Centuries ago, the Polish used interesting burial practises meant to prevent the dead from rising again, under suspicion that they could come back as vampires. Common anti-vampire methods involved attacking the head of the corpse; for example, a Polish woman was buried with a sickle across her neck in a way that would decapitate her or injure her neck should she try to “wake up”. Some corpses were not so lucky, being decapitated before burial instead. Read full article here
Research
Improving media literacy could boost trust towards the news, IMPRESS report suggests
The UK media is regulated by the likes of IPSO and Ofcom. The report by press regulator IMPRESS highlights the link between low levels of media literacy and trust in the news. The study found that three quarters of those who did not know if journalists were regulated did not trust the news. It suggests that improving media literacy is one way to stem the erosion of trust, and shows that audiences have an appetite for information on news processes. Stakeholders need to collaborate in order to rebuild trust in the news, and independent media is well placed to do this. Read full article here
Merv
February 1, 2023
