How Teens Are Handling a Flood of Election Misinformation
Teenagers are inundated daily with a mix of credible information and fake news. Out of necessity, they’re sharpening their instincts to identify misinformation and building skills to verify or debunk it. Illustration by LeeAndra Cianci for The New York Times
The New York Times
This presidential election, young Americans are navigating a chaotic world of information, often with limited tools to distinguish what’s credible, what’s questionable and what’s downright false.
A recent survey of more than 1,000 teenagers conducted by the News Literacy Project found that while many young people can detect images generated by artificial intelligence with ease, they struggle to differentiate news from commentary and advertisements and regularly encounter conspiracy theories on social media. Eight in 10 respondents said they believed at least one of those conspiracy theories.
Young, first-time voters and their peers told us that they regularly encountered false information online about the election. Some teachers have dedicated entire lesson plans this fall to helping students better understand media literacy and fact-checking.
ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM THE INTEGRITY PROJECT
