Top picks

Educators, here are the latest news literacy topics and tips on how to integrate them into your classroom.

1. Celebrating legacy of the Black press

The Black press has long played an essential role in the United States. From Ida B. Wells’ investigative reporting more than a century ago on lynchings to modern-day publications’ efforts to spotlight the stories of Black Americans, Black-run newspapers have a legacy of countering biased coverage and acting as catalysts for change. Look no further than The Savannah Tribune, a Black-led weekly newspaper in Savannah, Georgia, that will celebrate its 150th anniversary this summer. The paper launched in 1875, a decade after the U.S. Civil War ended, and faced many challenges throughout its history — printing operators refusing to print the paper, the Jim Crow era, legal obstacles and a destructive fire. Nevertheless, the paper has provided reliable news coverage for Black residents, building trust and affection in the community for fearless reporting over the years of racial and policy issues.

Discuss:

Why is the Black press significant, both historically and today? How did The Savannah Tribune build trust with Black residents throughout its history? How does the paper continue to maintain trust with marginalized residents? In what ways does journalism require public trust?

Idea:

Share with students this History.com article on three historic Black news publications — Freedom’s Journal, The North Star and Provincial Freeman. Divide students into three groups and ask each group to read about one of the publications, research it and share their findings with the class.

• Another Idea: Check out this NLP TikTok (also available on Instagram), which briefly introduces the Chicago Defender, a Black-led newspaper founded in 1905 that published articles by legendary writers like Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes. Hold a class discussion about the crucial role played by the Black press in American history.

★ NLP Resources:

Related:

• Video: “Jackson Black journalists reflect on Mississippi’s Black press legacy” (WAPT 16 ABC).
• Video: “Honoring Black History: The first Black newspaper” in Arkansas (CBS 17).
• “Eureka moments abound at a historic Black newspapers research course in Louisville” (Louisville Public Media).

2. Newspaper ordered by judge to remove editorial

A judge in Mississippi recently ordered a local newspaper to delete an editorial criticizing government officials from its website in a decision that press advocates say violates the First Amendment. The Clarksdale Press Register editorial criticized the mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and city commissioners for not notifying news media of a special meeting where they voted on a resolution for a tax on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. It also questioned city officials’ interest behind the resolution. City officials then sued the paper for libel, requesting the courts order the newspaper to remove the editorial. A county judge agreed, gave the order, and the newspaper complied — but the paper’s owner told The New York Times they plan to challenge the order.

“This is bigger than one newspaper or one ruling. If a judge can make journalism disappear with the stroke of a pen, what’s next? A free press is not a privilege; it’s a right,” National Press Club President Mike Balsamo said in a statement.

Discuss:

Should the newspaper have been allowed to keep the editorial on its website? Why or why not? Does the judge’s order violate First Amendment rights? Why or why not? Why are press advocates alarmed by this lawsuit against the Mississippi newspaper?

Idea:

Share this short video from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression about New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a landmark First Amendment case that established a standard of “actual malice” for defamation cases by public officials. Ask students to compare the Sullivan case with the Press Register case.

• Another Idea: Use the “Press freedom” slide in Week 16 of the Daily Do Now resource to further discuss this topic

★ NLP Resources:

Related:

• “Does the White House Blocking AP From Press Events Violate the First Amendment?” (Freedom Forum).
• “AP sues 3 Trump administration officials, citing freedom of speech” (The Associated Press).
• “Fox News, CNN and Other News Outlets Urge White House to Drop Ban on The A.P.” (The New York Times).

3. Why do people seek news?

Age impacts news habits more than the country a person lives in, according to a new study based on a survey of 45,000 Europeans in 23 countries. Younger survey respondents — ages 18 to 35 — were more likely to seek news for personal growth and for entertainment and social reasons. The older cohort — age 35 and older — were more motivated to gain knowledge and better understand current events. Both age groups were equally likely to cite civic duty as a reason for paying attention to news.

Idea:

On a sheet of paper, have students draw a line down the middle and label the first column “My news habits” and the second column “Adult news habits.” Ask students to complete this sentence under the first column: “I turn to the news for __________.” Then ask students to survey the adults in their lives (parents, grandparents, neighbors) about why they turn to the news, and have them record their answers in the second column. Have students share their findings with the class. Consider asking students to organize their answers in a Venn diagram, taking note of similarities and differences. How did their results compare to the report?

Note:

For more on young peoples’ news habits, check out NLP’s teen survey.

★ NLP Resources:

No, 20 million dead people are not receiving Social Security checks

❌ NO: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is not sending checks to 20 million dead people.

✅ YES: SSA acting commissioner Lee Dudek explained that this claim refers to people who were once eligible for Social Security and who died, but who did not have information about their death recorded.

✅ YES: The SSA has previously acknowledged an issue with improper payments and has implemented various fixes, such as a 2015 policy that stops automatic payments to people over the age of 115.

★ NewsLit takeaway

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Social media posts that make sensational claims – such as widespread Social Security fraud – need to be carefully examined. Is there evidence? What’s the source? Is there additional context? Here are a few suggestions to help slow your scroll on social media to better spot these spurious posts.

Look for logical explanations: Charts, graphs, photos and videos are often taken out of context and shared with inaccurate claims. Remember, the simplest explanation is often the correct one.

Wait for additional reporting: Sensational claims are designed to grab people’s attention, but they often don’t contain the full context. By refraining from immediate judgment, we can give credible news outlets time to properly investigate a claim.

Check for additional context: Social media posts contain short bits of information (often inaccurate) that rarely portray the complete story. To stay informed, we need to read beyond these individual posts and search for standards-based news articles.

Editor's Note: The example image for this entry has been modified to reduce its length. The relevant portions of the post are still visible.

No, Elizabeth Warren didn’t say government spending should be secret

❌ NO: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., did not say, “There is nothing in the Constitution that says ordinary Americans have a right to see what we’re spending tax dollars on.”

✅ YES: This is a fabricated quote falsely attributed to Warren.

✅ YES: The Constitution mandates that the public have access to information about government spending.

★ NewsLit takeaway

Disinformation is frequently created to support political talking points. In February 2025, several inaccurate or entirely false claims related to government spending spread on social media as presidential adviser Elon Musk gained access to the federal payments system. Warren is a consumer advocate and leading critic of Musk’s actions, and the above quote suggesting that she was trying to limit the public’s access to budgetary information also began to circulate. The remark may have “felt” true to some, but a bit of research shows it is a fake quote. Here are a few things that fact-checkers did (and some steps you can take next time) to debunk this falsehood.

1. View official social media profiles: Tracing a quote back to its source is a good way to verify or debunk online claims. In this case, a search of Warren’s social media accounts yielded no matches.
2. Examine public statements and appearances: Warren issued two public statements on Jan. 30, but none of them included this phrase.
3. Check news reports: If this statement were genuine, it would likely appear in a news report. Yet, that search also came up empty-handed.
4. Seek comment: Journalists contacted Warren’s office about the remark, and a spokesperson confirmed that this quote was fake.

Thanks for reading!

Your weekly issue of The Sift is created by Susan Minichiello (@susanmini.bsky.social), Dan Evon (@danieljevon), Peter Adams (@peteradams.bsky.social), Hannah Covington (@hannahcov.bsky.social) and Pamela Brunskill (@PamelaBrunskill). It is edited by Mary Kane (@mk6325.bsky.social) and Lourdes Venard (@lourdesvenard.bsky.social).

You’ll find teachable moments from our previous issues in the archives. Send your suggestions and success stories to [email protected].

Check out NLP's Checkology virtual classroom, where students learn how to navigate today’s information landscape by developing news literacy skills.