Digital Skills for Democracy: Assessing online information to make civic choices
In this activity, students :
- think about the importance of making sure they have trustworthy information before they make a decision on a political or electoral issue
- explore a series of scenarios designed to teach five strategies for verifying information: find the original, verify the source, check other information, read factchecking articles, and turn to places you trust
- reflect on the impact of false and misleading information in politics
Understanding AI and helping youth make the most of it
Everywhere we turn, we’re hearing about artificial intelligence (AI). We already know AI is all around us – algorithms are suggesting what to watch and tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney are being used to generate the content we’re seeing. But how many of us actually understand what algorithms even are? And if you’re a parent, guardian or teacher, are you prepared to teach youth how to use AI responsibly?
News you can use
Online news is one of the hardest things to verify. Sometimes early reports that turn out not to be true still circulate on the Internet, and people may spread false reports for commercial or malicious reasons, or even just for “fun.”
Break the Fake: Correcting disinformation
Here are three ways to respond to false info online:
1. Ask a question
If the false info is coming from a friend or a family member, or you’re worried that your reply might help spread the false info, you can just ask a question like “Are you sure that’s true?” or “Is that source reliable?”.
That nudges them to think more about whether what they're sharing is true, and shows other people that you don't agree with the bad info.
Research has found this works almost as well as correcting or debunking false information!
Printable activities for younger children
These printable activity sheets introduce basic media literacy skills and concepts and are suitable for use in homes, schools and libraries. They can be completed independently, but children will learn more if you discuss the activities with them. Younger children may need help reading the instructions and completing some activities.