Not understanding the difference between these accelerates the spread of –actual – fake news, undermining our democracy by making citizens ill-informed about what is actually going on in the world. Dying media literacy results in dying journalism.

Some states have already passed legislation that requires that media literacy be taught in its public schools or incorporated into pre-existing curriculum.

Kansas is not one of these.

Personally, I believe that teaching media literacy should start at a young age. Basically, as soon as a child can comprehend what they’re watching, we should be teaching them what to look out for and what messages their programs are trying to spread.

If some students are anything like me and were reading the news almost religiously by the end of elementary school, they should be taught what differentiates a reliable source from a biased source.

Media literacy classes should be mandatory starting in high school. It could be just a semester-long class analyzing all forms of media and their messages. A section could focus on the news, what an actual news article consists of, and how to weed out fake news.

I personally believe that media literacy classes should be mandatory in college, as well. But first, Kansas needs to figure out where we’re going with general education requirements before we add that into the mix.

Ultimately, incorporating media literacy into existing curriculum or creating a brand-new class would go a long way towards helping media consumers become better-informed citizens — or at least helping commenters who are woefully confused.