Cultivating Media Critical Thinking with a Socratic AI Coach: A Methodology

Abstract

The increasing sophistication of disinformation necessitates a fundamental shift from reactive fact-checking to proactive cognitive and affective resilience. In today's hybrid digital ecosystem, manipulative content exploits cognitive shortcuts like motivated reasoning and emotional vulnerabilities to bypass analytical scrutiny. Existing interventions often fail due to insufficient scope, slow speed, and the inert skill problem—where individuals possess critical thinking skills but fail to apply them in emotionally charged, real-world contexts. This concept paper introduces Media Critical Thinking (MCT), a unified pedagogical framework that integrates Media Information Literacy (MIL), critical thinking and manipulation-discernment skills, and critical-thinking dispositions into a single practice. MCT is operationalized through the Socratic AI Coach, a chatbot developed in the EU TITAN project, designed not as a truth arbiter, but as a ‘media thinking coach’ for users. The coach trains users to recognize the mechanics of manipulation tactics—such as conspiracism, polarization, and discrediting—rather than focusing solely on verifying facts. It utilizes Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture and a ‘Tactic Profiling’ methodology to implement dialogical inoculation. Through structured, Socratic questioning, the system guides users to evaluate media sources ("WHO") and recognize specific manipulative tactics ("WHAT"). A formative mixed-method pilot study (N = 12) evaluated usability, engagement, and educational impact through focus groups, questionnaires, and reflective discussion. Findings provided initial empirical validation of the Socratic approach, confirming its high relevance for stimulating critical analysis while revealing a key design challenge: balancing user expectations for definitive answers with the tool’s role as a facilitator of reflection. Overall, the study outlines a scalable model for media education that cultivates durable meta-literacy—the reflective habits essential for autonomous reasoning in complex information environments.