Weeding out fake news for a stronger democracy

As governments struggle to regulate the fast-changing digital landscape, information is being shared more easily than ever before from a dizzying variety of online sources. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between legitimate news and content designed to persuade, sell or mislead. Now that anyone can be a publisher, everyone must also be a fact-checker. Our partner, the News Literacy Project (NLP), is harnessing a network of educators to teach young people in the US how to navigate to the truth.

Founded in 2008 by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Alan Miller, NLP’s ambition is to teach at least 3 million students each year – 10% of the middle and high school student population – to sort fact from fiction online. Its innovative programmes have made NLP the leader in news literacy in the US and now teachers around the world are subscribing to its virtual classroom, Checkology.

In addition to funding NLP’s ground-breaking programmes, Porticus also plays a role in organising and mobilising its community of educators. This community champions critical thinking as the key to maintaining an informed electorate – the foundation for a healthy democracy.

Alysa Baltimore, a Checkology alumnus, completed the programme at school: “Checkology has changed the way I look at social media and news articles. Now I check the background before I share anything.” The lessons led her to develop a passion for equality, equity and justice and Alysa was honoured as one of NLP’s 2022 News Literacy Change-Makers for an essay on how becoming more news-literate has impacted her life.

Journalism teacher Jamie Gregory discovered NLP’s resources seven years ago and is now helping NLP to create a teaching framework for students of various ages: “Students can find information on their own, but they lack the skills to really differentiate what’s reliable. And they need instruction on being an ethical digital citizen.”

“A functioning Democracy necessitates a populate that forms their opinions based on facts, not politically motivated misinformation. In recent years, we’ve witnessed how misinformation campaigns can spread rapidly over social media platforms and how this has been intentionally used to sway public opinion in countries across the world. Being able to distinguish fact from fiction and credible sources in a changing news landscape is a critical skill that needs to be taught.”

Christina Kirby, Programme Manager for Education, North America.

Porticus Partner: News Literacy Project

Photos courtesy: News Literacy Project