Canada’s Teen Fact-Checking Network Renewed for 2025 After Successful First Year
December 12, 2024 – MediaSmarts is pleased to announce the renewal of Canada’s Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) program for a second year, continuing its mission to promote digital media literacy and fact-checking among youth.
MediaSmarts is inviting students in Canada aged 13 to 18 who are interested in fact-checking popular posts appearing in their social media feeds to create a minimum of two fact-checking videos between January and June 2025. Their videos will be published on MediaSmarts’ YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels.
This initiative is part of the successful Teen Fact-Checking Network led by The Poynter Institute's MediaWise in the U.S. and is made possible through funding from the Google News Initiative. Since its launch in 2018, the TFCN has expanded internationally to countries including Brazil, Germany, India, Spain, Bulgaria and Canada.
In the program’s inaugural year in Canada, 16 selected teenagers—11 from the English cohort and five from the French cohort—collectively garnered over two million video views across MediaSmarts’ social media channels, demonstrating the program's significant impact.
In 2025, each teenager will be tasked with creating at least two short videos on various topics in either English or French. They will select popular social media claims to investigate across a wide range of subjects. These young fact-checkers will receive digital media literacy training from specialists at MediaSmarts to learn critical thinking skills and fact-checking tools like a reverse image search to distinguish fact from fiction.
The initiative employs a peer-to-peer learning model that encourages teens to share media literacy tips with their peers. Participants will receive an honorarium for each completed video and a certificate upon successful completion of the program.
Applications to join the winter-spring 2025 Canadian Teen Fact-Checking Network are open nationwide until January 14, 2025. Interested individuals can find more information on the MediaSmarts Teen Fact-Checking Network web page.
Please contact info@mediasmarts.ca for more information about the program.
About MediaSmarts
MediaSmarts is Canada’s bilingual centre for digital media literacy. A registered charity, MediaSmarts has been conducting research, developing resources and advancing digital media literacy since 1996. Their vision is that everyone is empowered to engage with all forms of media confidently and critically.
Follow MediaSmarts on social media for tips on addressing the most pressing digital media literacy topics of our time, including mis/disinformation, digital well-being, online hate, online privacy, screen use, online safety, cyberbullying, advertising, representation in media and more. Find out more at www.mediasmarts.ca.