The rapid expansion of digital political information has increased university students’ opportunities for civic participation while simultaneously exposing them to misinformation, political bias, manipulative content, and polarization. This study examines the effects of values-based critical media education on students’ political information literacy and civic resilience, including the mediating role of political information literacy. A quantitative explanatory design was employed involving 250 university students selected through purposive sampling based on their engagement with digital political information and participation in citizenship education courses. Data were collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The findings demonstrate that values-based critical media education positively strengthens political information literacy and civic resilience. Political information literacy also improves students’ capacity to maintain rational judgment, recognize unreliable political content, and respond responsibly to political differences. Furthermore, political information literacy partially mediates the relationship between critical media education and civic resilience. These findings imply that universities should integrate fact-checking, source verification, algorithmic awareness, political framing analysis, digital ethics, and national values into citizenship education to prepare critical, responsible, and resilient citizens for participation in digital democracy.
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