Dive Brief:

• Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA, teaches students how to assess the validity of viral stories and determine whether they are propaganda, ads or fact using a new digital curriculum called the “checkology virtual classroom” from The News Literacy Project.
• NPR reports students check comments on stories to see if earlier readers have already debunked any lies and they look for red flags like no byline, no quoted sources and no repeat coverage by other outlets.
• Mary Beth Hertz, a high school art and technology teacher in Philadelphia, writes for Edutopia that teachers can help students as young as elementary school begin to recognize the difference between ads and other articles on websites and learn how to cross-check information they see from one source.

Dive Insight:

Stanford University researchers released a study at the end of November that found students of all ages were ill-prepared to distinguish between fact, biased opinion, complete fiction and advertisement online. People have claimed fake news played an outsized impact on the results of the presidential election, and it clearly incited violence at the Washington, DC, pizzeria Comet Ping Pong in December.

All of this has put more pressure than ever on schools to make sure their students are responsible digital citizens. Students have to learn how to be safe online — by keeping their personal information private, for example — but they also have to learn how to be smart online. The Stanford study found 93% of college students couldn’t identify a lobbyist’s website as a biased source. An informed citizenry is a pillar of democracy and schools play a key role in preparing students for this digital world.