The Sift: Young peoples’ thoughts on news

December 8, 2025

Artificial intelligence Celebrities/influencers Journalism Misinformation Press freedoms/First Amendment

An educator's guide
to news literacy

Dec. 8, 2025

In this issue

Young peoples’ thoughts on news | RumorGuard slides

Daily Do Now slides

Don’t miss this week’s classroom-ready resource.

Top picks

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

An illustration of a woman holding a smartphone with a thought bubble above her head showing hearts and like buttons on social media. In the background are four circles with images inside each, including a person reading a newspaper, a handheld smartphone device labeled “influencer,” a podcaster and a TV with a remote.

Young adults are more likely to get news on social media.

1. Young people’s shifting views of news

Journalism is changing — and so are public attitudes about journalism norms.

Political opinions? It’s acceptable for journalists to express them, according to 32% of American adults ages 18 to 29 surveyed in a new Pew Research Center report. And the majority of young adults (63%) also say it’s fine for journalists to be advocates for the communities they cover. These views run counter to conventional journalistic principles of impartial, independent news coverage.

Other findings on young adults from this report:

Not seeking news: Only about 1 in 5 Americans under 30 (22%) said they intentionally seek out news often or extremely often.
News on social media: Young people say they get news from digital devices (93%) more than from traditional platforms like print (18%) or TV (47%).
Trusting influencers: About 4 in 10 young adults (38%) regularly get news from news influencers (people with large followings on social media who post news topics).

📌 Note: See the News Literacy Project’s recent study, which found that the majority of teens view news media negatively.

💡 Idea: Use the News Literacy Project’s Newsroom to Classroom program to invite a journalist to speak to your students about their work and editorial standards.

💡 Another idea: Use the “Reflect” slide in Week 11 of the Daily Do Now resource to further discuss students’ news habits.

💬 Discuss:

Should journalists express political opinions in news coverage or on social media? Why or why not?
Even if you’re not seeking news, how might news find you?
How might you determine whether a social media post or influencer is credible?
How do you define what a journalist is? How is a journalist different from an influencer? What standards do journalists follow? What standards do influencers follow?

⭐ NLP Resources:

“Introduction to Algorithms” (Checkology® virtual classroom)
Infographic: “Seven standards of quality journalism”

🔗 Related:

“The offices only a newsperson could love” (The New Yorker)
“Opinion | Why I’m begging TV showrunners to stop writing journalists as villains” (Poynter)

2. How do journalists use AI?

The most common ways journalists use AI technology in their work: Transcribing audio, translating languages and checking grammar.

That’s one takeaway from a recent study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism on how UK journalists are making use of AI tools.

Two more takeaways:

AI viewed as a threat: Most journalists (62%) believe AI is a threat to journalism. Journalists pointed to ethical concerns of AI use and potential impacts on public trust. Only 15% said they saw AI as an opportunity.
Most journalists use AI anyway. Only 16% of journalists said they had never used AI for a work-related task, while 56% said they use AI weekly.

💬 Discuss:

Should AI be used in journalism? What ethical concerns does AI raise in journalism?
If you were in charge of AI rules in a newsroom, what uses would you allow and what would you ban? Why?

💡 Idea: Share Poynter’s template for AI guidelines in newsrooms with students. Ask them to create their own guidelines using this template.

⭐ NLP Resources:

Slides: AI-generated news or not?
Dig Deeper think sheet: How is AI transforming journalism?
Infographic: “6 things to know about AI”

🔗 Related:

Opinion: “AI is changing the relationship between journalist and audience. There is much at stake” (The Guardian)

3. Climate disinfo surges

Polls show that most adults globally consider climate change a threat, but climate misinformation is increasing online.

False claims spreading: From misleading messages about wind turbines killing all birds to viral false claims about clean energy being a scam, climate misinformation is spreading rapidly — amplified by social media algorithms and disinformation campaigns.
Platforms retreat: Earlier this year, Meta ended a U.S. fact-checking program that regularly flagged science misinformation, and research shows platforms like YouTube also do not consistently enforce rules around climate disinformation. Critics say these platforms should do more to curtail climate falsehoods.
Disinformation declaration: At the annual United Nations climate talks, 21 countries recently signed a declaration to address climate disinformation and protect journalists and scientists — far fewer than the nearly 200 nations that signed the Paris Agreement a decade ago vowing action against global warming.

💬 Discuss:

What role do algorithms play in spreading climate misinformation on social media?
How should social media platforms handle misleading or false claims about climate change? Do you think rules to limit this kind of misinformation are important? If so, who should be in charge of enforcing these moderation policies (e.g., the platforms, the people who post or someone else)?

⭐ NLP Resources:

“Evaluating Science-based Claims” (Checkology)
Infographic: “Levels of scientific evidence”

🔗 Related:

“This YouTube show explains climate change to the kids who have to live with it” (NPR)

These classroom-ready slide decks provide a comprehensive walk-through on how to debunk false rumors.

Video of Tupac Shakur on ‘Sesame Street’ is AI-generated

A social media post reads, “Unaired episode #tupac #sesamestreet #learn #respect #kids #viral #featurethis #viralvideo #tupacshakur #2pac” and includes a video that appears to show a compilation of the late rapper Tupac Shakur’s appearances on the show Sesame Street. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says “AI-GENERATED.”

❌ NO: This is not authentic footage of the late rapper Tupac Shakur on Sesame Street.

✅ YES: This video is AI-generated.

⭐ NewsLit takeaway:

This AI-generated video of Tupac Shakur on Sesame Street appears quite convincing at first glance. Check out these Google Slides for tips on how to determine that this footage is fabricated.

No, Germany isn’t using AI-powered boxes to return lost wallets

A Facebook post reads, “In Germany, losing a wallet doesn’t always mean losing peace of mind. Scattered across several cities are sleek robotic mailboxes — designed to accept lost items like wallets, keys, or IDs and return them to their rightful owners without human involvement. Once dropped inside, the mailbox scans the contents using internal cameras and AI-trained object recognition systems…” and features an image that appears to show these wallet return boxes in Germany. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says “FALSE.”

❌ NO: Robotic mailboxes that use AI to scan and return lost items have not been installed in Germany (or anywhere else).

✅ YES: This is an entirely fabricated claim.

✅ YES: The image included in this post is AI-generated.

⭐ NewsLit takeaway:

Evidence-free claims on social media can seem more credible when paired with AI-generated images that appear at first glance as photographic evidence. This tactic is used by some engagement bait accounts to spread falsehoods about futuristic technologies, like the post about AI-powered lost-and-found boxes. Check out these Google Slides for tips to spot these fictions.

A News Literacy Project banner ad says: Help students have fact-based convos in 2026 and beyond! 'Tis the season for news literacy! Give what you can to NLP! All gifts matched through Dec. 31.

➕ The New York Times is suing the Pentagon over First Amendment rights after a new policy restricted the access and privileges of reporters covering the military.

➡️ See the Oct. 20 issue of The Sift for teaching ideas about this topic.

➕ From his basement in Portland, Oregon, former Univision news anchor Antonio Sanchez records Spanish-language newscasts for the 270,000 Spanish speakers in his city — countering the rise of immigration misinformation online.

➕ A moose walked into a movie theater and ate a bowl of popcorn, according to a video. But did this really happen? See for yourself in NPR’s AI slop quiz.

➕ Press freedom advocates are raising concerns about the White House’s new media bias tracker. The Committee to Protect Journalists says the tracker “creates an environment that seems to deliberately undermine independent reporting in the United States.”

➕ Starting Dec. 10, Australian kids under 16 are in for a new world — one where they are blocked from social media by law.

➕ Rage bait — online content designed to provoke anger — is all the rage on social media, and now it’s Oxford University Press’ word of the year.

➕ Could an AI chatbot change your political views? A new study of 77,000 people found that bots often succeeded at changing people's minds about topics like taxes and immigration — but were most persuasive when using inaccurate information.

➕ Ready for a social media detox? A new study shows even a weeklong break can make a big difference in improving mental health.