With the rise of modern digital technologies and information infrastructures, the dissemination of vast amounts of information has been greatly amplified, leading to widespread exposure to propaganda. Propaganda refers to manipulative communication designed to promote and disseminate ideas, theses, and conceptions, aiming to influence and even alter individuals’ opinions, attitudes, or behaviors (O’Shaughnessy, 2004; Vlăduţescu, 2014). Given the pervasive nature of propaganda, it is essential to examine how individuals navigate propaganda as part of their media and information literacy in everyday life. In this context, this study aims to explore university students’ engagement with perceived propaganda, with a particular focus on how they recognize, interpret, and respond to propaganda in a daily setting. This investigation is situated within a theoretical framework grounded in the concepts of cognitive authority (Wilson, 1983) and media and information literacy (Frau-Meigs, 2023). By combining diary method and in-depth interview, participants were recruited to maintain a diary over one week, recording any instances they identified as propaganda encountered in their daily lives. Following the diary-keeping phase, each participant participated in a semi-structured interview, during which they shared the examples they had collected and reflected further on their experiences and interpretations. Preliminary findings, based on the thematic coding analysis of the data, highlight three key perspectives: (1) Participants’ definitions of propaganda were diverse, extending beyond political content; (2) Most participants did not intentionally identify propaganda each time they encountered information; (3) Those who did identify propaganda primarily relied on their prior knowledge and cross-referenced information with trusted or authoritative media sources. Such an investigation can contribute to a deeper understanding of media and information literacy, critical thinking development, and the broader resilience of democratic societies against manipulative information practices.