This free webinar for educators, presented by the News Literacy Project on edWeb.net, will offer strategies for teaching students about algorithms and artificial intelligence.

Cracking the Code: How AI Shapes What We See (And What We Miss) 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025
5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT

From shaping our social media feeds to influencing the news we see, algorithms and artificial intelligence are transforming the way we consume information. But how do these technologies work, and what impact do they have on our ability to distinguish fact from fiction?

Join the News Literacy Project for an in-depth conversation about the evolving role of AI and algorithms in news and social media.

You’ll learn directly from reporter Mia Sato, who covers the tech world and AI’s influence for The Verge.

Together, we’ll explore the rise of AI-generated content, machine learning systems that use data to shape our information bubbles, and the challenges posed by deepfakes. We’ll equip you with strategies to help students develop a more critical approach to digital news consumption.

By the end of the session, you’ll be armed with information about the ongoing evolution of AI, a deeper understanding of how we shape—and are shaped by—algorithms, and a toolbox of resources to support you in teaching your students. We will highlight Checkology®, our free, interactive e-learning platform designed to help educators provide essential news literacy skills to students.

This edWebinar will be of interest to middle and high school teachers, librarians, school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders. This event complements NLP’s “Spring Sprints” resources.

🎁 All attendees will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a care package of NLP goodies.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity – reserve your spot today!

(Can’t make it at this time but still interested? Register anyway, and we’ll email you the recording.)

With advancements in artificial intelligence, news literacy skills are key to recognizing when photos are faked or altered. The Washington Post recently published a guide for identifying  doctored  images and included NLP’s expertise.

Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Research and Design at NLP, advises in the story to look out for images that are circulated out of context, which changes their meaning. These images can be hard to spot because they appeal to “intuitive, gut thinking,” Adams says.

Read the full story here.

For more resources about finding credible information in the age of AI, browse our free resource page.

In a CNN interview, the News Literacy Project offered strategies for determining whether news coverage is AI-generated.

Christina Veiga, NLP’s senior director of media relations, explained how to read laterally – leaving one online source to read what others have to say about a topic or issue – and how to conduct a reverse image search to investigate whether humans or AI are behind the news you consume.

Watch the full report here.

A San Francisco-based news outlet with coverage spanning several major cities across the country is publishing AI-generated articles attributed to non-existent authors. News literacy experts warn that this use of artificial intelligence could lead to declining trust in news organizations.

“In trying to use a human-sounding name, they’re trying to game the system and taking advantage of people’s trust,” Hannah Covington, NLP’s senior director of education content, said in a recent Bloomberg article

“It’s a kind of flagrantly opaque way to dupe people into thinking that they’re reading actual reporting by an actual journalist who has a concern for being fair, for being accurate, for being transparent,” Peter Adams, NLP’s Senior Vice President of research and design, told CNN.

Read the full Bloomberg article here and the full CNN article here.