The internet is a great place for information, but we’re sure that back in the day, we never really thought that the internet could be abused to help spread fake news or misinformation. Unfortunately, that is a reality that we are dealing with today, and it also seems like being able to detect it is harder than ever.
However, Google is hoping to have a hand in educating future generations on how to use the internet and how to hopefully be better at detecting misinformation. For those unfamiliar, a few years ago, Google launched a “Be Internet Awesome” curriculum for educators to use to teach their students, and a recent change to the curriculum has seen Google add what they are calling “media literacy”.
This topic was developed in partnership with Net Safety Collaborative and the idea is that it will help educate kids on how to spot potentially fake articles and topics. This includes suspicious-looking URLs and also misleading headlines. It will also teach children critical thinking skills and how to spot credible or non-credible news sources, and also how to more responsible when sharing what you find online.