This story was revealed in collaboration with Headway, a brand new initiative at The New York Instances. Chalkbeat and Headway have been posing questions concerning the presidential election to educators and highschool college students since February. We’ve heard from greater than 1,000 college students and 200 academics throughout the nation.
This presidential election yr, younger Individuals are navigating a chaotic world of knowledge, usually with restricted instruments to tell apart what’s credible, what’s questionable, and what’s downright false.
A latest survey of greater than 1,000 youngsters carried out by the Information Literacy Undertaking discovered that whereas many younger folks can detect photographs generated by synthetic intelligence with ease, they battle to distinguish information from commentary and commercials and usually encounter conspiracy theories on social media. Eight in 10 respondents stated they believed at the least a type of conspiracy theories.
Younger, first-time voters and their friends informed us that they usually encountered false info on-line concerning the traditionally shut election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump. Some academics have devoted whole lesson plans this fall to serving to college students higher perceive media literacy and fact-checking.
And plenty of college students have informed us they’ve gained confidence in recognizing falsehoods. We requested greater than 1,000 college students about what ideas them off {that a} piece of knowledge could be false or deceptive, what’s their strategy to verifying info, and what recommendation they’ve for different youngsters. Right here’s what we heard.
Responses have been edited and condensed for size and readability.
How teenagers know if info is sketchy, made up or manipulated
“If the content material I’m seeing is triggering an excessive emotional response in me — rage, concern or pleasure, to call just a few — with out providing nuanced context, it leads me to assume that it could be designed to mislead. Once I encounter one thing that appears completely sure about morally and politically complicated matters, such because the Israel-Hamas battle, with out acknowledging different views or uncertainties, I think it’s oversimplifying actuality to push an agenda.”
— Sena Chang, 18
Faculty freshman at Princeton College in New Jersey
“Articles that sound sketchy, made up, or manipulated are a crimson flag. Some media sources do away with the bits and items of context that make a state of affairs comprehensible. And media shops generally contradict one another. Examine and cross-check media. When a real piece of media spreads like wildfire, some media shops will attempt to get consideration from the state of affairs and find yourself spreading lies concerning the state of affairs. That’s why I discover most articles about common controversies annoyingly eye-rolling.”
— Antonette Davis, 14
Freshman at Central Excessive College in Philadelphia
A single supply doesn’t minimize it for verifying what’s true
“I confirm my info by getting it from a number of sources, not simply folks on-line who’re crediting the unique article I learn. I additionally have a look at the data introduced within the article from the attitude of an individual who doesn’t know something concerning the matter and see if the article and the concepts introduced nonetheless make sense.”
— Yoni Zacks, 17
Senior on the Blake College in Minneapolis.
“As a rule I look it up on Google and examine it on a extra dependable web site. For instance, if an article makes a declare a few piece of laws, I attempt to discover the complete textual content of the cited laws to raised perceive what it’s saying.”
— Olivia Garrison, 17
Graduated in 2023 from Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada
“There’s a software known as Google Reverse Picture Search that I take advantage of to verify the origins of viral photographs or memes to see the place they first appeared and in the event that they’ve been repurposed out of context. Throughout occasions just like the presidential debate, I additionally checked out a number of web sites providing real-time fact-checking like The New York Instances to assist contextualize what I used to be listening to and establish when what the candidates had been saying was misinformation.”
— Sena Chang
“To confirm info, I attempt to pay attention on to candidates or their campaigns. I discover that is the simplest option to perceive the candidate’s coverage plans, opinions on sure points, and total decorum. Whereas commentary might be useful, it usually consists of opinions that make me understand sure issues a sure method. Due to this fact, I discover it essential to straight hear from a politician first. Afterward, I take heed to and watch video media with commentary. It helps me evaluate my understanding to another person’s and make clear issues I may not have totally understood.”
— Meghan Pierce, 18
Freshman on the College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois
How younger folks navigate a world of misinformation
“As a young person, I get lots of my info from social media. I do know many different youngsters get their info this manner, too, so my phrase of recommendation is to pay attention to the algorithm and the way you’re fed info often from one facet. You’re not getting the whole story, so do your analysis as an alternative of trusting one supply!”
— Emma Luu, 17
Junior at Pine Creek Excessive College in Colorado Springs, Colorado
“Examine something you assume is deceptive with a fast search and cross-check if it’s official or not.”
— Arnav Goyal, 14
Freshman at Olentangy Liberty Excessive College in Powell, Ohio
“Turn out to be conscious of media bias, and do your finest to contemplate totally different views and keep open-minded whereas being conscious of media bias.”
— Lucas Robbins, 17
Senior at Mandela Worldwide Magnet College in Santa Fe, New Mexico
“My (unpopular) take is that fact-checking is less complicated than it appears. … Social media serves as an integral egalitarian information supply the place anybody can create and share main supply info irrespective of the place they dwell on this planet. Nevertheless, utilizing social media as a sole supply of knowledge might be harmful. Generally even recognizing satirical information sources is tough — I’ve been a sufferer of pondering The Onion was an actual information supply. You don’t need to analysis each single headline you ever see. The web might be an overload of knowledge at occasions, and selecting to disconnect is a talent younger folks want. Nevertheless, should you see one thing that raises eyebrows, understanding the context is only a Google search away.”
— Kush Kaur, 17
Freshman at Collin Faculty in McKinney, Texas
Youngsters are inundated day by day with a mixture of credible info and faux information. Out of necessity, they’re sharpening their instincts to establish misinformation and constructing expertise to confirm or debunk it. Their recommendation is evident: Keep aware of algorithmic affect, keep away from counting on a single supply, and keep in mind that it’s OK to step again when all of it feels overwhelming.
Want extra insights? Discover the sources beneath.
Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for engagement at Chalkbeat. Attain her at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.
Erica Meltzer is the nationwide editor at Chalkbeat, the place she covers training coverage and politics. Attain her at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org
