U.S. High School Students Learn How to Spot Fake News
At Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, some high school seniors are bent over their laptops, engaged in a digital course called Checkology that helps them figure out what makes news and information real, misleading, or just plain false.
The students are led by their social studies teacher, Patricia Hunt. She challenges the students to look for signs of false stories in TV programs, current affairs shows, and social media.
“Students are bombarded with information, and also with so-called news, fake news and misinformation,” Hunt said. “I hope the class will help them to identify quality journalism when they see it, as well as unfair, unbalanced and fake news.”
Studies have shown that teens get most of their information from social media, using popular platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. They are more likely to believe information sent to them by their friends.
“If they’re younger, they may think that if somebody put it on the internet, they’ve verified it, and it’s all true,” said Alan Miller, a former journalist and founder of the nonprofit News Literacy Project, which includes Checkology. "What’s missing is that critical-thinking skill to know what to do with all of that information," Miller added.
Checkology is used by thousands of educators in the United States and in 90 other countries. The Wakefield students indicate that it seems to be working.
“Now, I know how to figure out what’s real and what’s fake, and what to look for,” said Amory Gant, a student at Wakefield. Gant admitted that before taking the class, she believed a lot of false information.
