Scroll Smarter: Credible or not?

June 9, 2026

Hi there!

Don’t forget to share your feedback in our first reader survey, which closes this month.

You can enter to win one of four $50 Amazon gift cards at the end of the survey. 😊 

in this issue

Family Q&A | Top story | Bonus reads | Video of the month | Reader poll

Check for credibility online

Question: 

I don’t want my kids to just accept everything that they see, hear or read online as true. What resources are there to teach my kids to think critically about media sources — like news articles, influencer videos, advertisements, etc. — so they learn to trust quality sources?

— Scrutinizing Sources

Answer: 

A great starting point for kids to think critically about any content they come across is to teach them to ask: What is the purpose of this piece of information? This isn’t always an easy thing to answer — after all, many pieces of information have more than one purpose. But there is usually a fairly clear primary purpose.

One of our foundational lessons is about teaching kids to determine the primary purpose of a piece of information so they can figure out what it is and how to approach it. We teach six core types, each with its own primary purpose:

• To inform using original reporting ➡️ News
• To sell ➡️ Advertising
• To entertain ➡️ Entertainment
• To persuade ➡️ Opinion
• To provoke or manipulate emotions (often with false or misleading details) ➡️ Propaganda
• To document events, trends or figures ➡️ Raw information

We call these “InfoZones.”

👉 This infographic is a helpful guide to zoning information by primary purpose.

Influencer content is less straightforward. Many influencers share a mix of ideas, tips, opinions and information they’ve learned from another source. But some influencers are paid to endorse or sell products. Some are solely focused on entertaining, while others share hot takes about current issues and events. So-called “news influencers” summarize and analyze reporting from news outlets or may even do a little original reporting. This makes it tricky to evaluate influencers’ credibility: It’s not all created with the same standards, ethics and purpose — and the vast majority of it is not news. Even those influencers who focus on politics and current events generally make content about news.

👉 This infographic is a helpful guide for exploring the differences between news and content about news.

Determining InfoZones can quickly become a habit — and once you know what type of information you’re looking at, you can evaluate its credibility by applying what we like to call “characteristics of credibility.” These include:

• Verification: Is there evidence of a process to check that information is correct?
• Accuracy: Is there demonstrated concern for getting the facts right?
• Independence: Is there an effort to protect coverage from outside influence?
• Transparency: Are reporting methods explained? 
• Fairness: Were the major players in the story given a chance to share their perspective?
• Accountability: Is the coverage as complete, accurate and impartial as possible? Is there evidence that the source corrects errors? Is it responsive to criticism from its audience?

🧛A helpful mnemonic device to remember these standards: Vampires Always Investigate Their Friends’ Appetites!

These characteristics give you many pathways for discussion with your child about how they impact credibility. For instance, companies know a lot about their products, but their advertisements are not at all independent and often lack transparency and context (fairness). Influencers who take money to read a script or endorse a product without disclosure lack transparency and independence. Posts that amplify rumors and speculation online likely lack all of these characteristics.

To summarize, we suggest the following resources to help guide your child online as they learn to distinguish between different kinds of information with varying degrees of credibility.

📣InfoZones: Sort information type by primary purpose

📰The Information Ecosystem Depends on News

👀Is it legit? Five steps for vetting a news source

➡️ 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.

Kids content awash with AI slop

Cup. Ball. Banana. All good words for a toddler to learn, but not if it comes from an AI-generated video online that mispronounces words.

What to know:

🤖 AI slop targets kids on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. AI slop is mass-produced and low-quality AI-generated content.

🚩 Viral AI content aimed at kids may resemble their favorite TV show or a nursery rhyme, but it can teach them things that aren’t true or safe.

➡️ Signs of AI slop include robotic narration, lip-syncing that is off, animations that don’t follow natural movements and videos showing impossible or absurd circumstances.

🏷️ YouTube announced plans to scan videos for signs of “photorealistic” synthetic content and automatically add an AI label to some. This likely won’t make a difference for nonsensical animated AI slop that kids watch, which will retain an older label hidden in the description.

What you can do:

🔍 Help kids learn how to spot and fact-check suspicious posts. Try out the News Literacy Project’s Two Truths and AI game together for a fun and approachable way to learn how to identify AI content.

📜 Check out free printable resources on the “News Literacy Unplugged” page. Don’t miss the mini zine with safety tips for teens using AI and social media.

🗨️ Create a judgment-free safe space for kids to talk to you about what they encounter online. Have candid chats about possible upsides and drawbacks of AI content.

📲 Parental consent: Kids under 16 in Minnesota can expect more guardrails when using social media after a law was amended to require platforms to verify parental consent and enact higher privacy settings.

🖥️ Screentime limits: At least 16 states have introduced bills to limit technology in schools amid a push by parents and educators concerned by screentime in classrooms.

👩‍👩‍👦 Parent Club: It’s challenging to navigate AI and social media with kids. In Miami, a new Parent Club has popped up to support parents with free workshops about these issues. One actionable step: making a family media plan.

☀️ Anti-sunscreen rhetoric is rising online. Nearly half of Americans have encountered misinformation about it online and 36% of Gen Zers say they rely on skincare advice from influencers, according to a recent survey by the American Academy of Dermatology.