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Moscow's City Duma has backed the introduction of school classes aimed at teaching children how to avoid being manipulated by the news media. "The aim of media education is to form a critical attitude to the mass media. We understand that we can't stop the flow of information ... but we can teach children how to separate useful from manipulative information," said City Duma Deputy Lyudmila Stebenkova, who heads the legislature's public health commission, Interfax reported. In the classes, seventh and eighth graders would compare information from television, radio and newspapers and analyse it, the City Duma said on its web site. Yelena Vartanova, dean of Moscow State University's journalism department, which proposed the new classes to the City Duma, said politicians have started to use the media as "a tool to manipulate the electorate," Kommersant reported Saturday. The government controls all national television channels - the main source of news for most Russians - and critics have complained that news reports are slanted to further state interests. The City Duma plans to meet with Moscow's education committee to decide what to do with the proposal for the new classes. Further information