[1] A formal concept of it was developed as an expanded information literacy framework by State University of New York academics Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson.
Metaliteracy supports effective participation in social media and online communities, with a comprehensive approach to learning that encourages the production and sharing of original and repurposed information in participatory environments.
It goes beyond information literacy and dives deep into enhancing the teaching- learning process by including the production aspect of accessible reference material which can be consumed by a wide audience over social media.
Mackey and Jacobson argued in their 2011 paper, Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy, that it was necessary to create a new framework to withstand the challenge of rising social media networks and emerging technologies and therefore include Web 2.0 technologies and social media as these developments were not included in previous information literacy models created by the ALA in 1989,[3] ACRL in 2000[4] and various SCONUL models.
[10] The goals and objectives of metaliteracy have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Afrikaans, and all other official languages of South Africa.
[15] The potential of metaliteracy concepts to enrich blended learning environments in China has been investigated by Ma, Li, and Liang and has been found beneficial to test how much it helps the students acquire skills relevant for information literacy.
[19] Metaliteracy has been cited as being an effective tool to fight false or misleading content presented as news, especially in the context of the 2016 United States presidential election.