The rapid expansion of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education has intensified debates concerning misinformation, media literacy, academic integrity, higher education governance and regulatory approaches. This study develops a systematic literature review (SLR) following PRISMA 2020 guidelines to examine how recent literature and higher education governance address the relationships between GenAI, misinformation, media literacy, AI literacy and educational governance within university contexts. The review integrated empirical studies, systematic and scoping reviews, institutional documents, university policies and international regulatory frameworks through a comparative thematic synthesis and evidence-based extraction strategy. Findings indicate a persistent tension between the pedagogical opportunities associated with GenAI and the epistemic, ethical and informational risks linked to synthetic content production and informational dependency. The review also shows that media literacy, AI literacy and critical thinking emerge as recurrent educational responses to AI-mediated misinformation. Furthermore, substantial differences were identified across governance frameworks and international regulatory approaches. The conclusions suggest that GenAI governance requires integrated approaches capable of connecting higher education governance, critical pedagogies and evaluative competencies within increasingly AI-supported educational ecosystems.