Fact Checker
To find out if a story has already been fact-checked, use the search bar below. It’s a custom search engine that lets you search several fact-checkers at once, including: Snopes.com, Agence France Presse Canada, FactCheck.org, Politifact, Washington Post Fact Checker, Associated Press Fact Check, HoaxEye and Les Decrypteurs.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Relationships and technology: Sexting
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. This report is the second of two reports focusing on relationships and technology. In it, we share findings related to sending, receiving, and forwarding sexts and highlight what the YCWW Phase IV survey data tells us about young Canadians’ motivations and attitudes for engaging in sexting. We also speak to the role of trust and support in sexting behaviours among youth, focusing specifically on the impact of adult involvement and supervision and the desire for further educational support on this topic. Finally, we share resources that are currently available on the MediaSmarts website regarding sexting and highlight current research in the field that expands upon what we offer in this report.
Within the Phase IV YCWW survey, questions related to sexting were only available to participants in grades 7 to 11 (n=659). Overall, the sample size for youth who indicated they engaged in sexting was very small; in most cases, n=110 or less.
Reporting Platforms: Young Canadians Evaluate Efforts to Counter Disinformation
MediaSmarts facilitated online focus groups with youth ages 16 to 29 to examine and assess reporting processes on popular apps (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube). More specifically, we wanted to understand how young Canadians feel about current efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation online and what solutions they have regarding the problems and concerns they experience while navigating online information ecosystems and communities. Overall, youth expressed a lack of trust and confidence in the ability of platforms to counter misinformation and disinformation and to keep them informed and safe online. Participants emphasized that users are not provided with meaningful opportunities to engage with platforms to prevent and address misinformation and disinformation, and they felt platforms must make design changes that prioritize values of accuracy, transparency, trust, responsibility, and safety.
Reporting Platforms and Changing the Vibe
Written by Dr. Samantha McAleese
Here at MediaSmarts, we’ve just wrapped up another research project called Reporting Platforms: Young Canadians Evaluate Efforts to Counter Disinformation. This project created space for youth from across Canada to examine and assess reporting processes on popular social media apps (like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube). We wanted to learn more about how young people feel about current efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation and what solutions they might have to address this particular online harm. To do this, we facilitated three focus groups with 36 participants ages 16 to 29, talked to them about how often they see misinformation and disinformation online and what they do about it, and asked them to comment on whether they trust platforms to keep them safe and informed while scrolling and sharing.
I finally joined TikTok and my kids are lecturing me about it
When my kids saw the TikTok app icon on my phone, both of them had the same reaction: “WHAT? Why are you on TikTok?” While I thought it was because they wanted to tell me I was too old for the app, it was more that they really didn’t understand the appeal since they aren’t current users (for now).
It’s me, hi, I’m the problem
I have been blogging for over 14 years, freelance writing for almost as long, and on social media for the same amount of time. It’s become my normal to take photos for sharing later (I rarely share ‘in the moment’) or check the news on a social media website before traditional news outlets online. I actively use my phone to stay connected with family and friends, for my job, and as a camera.
AI is a hot topic
Students and educators are already having to deal with artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications on schoolwork, assignments and lessons. When writing an essay, or when completing a school project, generative AI tools like ChatGPT can maybe speed up the results, save time and craft the correct response. Is that a good thing or are we causing more issues for our futures?
Privacy Pursuit: My Privacy, Your Privacy
In this lesson, students start by considering the permanence of online content. They review privacy strategies and privacy risks and analyze how likely and severe different privacy risks are. They then consider how their actions and decisions can affect others’ privacy and develop a list of “Dos and Don’ts” for managing both their own and others’ privacy.
Privacy Pursuit: Protecting Your Privacy
In this lesson, students review what the word “privacy” means in an online context and learn key privacy-related vocabulary. They explore different privacy risks and then learn practical techniques and strategies to manage and protect their privacy. Students then demonstrate their understanding of these strategies by illustrating them. Finally, students revisit material from earlier in the lesson and consider how their actions might put other people’s privacy at risk.