Scroll Smarter: AI frustrations

March 10, 2026

Artificial intelligence Journalism

March 10, 2026

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A drawing shows the Scroll Smarter mascots, which are depicted as fingerprint cartoon characters. The bigger mascot is looking at a phone and has a confused expression while a smaller mascot looks on.

We can’t tell what’s AI and what’s not — now what?!

Question:

I’m interested in activities and approaches appropriate for pre-K and kindergarten. The bird activity was a pretty good one, but I didn’t understand what it was teaching other than the fact that it’s super hard to tell if an image of a bird was generated by AI. I didn’t share with my kid because that is just frustrating! What are we supposed to learn from that?

— This is for the birds

Answer:

Thank you for raising this point! We have some tips that we think can help.

The bird quiz mentioned is made up of six images of birds — half AI-generated, half genuine — that we sent to you in an email after you subscribed to this newsletter. The quiz asks a (seemingly) simple question: Is each picture a real photo or an AI-generated image?

This drives home the point that as artificial intelligence tools get more advanced, it’s becoming nearly impossible to tell what’s real and what’s AI just by looking. So … what are we supposed to do?

Aside from having you stop and think about how AI makes many of today’s information channels even more complicated, this quiz was originally shared with teachers as part of a broader lesson plan, which includes these news literacy tips:

Investigate the source.
Take a closer look at the account that posted a given picture. Review the user’s handle and bio. Does the account have a track record of credibility? Does it own up to using AI? Fabricated images are sometimes reposted without AI labels, even if the original had one. You can use reverse image searches to help track down the original source.
Look for context.
Widen your lens. Rather than just look at a picture itself, examine the caption posted along with it. Are there any hashtags that give away how or why it was created? Do the comments offer any clues? Are there any details you can check in a news report? Does the image make logical sense?

This video shows some of us taking the bird quiz — and failing. Crucially, it also includes a discussion about tips you can use to determine whether an image is AI.

While AI technology is getting really good, there are still some broader patterns you can watch out for. People sharing manipulated visuals often follow a similar playbook and jump on trends. Check out our Two Truths and AI videos, which cover viral topics and AI misinformation, or @showtoolsai on Instagram, which explores visual inconsistencies that still show up in AI content.

Quizzing each other and looking for signs of AI manipulation can be fun. But helping kids learn to stop, pause and consider sources, context and even their own feelings builds fact-checking habits at a young age.

For pre-K and kindergarten kids, you can start with a few simple questions to get them thinking about manipulated content they may encounter:

Who shared this? Do you know and trust them? Can you ask a grown-up if you’re unsure?
How does an image or video make you feel? Can you describe those feelings? Are you able to make good decisions about what to believe and share when you are having big feelings?

As your kids get older and encounter this kind of content, they will be prepared to be vigilant and ready to take the next steps: investigating sources of information and seeking additional context.

➡️ Do you have a question for us? Share it in this form and we may answer it in a future issue. We can address questions about artificial intelligence, social media, journalism, misinformation and more in a family-oriented way.

⭐ You’ll win swag from the News Literacy Project if your question is picked!

Questions may be edited or rephrased for clarity and length.

Understanding the information ecosystem

Can the kids in your life tell the difference between news and content about news?

What to know:

ℹ️ “News” is often used as a catchall term to describe lots of different information, but much of what people casually call “news” isn’t actually news — it’s content about news. And the distinction matters.

🗞️ We may get information from influencers commenting on today’s headlines or friends sharing updates on social media, but not everything online adheres to the same standards of credibility.

🌳The information landscape is complex, interconnected, and constantly changing, like an ecosystem. Journalism plays a foundational role in this ecosystem.

What you can do:

🪧 Share the News Literacy Project’s information ecosystem poster with your kids. Follow the arrows together and read through what content about news looks like (news influencers, infotainment, pundits, etc.).

📱 Share an example of an influencer posting online about current events with your teens. (See our new classroom activity starting at this slide for examples.) As a family, determine whether their social media posts are news or content about news. Hint: Look for signs of original reporting (interviewing sources, citing evidence) and journalism standards. Consider this checklist from Trusting News as you evaluate different content creators online.

💬Start a conversation with your kids. Ask them, “Did you see any interesting news online today? Can you show me?” Assess posts together to determine if it’s news, content about news, or something else.

🗞️ Not seeking news: Although 80% of American adults say people have a responsibility to be informed by the news when they vote, nearly half say they can stay informed when they don’t actively follow the news.

📱 Clean your social media feeds: Feel like your social media algorithms are missing the mark? This article breaks down how to reset the algorithm for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and more, so you can avoid content you no longer want to see.

⏳ Beyond screen time limits: The American Academy of Pediatrics says screen time limits alone won't prepare kids for today's digital ecosystem — they need media literacy education.

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What to know about Seedance 2.0

AI-generated video has gotten more advanced and controversial with the launch of Seedance 2.0. For tips on how to tell what’s authentic online, check out this video from the News Literacy Project.