The Importance of Media Literacy in the Dissemination and Acceptance of Disaster-Related Information on Digital Platforms: Specifically, to the Cyclonic Storm Ditwah Disaster in Sri Lanka in November 2025

Abstract

Sri Lanka has experienced recurrent natural disasters in recent years, including floods, landslides, cyclones, and extreme weather events. During such crises, digital platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and online news portals have become primary sources of information for the public. While these platforms enable rapid dissemination of disaster-related information, they also facilitate the spread of misinformation, rumors, and unverified content, often resulting in public confusion, fear, and inappropriate responses. Media literacy, defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media content critically, plays a crucial role in shaping how individuals interpret and respond to information in high-risk situations. Despite its growing importance, limited empirical research has examined the influence of media literacy on public acceptance and dissemination of disaster-related information in the Sri Lankan context. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the role of media literacy in shaping public responses to disaster-related information disseminated through digital platforms during recent natural disasters in Sri Lanka. This study adopts a mixed-methods research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem, with quantitative data analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The study population comprises adult residents of Gampaha, Kegalle, and Kandy districts who were directly or indirectly affected by Cyclone Ditwah. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and case studies, and a structured questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of 300 participants to obtain systematic and comparable quantitative data, while qualitative methods were used to capture in-depth insights into participants’ experiences and perceptions.