One of the traditions at NLP is helping people thoughtfully navigate the holidays by ensuring misinformation and conspiracy theories do not derail conversations or damage relationships. Below is an updated version of a post we’ve shared before, just in time for the holidays:

It’s certainly frustrating and discouraging when misinformation makes its way into a friendly conversation. But when it shows up on the menu for your holiday gathering, misinformation can spoil your appetite as well as your relationships with loved ones.

This holiday season, amid polarizing world events, conditions lend themselves to combative conversations and fractured friendships. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just like you’d prep the side dishes before guests arrive, you can get ready for engaging in civil and meaningful discourse — even with the family’s diehard conspiracy theorist — using the tips and tools NLP provides.

While every scenario is different, following some general best practices can help keep the conversation civil and make the interaction worthwhile. To begin, use the six tips outlined in our downloadable infographic How to speak up without starting a showdown as a guide. (Click here to download the PDF.) You can also share this fun video with your wider circle on social media:

@newslitproject Don’t let misinformation dominate the dinner table this holiday season. Here are a few tips for having productive conversations #Thanksgiving #Misinformation #NewsLiteracy ♬ original sound – News Literacy Project

Further boost your confidence for entering what are likely difficult discussions with four key strategies with four timeless tips from Get Smart About News, our free weekly newsletter for non-educators, which we also feature on our website. (Subscribe here so you can stay on top of trending news literacy topics and resources.)

Happy holidays!

Giving Tuesday is more than a global day of generosity — it’s an opportunity to invest in the leaders and decision-makers of the future by supporting news literacy. At the News Literacy Project, every day is a step toward equipping educators, students and communities with the tools to discern fact from fiction and make informed decisions based on credible information.

Thanks to our generous supporters, we’ve achieved remarkable milestones (you can read about them in our latest annual report!), but there’s still so much work to do. Here’s what your support makes possible:

• Empowering educators: Tools like Checkology® and resources such as The Sift® are helping teachers integrate news literacy into classrooms across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
• Reaching students nationwide: NLP’s programs equip young people with critical thinking skills to evaluate the flood of information they encounter every day.
• Spreading the word: With initiatives like RumorGuard™ and National News Literacy Week, we’re creating champions for facts and combating the spread of misinformation.

This Giving Tuesday, help us make an even greater impact. A gift of just $5 a month can fuel the development of resources that thousands of students and teachers use every day for free! Plus, this year, every dollar you give will go even further thanks to a $500K matching challenge from philanthropists Melanie and Richard Lundquist.

You can also amplify our mission by sharing our #GivingTuesday posts on social media (@newslitproject) to help spread the word about the critical need for news literacy education.

Together, we can make news literacy a priority in classrooms nationwide and prepare young people with the skills and knowledge to lead us into a fact-based future.

Donate today to support #NewsLiteracyNow.

Thank you for standing with us to create a more informed and engaged society!

When the News Literacy Project launched the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 last summer, the goal was to collect and track viral falsehoods to help people understand how they develop, and the narratives they attempt to create. With the presidential contest over, it’s time to end the work and review the news literacy lessons it provided.

Lies travel faster than the truth

Misinformation spreads in different ways. A genuine photograph removed from its original context, a manipulated image, or a picture generated with artificial intelligence can all be used on social media as “evidence” for a false claim. But after examining 941 pieces of false content, we found that misinformation spreaders eschew the need to offer any evidence at all. They just simply lie. We catalogued 147 viral falsehoods pushed using this “sheer assertion” tactic — making it the most popular of any we tracked.

AI still looms as a threat

One of unknowns that misinformation researchers faced at the start of election season was how artificial intelligence technologies would impact the information landscape. We certainly tracked falsehoods that were created with AI tools – including videos altered with fabricated voice clones, deepfakes that altered people’s facial movements, and images that looked like photos but were entirely fabricated – but AI-generated content wasn’t as widespread as expected. Only 6% of the 941 examples in the database involved its use.

Even fake popularity matters

Posts that exaggerate a candidate’s popularity made up a surprisingly large number of entries in the dashboard, accounting for nearly 20% of all false claims. Some involved the misrepresentation of crowd size, while others focused on endorsements (or disavowals) of celebrities. Musician Taylor Swift was the most frequently targeted celebrity, but creators of political disinformation also misleadingly cited other public figures and celebrities, such as Keanu Reeves, Michael Jordan, Elton John, Ryan Reynolds and Morgan Freeman.

Fitness for office falsehoods grew

The most common narrative pushed by misinformation accounts during election season focused on the fitness of candidates for the presidency. These claims attacked both candidates and President Joe Biden from a variety of angles, including painting them as not smart enough, too old or even too intoxicated to perform the job.

News literacy skills make the difference

One thing all the election misinformation collected in the dashboard has in common: It can be easily debunked, using basic news literacy skills and habits. For example:

Dismissing sensational, evidence-free claims or checking them against high-quality, standards-based sources defuses sheer assertion claims. Reverse image searches put old or manipulated photographs back into their original context. “Lateral reading” (or a quick search for more information from other sources) uncovers credible information to dispel popular but false narratives. And slowing down helps prevent being misled by emotions and vulnerability to confirmation bias.

Falsehoods, of course, persist beyond the election. The misinformation dashboard will continue to be available as an archive. And NLP’s RumorGuard^®, which debunks the latest examples of online misinformation, will continue.

When educator Kelly Melendez Loaiza recently saw an image of a trash-filled catch basin online, she looked past the wet garbage in a hurricane-flooded road and spotted the intersection of news literacy, science and current events.

Melendez Loaiza, who has been teaching for 18 years, joined Davies Career & Technical High School in Lincoln, Rhode Island, this fall to lead its new environmental engineering program, part of the school’s pre-engineering career path. But she has been weaving news literacy into her classes since 2016, when she developed a Science and the Media course at a Massachusetts high school.

Harold Hanka for the News Literacy Project

“If we’re paying attention, we can pull current events in and make media literacy relevant for students,” said Melendez Loaiza, who builds her curriculum around NLP’s Checkology® virtual classroom. “Those lessons are incredible. I couldn’t teach this without Checkology.”

For example, on a recent afternoon, a class of sophomores explored logical fallacies using Checkology’s “Arguments and Evidence” lesson in the context of the pros and cons of nuclear energy, the topic they are currently studying.

Why news literacy matters

Environmental engineers need to be news-literate, Melendez Loaiza believes, because they design systems to protect air, water and the land at the societal level and must interact with community leaders and the public about their work. “They need good communication skills to understand the problems they are trying to solve and the values of the communities they are working with to design solutions that meet the needs of the people being served.”

The catch basin example provided what at first glance looks like a simple issue of trash in a street. But it provides an opportunity for students to use news literacy skills to explore a topic from several perspectives, identifying multiple pathways for solving complex problems. “I bring media literacy back to the science,” she said. “It’s needed to open our minds to all the angles of the problem.”

When her students begin thinking in media literacy terms, the parallels with how they ponder science and engineering emerge and complement one another. Ultimately, it improves their overall critical thinking skills, she said.

Harold Hanka for the News Literacy Project

Students want news literacy education

Melendez Loaiza found that when students begin to practice news literacy, they wonder why they hadn’t been taught it earlier. This sentiment jibes with a key finding from NLP’s newly published study, News Literacy in America: A survey of teen information attitudes, habits & skills (2024): 94% of teens say that schools should be required to teach media literacy. “This should be a basic skill,” student Xavier Dias noted.

Students have also said that learning news literacy skills changed how they engage with others on topics when they disagree. They’ve learned to listen and see arguments from multiple perspectives. “They felt ready to engage in civil discourse because what they had learned quite literally changed them,” Melendez Loaiza said.

Not all information is equal

Melendez Loaiza began her news literacy instruction at Davies High School with the Checkology lesson “InfoZones.” It describes the primary purposes of different types of content, teaching students that all information is not equal. “There can be more to the story than how it’s portrayed,” observed student Jacob Xajap.

Harold Hanka for the News Literacy Project

His classmates also demonstrate understanding of other news literacy key concepts. “When I’m scrolling the news, it’s important to me if there are multiple sources to see if it’s true,” said Aidan Baptista, who recognizes the broader impact of what he is learning. “I feel like it will help me to be more open minded when approaching news and other information.”

‘It can change people’

Melendez Loaiza also teaches Checkology’s “Conspiratorial Thinking” lesson exploring the psychology behind beliefs in this form of misinformation, which teens often encounter. In fact, NLP’s recent survey found that 80% of teens on social media say they see posts that spread or promote conspiracy theories, and of those, 81% say they are inclined to believe one or more.

Student Maddy Lefebvre said that when she encounters likely conspiracy theories, she now has the awareness not to be fooled. “I’ll personally look into it more before believing it.” Classmate Joshua Malmberg agreed. “There’s always something that doesn’t make sense.”

Melendez Loaiza is confident that teaching these future environmental engineers to become more news-literate will help them outside the classroom. It will make them better able to understand current events, be curious but not cynical and communicate with empathy, all of which will be required in their professional lives.

“Every little piece they learn about media literacy is another piece of the puzzle in understanding the world,” she said. “When people are exposed to this in a supportive environment, it can change people and change the world, I believe, for the better.”

Today, we share our annual report for fiscal year 2024 (July 2023-June 2024). You’ll learn about all we’ve achieved in the past year and how we will move forward with a renewed focus on K-12 education. We hope you feel inspired reading about everything you have helped make possible. Thank you.

Read the report here.

By Greg McCaffery and Chuck Salter

As we prepared this report at the height of the presidential election season, we couldn’t help but reflect on the sheer volume of misinformation being spread.

Falsehoods and distortions will always exist, and with continued advancements in technology and generative artificial intelligence, they spread faster than ever, threatening our country’s civil discourse. We are proud to play a role in helping Americans sift through viral rumors and disinformation with the creation of our Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024, a tool that tracks the trends and tactics driving misinformation about candidates and the voting process. But more importantly, our goal is to create lasting social change to foster the greater civic engagement needed to strengthen our democracy for generations to come.

This meant taking a critical look at our dual mandate to create a news-literate nation by providing tools, resources, and education to the broader public as well as educators during the past year. As we reviewed our programs, engagement and measurable results, it was clear that we could make the greatest impact by turning our full attention back to K-12 students. We’re excited to refocus our mission on bringing systemic change to public education at a national scale, helping educators across the country align their classroom curriculum with events in the real world — preparing future generations to be engaged citizens.

Our ultimate objective is ensuring that news literacy becomes required teaching in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, just as students are required to learn math, English and social studies.

Because of NLP’s growth on a national scale, we have the flexibility to try new strategies and discover what is most effective. We have leveraged our 16 years of successes and lessons learned to identify the barriers to widespread adoption of news literacy and have developed our 2024-2028 strategic framework as a roadmap for breaking through those barriers. We recognize that our ability to reflect and pivot is due to the encouragement and robust support of donors like you.

As you read this year’s report, you will see that through your partnership, we have much to celebrate. This past year we were recognized with two high-profile awards. And tens of thousands of educators used our resources to teach news literacy skills to nearly half a million students across the country. In addition, through our district-wide initiatives, potentially more than 1 million students in 13 states will be taught news literacy skills by 2026.

We also completed our first teen survey to hear directly from young people about what they know, believe and practice when navigating the digital information landscape.

This is why we see a future full of promise and are confident we will make significant progress to advance the development and teaching of news literacy in K-12 education.

Thank you for being on this journey with us and for continuing to be a champion for a future founded on facts.

The News Literacy Project is tracking presidential election misinformation trends online. As voting day nears, let’s examine some of them, so we can make sure to cast our ballots based on facts, not falsehoods.

A batch of mail-in ballots cast for former President Donald Trump was not destroyed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; a vacant address in Erie, Pennsylvania is not being used to register illegal voters; and voting machines are not systematically flipping votes in Georgia. The final days of the 2024 presidential election are motivating a spike in falsehoods aimed at undermining confidence in the electoral process in the United States.

Noncitizens Voting

Falsehoods targeting the integrity of elections make up about 15% of all rumors in the News Literacy Project’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024. These false claims have pushed narratives related to election interference, voter interference, and candidate eligibility, and the most common rumor is that noncitizens are illegally casting votes. Yet, as elections experts have repeatedly pointed out — noncitizens aren’t eligible to vote and instances of noncitizens casting a ballot are extraordinarily rare.

Election Night

Another target of election misinformation is the vote counting process itself. While falsehoods misrepresenting how ballots are being tallied already are frequent, this misinformation theme is likely to expand on election night as votes are counted. Here are a few disinformation trends to expect on Nov. 5:

• Surges in votes being misconstrued as fraud. Remember, counties around the country report their totals in batches, not by individual ballots, so it’s normal to see vote totals jump, especially as larger urban counties report their numbers.
• Premature declarations of victory. Some states have laws prohibiting processing mail or absentee ballots until Election Day, making it difficult to announce a winner on election night. Nonetheless, candidates might prematurely declare themselves a winner and call for vote counting to stop. Delays in reporting results are normal, not voting fraud, and it may take days for states to tally results.
• Individual voting glitches misrepresented as widespread fraud. With tens of thousands of polling places across the country, unexpected things can happen. A power outage, a broken machine or a burst water pipe are just a few. Expect any of these kinds of individual anomalies to be weaponized and spread as evidence of cheating or fraud.

NewsLit Tip: False claims often go viral when they evoke an immediate emotional reaction, especially during a high-profile event like Election Day. Remember to slow down, stay skeptical, and check viral claims against credible sources before sharing sensational content online.

For even more disinformation trends, check out our new prebunking guide, a collaboration between the News Literacy Project and the Mental Immunity Project.

Interested in learning more about the methodology we use to collect election-related falsehoods? Visit the Misinformation Dashboard and click on “Where we get our data.” You can also contribute: Use this form to submit a false claim that is not yet in the dashboard.

Related columns:

• Track the trends: Candidate fitness and election integrity rank high in rumors
• Track the trends: Disinformation disguised as ‘breaking news’
• Track the trends: Is it AI or is it authentic?
• Track the trends: Stay ahead of these election falsehoods
• Track the trends: Get to know the election dashboard

The News Literacy Project is tracking presidential election misinformation trends online. As voting day nears, let’s examine some of them, so we can make sure to cast our ballots based on facts, not falsehoods.

Fitness for the Job

The most common election misinformation narrative is that a candidate is unfit for the job.

False claims targeting Vice President Kamala Harris paint her as unintelligent or intoxicated. These falsehoods spread through a variety of tactics: short segments of her speeches presented out of context; video of her speaking slowed down to make her words sound slurred; voice actors used to create realistic parodies and quotes fabricated out of thin air. All were presented online as genuine. Be on the lookout for similar claims being pushed with these tactics.

Former President Donald Trump’s mental acuity also is a focus of false attacks, and his physical appearance is frequently distorted on social media.

The image on the left circulated widely among Trump’s critics and the one on the right among supporters, but neither accurately depicts Trump. On social media, people can easily get siloed into feeds that provide a politically slanted view — one that feels “right” for the way it resonates with existing personal biases.

NewsLit Tip: NLP’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 contains numerous misinformation examples that involve distortions related to a candidate’s physical and mental fitness. These falsehoods tend to reinforce preconceived beliefs, so if you have ever thought to yourself, “It might as well be true” after encountering a provocative claim about a candidate, pause for a moment.  Reassess your thinking to be sure your opinion of a post is based on accurate information and not your political leaning.

Casting doubt on casting votes

A large portion of the claims in the database target the election itself, with falsehoods attempting to cast doubt about the results. These falsehoods rehashed debunked rumors from 2020, presented standard election procedures out of context, and misconstrued voter registration data.  But the most common false narrative in this category is that noncitizens are able to vote.

Noncitizens are not legally allowed to vote in the presidential election and there is no evidence to support these voter fraud claims.

False claims about election fraud are bound to spread in the days leading up and following Election Day on Nov. 5, 2024. Be sure that you are getting your information from reputable standards-based sources. And, if you see a shocking claim from an individual account, make sure to check it against standards-based news reporting.

Interested in learning more about the methodology we use to collect election-related falsehoods? Visit the Misinformation Dashboard and click on “Where we get our data.” You can also contribute: Use this form to submit a false claim that is not yet in the dashboard.

Related columns:

• Track the trends: Disinformation disguised as ‘breaking news’
• Track the trends: Is it AI or is it authentic?
• Track the trends: Stay ahead of these election falsehoods
• Track the trends: Get to know the election dashboard

Welcome back to our blog series focused on the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024, a tool for exploring trends and analysis related to falsehoods regarding the candidates and voting process.

Hours before the June presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, an X account posted a “breaking news” story claiming that CNN would implement a one- to two-minute live delay to edit footage before broadcasting it.

The claim was entirely made up, and the word “BREAKING” was used to pass it off as a credible news report. It worked. The post amassed more than 2 million views.

Standards-based news outlets use terms like “breaking news” to signal important developments in an ongoing story. But these alerts have been co-opted by purveyors of disinformation to create fake urgency and spread “breaking” news stories that are neither breaking nor news.

Watch this video compilation of some of the fake “breaking news” we’ve encountered about the election:

The Sheer Volume of Sheer Assertions

NLP’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 catalogs examples of election misinformation — tracking trends, types and themes. While propagandists have ample tools to create false and misleading content, the most widely used tactic is simply to conjure false claims out of thin air. These “sheer assertions,” as they’re known, make up about 15% of all claims in NLP’s database.

Data from NLP’s misinformation dashboard shows that “sheer assertion” is the leading tactic used to spread misinformation.

On social media, sheer assertion claims about breaking news events are among the fastest to surface and are published recklessly, before all the facts emerge. Journalists report breaking news by interviewing sources, checking data, verifying facts and updating coverage as needed. On the other hand, charlatans — many of whom claim to be doing “citizen journalism” — co-opt journalism lingo to push out baseless speculation or fabrications in mere seconds.

Newslit tip

Social media posts with breaking news language — including “breaking,” “developing,” and “exclusive” — warrant careful examination. Investigate an account’s profile to see if it is connected to a credible news outlet or has a history of publishing accurate information.

Don’t be misled by use of journalism terminology to make these alerts seem authentic. They miss two important aspects of credible reporting: multiple sources and evidence.

As Mark Twain once never said: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” Reliable information develops slowly during a breaking news event.  Remember that bad actors attempt to fill that void with false claims.

A claim is not evidence

Along with sheer assertions, there are other rumor tactics tied to breaking news events:

• Sensational claims attributed to a single, unnamed “source.”
• Generic photographs that don’t support the claim or add to the supposed story.
• Nonsensical accusations that the media is “ignoring” a story or that a “blackout” has been issued to prevent coverage.
• False attributions to credible news outlets.

Doing real journalism is difficult and takes time. But producing falsehoods of almost any sort is comparatively easy and quick. But of all the tactics people use to spread misinformation, pushing out evidence-free assertions might require the least amount of effort. While this tactic is popular, it is also easy to spot and debunk. Just remember to check your sources, look for evidence and slow your scroll on social media to allow time for credible information to emerge.

This is part of a limited email series that analyzes trends and offers analysis based on the News Literacy Project’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024. Subscribe to the series here.

Related columns:

• Track the trends: Candidate fitness and election integrity rank high in rumors
• Track the trends: Is it AI or is it authentic?
• Track the trends: Stay ahead of these election falsehoods
• Track the trends: Get to know the election dashboard

No longer is artificial intelligence a figment of the imagination. This technology has quickly seeped into everyday life, forcing industries from medicine to education to grapple with its implications. Although AI has the potential to increase efficiency and streamline workflows, it also leads to the proliferation of misinformation in digital spaces. Educators play a vital role in training students to use this new technology thoughtfully, recognize inaccurate and biased information, and make a habit of double-checking before believing.

This fall, EdWeek hosted a forum of experts to explore issues and strategies in K-12 media literacy education. The News Literacy Project’s Shaelynn Farnsworth, District Fellowship Program Director, joined a panel to offer strategies for educators working to build critical thinking skills in their classrooms. Here are three tips to take from the conversation.

“One option that educators simply cannot take is to stick their heads in the sand.” — Kevin Bushweller, Deputy Managing Editor, Education Week

🧶 Weave it in

Critical news literacy skills can be integrated into existing curriculum across subject areas. Don’t be discouraged if your district isn’t yet able to offer a designated media or news literacy course, said Katie Gallagher, a K-12 Technology Integration Specialist in rural Colorado. Weave these skills into your existing classes with support from news literacy standards, like NLP’s Framework for Teaching News Literacy. Include hands-on opportunities for students to engage with technology and AI tools in projects that you already assign, said Cathy Collins, a Library Media Specialist in Massachusetts. For example, science teachers can build examples of misinformation into existing lessons to help students develop key news literacy competencies, like evaluating evidence.

“Start in a place where you can integrate it and embed it into what you already do.” — Katie Gallagher

🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 Collaborate with colleagues

Training news-literate students requires fostering a news-literate faculty. Engage in professional development days where educators share strategies for helping students navigate today’s technology and information landscape. When teachers better understand the role and impact of AI, their knowledge will ripple down to students, Collins said. When time is tight, consider embedding bite-sized learning opportunities in existing staff meetings or newsletters, added Gallagher.

“Look to teachers that are the trailblazers in your district.” — Cathy Collins

 🌱 Set the foundation early

It’s not too soon to start your students down the path of news literacy. Students are gaining access to technology early, meaning that even elementary students need the skills to engage responsibly. About half of U.S. children get their first smartphone by age 11, according to Common Sense Media. Although social media and AI tools often have age restrictions, some young learners still find ways to access these platforms. Building foundational critical thinking skills from an early age will ensure that students are ready to use them responsibly. Focus on honing your students’ conceptual critical thinking skills, said Shaelynn Farnsworth. Help them understand how to seek credible information and gather facts before making a decision.

“Our young learners can start building up those critical thinking skills.” — Shaelynn Farnsworth

Ana Bitter
Hawai’i

1. What led you to the news literacy movement? 

I grew up in a household of journalists and educators. And in college I worked on the student newspaper (Ka Leo O Hawai‘i), first as a copy editor and later as a designer. So, I’ve always understood the value of being informed and providing good information to others. I came across the News Literacy Project as a new graduate searching for a job during the pandemic.

It felt like just the right opportunity at a time when I was eager to do work that could have a positive impact on a world fraught with problems. I believe design can be a tool for improving universal communication and the greater good. I’m proud to use my design skills in the service of news literacy, and I’ve learned how to be a much better consumer of information in the process.

2. What news literacy tip, tool or guidance do you most often use?

It’s one of the simpler recommendations, but I always try to “slow down” when I’m consuming any kind of information — especially when I’m skimming headlines or posts online. And when I notice myself having a strong reaction to something I see, I really try to take that pause and ask myself what I’m feeling and why, is the content playing on one of my biases?

I also try to be skeptical, which I know can be mistaken for being negative. But I try to view it as approaching information with curiosity. Being skeptical allows you to learn more and dig deeper when something turns out to be credible, and it makes you better at recognizing when something isn’t. 

3. You worked on high-profile design projects while still an undergrad, such as a piece that was exhibited in Tokyo Midtown’s “Open the Park” event, an international exhibition, which must have been exciting. What type of design work would you love to do in the future?

Yes! I had some amazing opportunities during my design BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) coursework, which focused a lot on projects that were intended for print and existed as physical objects, like books. We worked a lot with experimental book forms, designing the interiors and exteriors. In fact, it was my passion for books and book covers, in particular, that led me to study design in the first place.

I love the idea that good design gives the information books contain — whether informative or fictional — the best chance of being consumed and enjoyed by a reader. I’ve always wanted to design for a publishing house, (selfishly) so that I could read advanced copies of books before they’re published. I would also love to work on more technical texts like cookbooks, since they have so many fun layers of information to work with. My experience here at NLP designing resources for K-12 students has sparked my interest in designing books for young readers as well.

4. Are you on team dog, team cat, team wombat?

If forced to choose, I would have to say team dog (my dachshund Lila would never forgive me if I didn’t). I truly believe dogs make us better people. But I have recently had my first experience raising a kitten, and I must admit that cats are a lot of fun in totally different ways.

I need to give a shout-out to team bird as well! I’ve had two Eclectus parrots since I was a kid, and while parrots can be challenging pets, they’re truly remarkable animals with a surprising capacity for affection and emotion. I’ve also raised chickens (they’re way smarter than you think) and was 100% that little kid always trying to care for baby birds that had fallen out of their nest. So, I definitely think feather babies deserve some love too!

5. And finally, what item do you always have in your fridge?

I’m not a spicy food fanatic by any means — I really can’t handle much heat. Ironically, I usually have some sort of curry paste or garlic chili sauce at the back of my fridge. I don’t really like working with fresh chilis/peppers when I’m cooking. You have to be careful what you touch, and it’s hard to gauge how much spice you’re actually adding to a dish. But I love making Thai-inspired food, and once you’re familiar with a particular curry paste, it’s easy to add just the right amount of heat along with all its other great aromatic flavors.

Welcome back to our blog series focused on the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024, a tool for exploring trends and analysis related to falsehoods regarding the candidates and voting process.

The prevalence of content generated by artificial intelligence has made it more difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction. Widely available AI tools allow people to create photo-realistic but entirely fabricated images, but how often are these fakes being passed off as genuine and used to spread misinformation and what can we do to identify and debunk them?

One of the goals of the News Literacy Project’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 is to monitor the use of AI-generated content to spread falsehoods about the presidential race. Now, with about 700 examples cataloged, let’s look at the impact.

Not the main source of misinformation

Researchers have long warned that AI-generated content could release a flood of falsehoods. And while there has certainly been an uptick in these fabrications, their use in election-related rumors has not been as widespread as predicted. NLP has found that AI-generated content has been used in only about 7% of the examples we’ve documented.

Completely fabricated images of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris make up most of the AI-generated content in NLP’s database. These digital creations can be used to bolster a candidate’s reputation — such as fabricated images showing Biden in military fatigues or Trump praying in a church — or to denigrate their character — like fabricated images of Harris in communist garb or Trump being arrested.

AI can be used to make “photos” that distort a candidate’s relationship with certain groups or people. NLP’s database includes several AI-generated images depicting Trump with Black voters, as well as a number of images that falsely depict candidates posing with criminals or dictators, such as the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein:

The impact of AI: Question everything

Generative AI technology is behind a concerning trend in how people approach online content: fostering cynicism and “deep doubt.” It has led to a prevailing belief that it is impossible to determine if anything is real. This attitude is now being exploited by accounts falsely claiming that genuine photographs are AI creations.

When enthusiastic crowds turned out at rallies for Harris in August, falsehoods circulated online attempting to downplay the support by claiming that the visuals were AI-generated. This same tactic was used after a photograph emerged that showed a group of extended family members of vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz offering their support to Trump. The photo of Walz’s second cousins — not his immediate family — was authentic, although efforts were made to dismiss it as AI-generated.

Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems

While the existence of AI fakes may make it feel like it is impossible to tell what is real, there is some good news. Whether a photograph is manipulated with computer software, an image is fabricated with an AI-image generator or a piece of media is shared out of context, the methods to identify, address and debunk these fakes remain the same.

• Consider the source. Who is sharing the content, and do they have a track record of posting accurate information in good faith?
• What is the original source of a photo? The lack of a credit is a red flag. Look for supporting evidence. Have any standards-based news outlets also shared the image?

When it comes to AI images, you may not be able to trust your own eyes. Slowing down to consider these key pieces of context is the best way to approach any content online — whether it’s real or created by AI.

Visit the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024

The News Literacy Project has selected nine school districts to join its growing News Literacy District Fellowship program — a nationwide initiative that supports education leaders to design and implement district-wide plans for news and media literacy education.

The program will potentially impact more than 1 million students across 13 states. The latest fellows are the third cohort in as many years represent districts of all sizes in urban, suburban and rural communities.

“Teaching news and media literacy to our students is no longer a supplemental skill, but a necessary one,” said Karin Ledford, librarian, Elk Grove Unified School District, California, a fellowship program participant. “Our teachers are eager to dive deep into media literacy skills, too, and are looking forward to us leading the way.”

Five California districts include Los Angeles

This 2024-25 cohort includes the Los Angeles Unified School District, the country’s second-largest, which will join four other California districts to create a blueprint for teaching all students news literacy skills before graduation that can be replicated across the state.

“Students are at a significant civic disadvantage if they are not taught how to navigate our current information landscape. Together with these districts, the News Literacy Project is leading a movement to ensure that young people learn to identify credible information and recognize falsehoods, so they graduate with the knowledge and ability to participate in civic society as well-informed, critical thinkers,” said Charles Salter, President and CEO of NLP.

The fellowship is a two-year program. Each district receives $20,000 and support from NLP through professional learning, curriculum guidance and a network of like-minded peers. Upon completion, fellows can apply to join an alumni network, demonstrating continued commitment to widespread adoption of news literacy education by mentoring and inspiring other school systems. This year’s cohort brings the total number of fellowships to 17.

“Through our fellowship and alumni programs, the News Literacy Project is sparking systemic change to public education at a national scale. Together we are paving the way for all students to graduate with news literacy skills, empowering students to think critically about information and preparing them to be active participants in our democracy,” said Shaelynn Farnsworth, director of the fellowship program.

The 2024-25 News Literacy District Fellowship cohort includes:

California

• Beverly Hills Unified School District
• Central Unified School District Fresno
• Elk Grove Unified School District
• Fremont Union High School District
• Los Angeles Unified School District

Florida

• Broward County Public Schools

Nebraska

• Kearney Public Schools, Nebraska

North Carolina

• Johnston County Public Schools

Oklahoma

• Norman Public Schools

Welcome back to our blog series focused on the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024, a tool for exploring trends and analysis related to falsehoods regarding the candidates and voting process.

As of today, NLP’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 contains more than 600 hundred examples of online falsehoods. By categorizing them by themes and narratives, we provide important insights about trends and patterns in the misinformation spreading about this year’s presidential race.

The role of repetition

Ever heard the phrase, if you “repeat a lie often enough … it becomes the truth”? It’s often credited to Nazi Joseph Goebbels, one of the most notorious and malevolent propagandists in history. This law of propaganda drives much of the misinformation we find online. Our vulnerability to oft-repeated falsehoods and the “illusion of truth” effect makes it crucial to understand the common themes and narratives of viral misinformation

Candidate’s cognition a common theme

Claims that exaggerate and distort candidates’ cognitive abilities and intellect are the most frequent in our collection. This was true when President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee running against former President Donald Trump, with many false claims attacking the candidate’s age. And the trend has continued with Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s important to note that these overall narratives are not entirely fabricated (all three politicians have had their share of public gaffes), but they appeal to our natural desire to confirm our biases, providing an exaggerated and distorted glimpse of reality in which the candidates are reduced to caricatures of themselves. Are Trump and Harris both mentally fit to be president? Our dashboard isn’t designed to answer that. But it can help to make you aware of the spate of misinformation that intends to skew your viewpoint on this question.

You can’t see the forest for the trees

Debunking individual rumors — for example, proving that Trump did not “freeze” during a campaign speech or that Harris did not say that “the problem of solving a problem is not a problem”— only partly succeeds in combating misinformation. Those who create and share misinformation are doing more than just pushing an individual falsehood. They are making a concerted and sustained effort to manipulate our political views by repeating these claims to distort consensus reality, or our shared understanding of the world around us.

We need to prepare ourselves for the inevitable false claims that will fill our news feeds in the lead up to the 2024 election. The best way to do that is to shift our attention from individual posts of questionable content and focus more on broader trends. By learning to identify the false narratives that bad actors attempt to establish about candidates and the election process, we can spot them before they draw us in.

We will continue to add every election-related viral rumor we can find to our collection through Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025. So, you might want to check the dashboard’s running tally of false claims as part of your daily news routine. We also will publish analyses of political misinformation here in the weeks to come.

Welcome to our blog series focused on the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024, a tool for exploring trends and analysis related to falsehoods regarding the candidates and voting process.

Every day people are bombarded with information on social media, and in this rush of content, false claims can slip by undetected. Developing the skills to identify and address falsehoods is important for every online user, especially in the days leading up to a historic presidential election, when the volume and variety ratchet up, as well as the stakes.

That’s why NLP has launched its Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 – an interactive collection of viral election-related falsehoods that we began compiling in July 2023, with a post from an ordinary Instagram account. The shocking image: a screenshot of what appeared to be an endorsement of Donald Trump for president from superstar Lady Gaga.

But it was not genuine. The image was created by doctoring a photograph of Gaga as she addressed a crowd in Pennsylvania during President Joe Biden’s campaign in November 2020. And the alleged quote, well, that was a complete fabrication. Since then, we’ve cataloged more than 500 other false claims aimed at influencing the electorate.

But the dashboard goes well beyond simply compiling examples of false, manipulated and AI-generated content. It identifies common tactics used to create these falsehoods, along with the recurring themes around which they cluster – an approach that we hope helps people be able to better recognize and reject these pieces of misinformation in their feeds.

The Types and Tactics of Misinformation

NLP’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 is divided into two broad sections: themes and types of misinformation.

Tricks of context have proven to be the most common form of election misinformation online so far — and the most common is the use of “false context,” or presenting an image or video along with text that inaccurately describes it. This tactic is likely popular because it is both effective and easy. False context claims often follow major breaking news events when people are following trending hashtags to get the most recent information. During a natural disaster, it is practically guaranteed that engagement seekers will post years-old photographs or videos and falsely claim that they relate to current events. The same dynamic plays out in political posts. After a campaign rally, for example, it’s not uncommon for images of large, enthusiastic crowds – such as photos of concerts – to go viral as disingenuous depictions of crowd size.

Fabricated content and manipulated content are the two other misinformation types found in the dashboard. While there have been a fair number of fabricated images created with AI-generated software, these technologically advanced falsehoods are still outpaced by less sophisticated counterparts. It is far more common to encounter a sheer assertion – an evidence-free claim that is fabricated out of thin air – or a fictional quote, than an AI-generated image. Manipulating content is another common approach to creating misinformation, with doctored images of T-shirts, signs, and news chyrons among the most common items used in these digital alterations.

Visit the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024

Election misinformation has been coming at us at such a furious clip this summer that you would have to be faster than an Olympic sprinter to outpace it. And even if you could, making sense of what you see and hear sometimes feels impossible.

That’s why we have created the Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024. This free online resource collects examples of viral rumors, doctored images, conspiracy theories and AI-generated fakes. Because election misinformation poses an existential threat to democracy, individual fact-checks are not adequate to counter this danger.

The dashboard goes above and beyond by doing the following:

• Highlighting of-the-moment data.
• Analyzing common trends and topics within a larger context.
• Featuring dynamic visualizations that quickly illuminate information.
• Providing educators with real-time examples for the classroom and enhancing the understanding of journalists and researchers diving into election misinformation.

“Given how quickly falsehoods can congeal into deep-seated beliefs, it’s essential that all Americans learn to recognize viral election misinformation when they see it in their feeds,” said Senior Vice President of Research and Design Peter Adams, who led the development of the dashboard. “Healthy democracies flourish when civic discourse is anchored in accurate, shared understandings of issues and candidates. We hope this dashboard helps people preserve the integrity and power of their civic voices and their votes.”

Everything on the dashboard is interactive. Click on the two options at the top of it to explore election misinformation by theme or type. You’ll find examples of fabricated or manipulated content, false or misleading context and many forms of AI-generated deceptions. And we’re tracking the trends regarding election integrity, party platforms and the candidates themselves.

“Patterns in misinformation come into focus when content is collected in one place. The dashboard empowers people to see trends so they can avoid being swayed by falsehoods when they cast their votes,” said Dan Evon, NLP’s Senior Manager of Education Design, and a member of the team that developed the resource.

You can find additional resources to help you identify falsehoods and recognize credible election information on our resource page, Election 2024: Be informed, not misled.

In my life before NLP, I was a middle school teacher, and later, a school district superintendent. These experiences were ideal preparation for doing the important work of ensuring news literacy is a national education priority.

In fact, there is a direct through line. Let me explain. When my eighth grade U.S. history students walked into the classroom, they would immediately see a large, colorful sign with one page of construction paper for each letter — THINK!

I would stand next to this sign each day and ask them questions. I didn’t realize it then, but I was challenging them to fill in the gaps of their education by asking them to think more deeply about their answers. At that time when test scores and test prep ruled the academic day, we weren’t expected to teach students to think critically. And we still don’t. That puts students at a disadvantage for life and fails a principal mandate of public education: to prepare students to be active, critically thinking members of our democracy.

NLP has led the way to help change this, and over the past year we’ve felt a renewed urgency to turn our full attention and resources to helping educators align what happens in the classroom with events in the real world.

I’m excited to announce that we have made a strategic pivot that tightens our focus on bringing systemic change to public education at a national scale. Our ultimate objective is nothing less than ensuring that news literacy becomes required teaching in all 50 states. As important and rewarding as our recent initiatives with the broader public have been, we knew we would have to restructure our work to fully leverage our expertise on this urgent initiative. Our strategic framework spells out how we will achieve this.

Partnering with Los Angeles school district

Earlier this week we took a major step toward this vision. With a three-year, $1.15 million grant from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, we are partnering with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the United States, to ensure that all students learn news literacy skills and concepts before high school graduation. LAUSD also will join NLP’s News Literacy District Fellowship program, a nationwide initiative that supports school leaders to design and implement district-wide plans for news and media literacy education that currently impacts over 1 million students in 13 states.

Together with LAUSD, we will pioneer a blueprint for news and media literacy education not just for California, but also for districts across the nation, as legislative efforts to require media literacy education gain momentum around the country.

Oh, and about that through line: As a young teacher I knew that my students didn’t need to take more tests to succeed in whatever path they chose. They needed to learn to think critically. I still believe this, and at NLP, we plan to make it happen.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has awarded the News Literacy Project, the nation’s leading provider of news literacy education, a three-year, $1.15 million grant to support a partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The LAUSD is the largest independent school district in the United States, and the grant will ensure that all students learn essential news literacy skills and concepts before they graduate high school.

Through the partnership, NLP and LAUSD will pioneer a blueprint not only for districts in California seeking to align instruction with the state’s recent media literacy legislation, but also for others across the nation, as a growing number of states pass similar legislation.

“Students have a right to learn how to find information they can trust, share and act on, and they are put at a civic disadvantage for the rest of their lives if they don’t,” said Charles Salter, President and CEO of the News Literacy Project. “This partnership with The Broad Foundation and Los Angeles Unified School District will serve as a roadmap for school leaders across the country to follow and implement their own community-driven approach to news and media literacy instruction. Together, we can prepare the next generation to participate in civic life as well-informed, critical thinkers.”

Support indicates significance, urgency

This investment from The Broad Foundation represents the first time the organization has funded such a venture, marking the significance of the issue throughout the region. “Young people are growing up in an increasingly challenging and complex information landscape. The thoughtful and timely work of the News Literacy Project equips students with critical thinking skills so they can distinguish credible reporting from misinformation,” said Gerun Riley, president of The Broad Foundation. “Supporting NLP and LAUSD’s partnership is an important step in cultivating a healthy information ecosystem where L.A.’s students can find and use trustworthy information to make well-informed decisions and uplift our communities.”

Philanthropist Melanie Lundquist brought together the partnership among The Broad Foundation, LAUSD and NLP. “I am grateful to The Broad Foundation for their support of NLP and proud of LA Unified, of which I am an alum. This collaboration sends a strong message that in Los Angeles, our young people will be well-equipped to become active and informed citizens. This is not a partisan issue. The News Literacy Project sets the standard for impartial media literacy education, and that helps strengthen our democracy,” said Lundquist, who is the largest individual donor to NLP and a member of NLP’s Board of Directors.

LAUSD to join District Fellowship program

Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, LAUSD will join the News Literacy District Fellowship program, a nationwide initiative that supports school leaders to design and implement their own innovative, sustainable plans for news and media literacy education for all students in their districts.

“Protecting democracy starts in America’s classrooms, and I appreciate The Broad Foundation’s commitment to our students and teachers in advancing news literacy curriculum,” said LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “In addition to our recent investment of $2 million in state monies to support educators to develop content, we are pleased to partner with organizations like NLP to implement media literacy education across our District. This collaboration will set the standard for effective news literacy instruction in classrooms across the country.”

NLP provides professional learning for administrators and educators and curriculum resources such as The Sift® newsletter and Checkology®, an award-winning e-learning platform for teaching news literacy. To learn more, read about the work of educators in New Mexico who have just completed their fellowship.

We are all susceptible to misinformation, but news literacy skills can protect you from being misled. On the In Clear Terms podcast, presented by the AARP, NLP Senior Manager of Education Design Dan Evon emphasizes the importance of verifying content before sharing it.

“If we can resist engaging with this content, resist sharing this content, we can really dampen its spread. And the less it spreads, the less it fools people and the less power it has,” Evon says.

NLP’s Five Factors teaches people how to evaluate the credibility of news and information. 

Listen to the full episode here.

Joel Hutchinson and Josefina Miller at a News Literacy District Fellowship retreat.

For years, educators have had a front-row seat to the often-troubling impacts of the information technology revolution on their teaching and on young people. To help ensure their students can thrive in a world where misinformation pollutes a relentless stream of online content, a team of educators in Las Cruces, New Mexico, turned to the News Literacy Project.

“Media technology is shifting far faster than we can keep up with it. Most students are getting news from TikTok and other ‘news’ sources. This was driving our thinking,” said Joel Hutchinson, secondary English language arts content specialist for Las Cruces public schools, a district with 25,000 students.

In 2021, Hutchinson, secondary Social Studies Content Specialist Jamie Patterson, and middle school English language arts Content Lead Josefina Miller applied to NLP’s News Literacy District Fellowship program. They were accepted into the inaugural cohort in 2022.

During the two-year fellowship, districts partner with NLP to develop and implement innovative, sustainable initiatives to embed news and media literacy education in their schools. Shaelynn Farnsworth, director of the program, credits the Las Cruces team with involving cross-curricular leaders and support staff to tackle the challenge. “Right from day one they met regularly and built a plan. They are of one of our strongest fellowship districts and are a model for the state.”

The educators consider news literacy instruction an educational imperative and believe a lack of news literacy skills disempowers students. “It’s a necessity. We need to start as early as possible because we know that our students have access to all forms of technology at very early ages,” Miller said.

It starts with the teachers

Patterson noted how her son, age 5, likes to watch videos of tornadoes on YouTube and can’t tell what is fake and what isn’t. “It was a big ‘Aha!’ moment for me. He hasn’t even started school yet, and he’s already seeing these videos and everything else, and they’re forming what he understands about the world. And that’s a problem.”

But before they could roll out news literacy instruction, the team needed to provide teachers with the support to integrate it in their classrooms. They piloted professional development with a group of high school ELA and social studies educators, building much of the curriculum around NLP’s signature digital learning platform, Checkology^®.

“We have teacher leaders who experimented and tried things out, and they’re now the ones that are helping us grow the program over the next few years,” Patterson said.

Las Cruces educators Megan Belch and Chelsea Lester participate in a critical observation exercise to vet the legitimacy of an image and its use at a professional learning event.

A poster created by a Las Cruces educator at a professional learning event.

The fellowship gave the educators the time and resources to focus and plan each step of the process, Hutchinson said.

“Because we had a preview with the pilot and the feedback from our colleagues, we can trickle down the skills from secondary level into middle school,” eventually incorporating news literacy instruction into elementary school, Miller noted.

News literacy instruction has been implemented in all Principals of Democracy classes, a course for upper grade levels, and it’s been written into the social studies curriculum guide for seniors. Students are introduced to news literacy at the start of the school year, and it is woven into class instruction throughout the year, so concepts are constantly reinforced.

Looking beyond their borders

What also sets the Las Cruces fellows apart is their vision of establishing news literacy education as a priority for all students in New Mexico, Farnsworth said. “They are working at the regional and state levels to help inform legislative decisions.”

And the educators hope to continue to advocate for news literacy at home while also assisting other districts as participants in NLP’s News Literacy District Fellowship Alumni program.

To have a meaningful impact, this work can’t start soon enough, the educators say. “What success would look like is to see this as a common practice, just part of the conversation. If we want to prepare kids for tomorrow, you’ve got to be thinking about tomorrow,” Patterson said.

At the News Literacy Project, we join others in America deeply troubled by the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life on July 13.  While thankful that he was not seriously injured, we extend our condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter, father and husband who lost his life. We also send our wishes for a swift and full recovery to the two other men who were injured in the shooting. Political violence should hold no place in our democratic process and civic discourse.

Immediately after the shooting, rumors and unverified claims emanated from across the political spectrum and spread rapidly online. In breaking news situations, the facts constantly evolve during the hours that follow, and even in the days and weeks after. We should avoid the temptation to propagate opinions that could further fuel false and unverified claims, expand the reach of propaganda and hate speech, and potentially lead to further violence. We all are susceptible to confirmation bias because many of us live in media echo chambers that reinforce our beliefs and leave us blind to new facts that can put an event in context and improve our understanding of it.

For helpful resources on how to evaluate breaking news, avoid confirmation bias and understand conspiratorial thinking, follow our social media channels and visit our website, where we provide additional resources to help promote informed news consumption and empower you to combat the spread of harmful falsehoods.

Today NLP recognizes and celebrates Juneteenth, which became an official U.S. holiday in 2021. The designation commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when federal troops freed the last of our nation’s enslaved people, who were being held by the Confederacy in Galveston, Texas.

More than two and a half years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all of those enslaved in the U.S. But news of freedom alone did not equal liberation. For those enslaved in Galveston, it finally arrived when Union troops defeated the Confederacy there in June 1865, more than two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union Army, ending the Civil War.

Also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration marking the end of slaveryin the U.S. The National Museum of African American History & Culture declares it “our country’s second independence day” and notes that its enduring legacy indicates “the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times.”

Myths and misinformation

As with any important day in U.S. history, misinformation about Juneteenth abounds. One common misperception is that enslaved people were unaware that the Emancipation Proclamation had freed them in 1863. Alexa Volland, NLP’s senior manager of multimedia content, clears things up in this short video. To steer clear of misinformation about Juneteenth, seek out standards-based sources and don’t assume everything you see about the holiday — especially posts on social media that trigger strong emotional reactions— is credible.

We encourage you to join the News Literacy Project in celebrating Juneteenth and learning more about its history and meaning. This Smithsonian piece is a good place to start, and this New York Times interactive article from 2020 puts Juneteenth in perspective. For those marking the holiday for the first time, the Associated Press published this guidanceyesterday.

For more on the Juneteenth holiday, check out our Flipboard collection of articles and resources.

Mis- and disinformation spread in politically charged times, particularly during election campaign season. Military service members, veterans and their families are often targeted by purveyors of disinformation seeking to undermine trust in the voting process.

To break through a confusing and misleading information landscape, the News Literacy Project hosted a panel of experts who work with the military community to discuss common types of election-related misinformation and practical tips for finding reliable news before voting. Zack Baddorf, Navy veteran, journalist and co-founder of Military Veterans in Journalism, moderated the conversation.

📣 Learn the messaging

Ahead of elections, foreign adversaries and domestic actors might aim to influence voters by emphasizing political friction and distrust in the voting process, said Richard Brookshire, CEO and co-founder of the Black Veterans Project. Propagandists seek to influence votes by exacerbating apathy or polarization. “They look at…points of conflict as cracks in the foundation,” added Joe Plenzler, a Marine Corps veteran and board member for We the Veterans and Military Families. “And they just need to pour their narrative like water into these cracks and wait for it to freeze and expand and burst.” Specifically, this might look like messages of moral or economic decline, competition and resource scarcity, Plenzler said.

“What we’re seeing is election integrity messaging and leaning into that in a way to chip away at voter confidence and to make you question whether or not it’s even worth coming out to vote.”
— Richard Brookshire

🧠 Engage with your emotions

Manipulative messages often spark a strong emotional reaction like fear or anger. To avoid being influenced by misinformation, Plenzler suggested the practice of identifying your emotions. When you feel fear, say what you’re feeling to re-engage your brain, Plenzler said. Dissect the message by asking, “To whose advantage is my fear?” he said. Where is the information coming from, and what is the information source trying to get you to do? Don’t underestimate the power of pausing to take a few deep breaths.

“The main takeaway and how you subvert that is through emotional intelligence because the opposite of fear in this situation is not courage… It’s skepticism. It’s asking very hard, pointed questions and being curious about the world.”
— Joe Plenzler

🗳️ Military votes count

Absentee ballots, when filled out correctly, are always counted in every election, regardless of how close the race is. They hold the same weight as a vote cast at a polling place, said Scott Wiedmann, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. If you are submitting an absentee ballot, don’t forget to sign your ballot package and send it back as early as possible. If you have questions about registering to vote absentee or finding accurate voting information, Wiedmann points to your unit’s voting assistance officer.

“Every absentee ballot that’s sent in to the election official,
that’s filled out properly and is received on time,
is counted in the election.”
— Scott Wiedmann

📰 Vet your news

If misinformation exists, when can you trust what you read? Nikki Wentling, who covers disinformation and extremism for Military Times, recommends looking for transparency behind the news organization. You should be able to find information about its ownership and funding and look for ethical guidelines published on its site. Credible news outlets also take responsibility for errors, so an outlet that publishes explanations of mistakes and corrections is a good sign, Wentling said.

“Do a quick search of who owns the publication you’re reading or the news channel you’re watching, because reputable news outlets will be transparent about who owns and funds them.”
— Nikki Wentling

For more ways to find credible election news, check out our elections resource hub. 

Neveah Rice
Cornell High School
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania

Neveah Rice felt a bit dazed when she learned that she was the News Literacy Project’s 2024 Gwen Ifill Student of the Year. “It felt like a dream. I didn’t think I actually won,” the senior at Cornell High School in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, told NLP.

Rice, who plans to study journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the fall, was nominated for the award by her U.S. Government teacher Amy Palo. While Palo was delighted to learn that NLP selected Rice for the honor, she was not surprised. “Neveah is truly a joy to have as a student and makes me hopeful for the next generation of journalists.”

In her nomination letter, Palo wrote that Rice “is committed to the First Amendment’s protection of the press. She is committed to learning about journalistic standards.” In addition to her coursework, Rice is involved in several school and community engagement activities, which she described in a recent article by a local news organization, Public Source.

Palo used NLP’s digital learning platform, Checkology®, and additional resources to teach students about the First Amendment and other foundational components of news literacy, which Rice embraced. “I have learned so much from my experience with news literacy education through Checkology,” she wrote in her nomination submission.

Checkology also has helped Rice become an apt discerner of credible information. “It did change the way I consider information that I come across online. Now that I know there’s certain misinformation and bias and stuff to look out for, I have a keener eye for those things,” she told NLP in a recorded interview.

A personal responsibility

Studying news literacy made her aware that we all play a role in pushing back against misinformation and helping others find credible sources and fact-based information, particularly on social media. “I do think that there is a responsibility that everybody should have when considering what they’re posting on social media, because misinformation is a serious problem in our society. And I think you should try your best to fact-check what you’re posting and make sure you read and hold yourself accountable.”

She acknowledged that this can be challenging, given the torrent of information that floods our newsfeeds and online communities every day. “I think it’s very overwhelming” for everyone, but especially for teens, she said.

And this is where her newfound skills make all the difference. “Being news-literate can contribute to how you’re thinking in real-life situations. I have learned so much from my experience with news literacy education through Checkology. I have applied this knowledge and will continue to make use of what I have learned whether it be in school or just in my daily life,” she said.

Rice readily grasps what this knowledge means for democracy and the importance of being civically engaged. “I will be voting in this election. It’s going to be my first time voting. I’m kind of nervous for it. I think my vote does matter.”

About the award

Gwen Ifill was a trailblazing journalist — and longtime NLP supporter and board member — who died in 2016. The award in her honor is presented to female students of color who represent the values she brought to journalism. Ifill was the first Black woman to host a national political talk show on television as moderator of Washington Week and was a member (with Judy Woodruff) of the first female co-anchor team of a network news broadcast on PBS NewsHour.

Lindsay Downs
Sewickley Academy
Sewickley, Pennsylvania

It’s certainly factual to say that Lindsay Downs is a librarian at the Sewickley Academy in suburban Pittsburgh. But that statement fails to capture all that she does and the values that drive her.

Downs has long been a committed educator, a champion of cross-discipline learning and an advocate for helping students become more savvy news consumers. And now, she is the News Literacy Project’s 2024 Alan. C. Miller Educator of the Year.  “I am so excited to be receiving the Alan C Miller Educator of the Year award,” she told NLP in a video interview. “ I have been teaching for 15 years” and helping students discern fact from fiction “is a labor of love.”

Since first learning about NLP at an American Association of School Librarians conference in 2021, she has used the digital learning platform Checkology®, the newsletter The Sift®, infographics and other downloadable material in her curriculum.

She believes news literacy gives students agency inside and outside of the classroom. “It’s really amazing to empower others to be the managers of their own learning. You’re teaching people how to be independent learners, and that’s a very powerful thing.”

Learning Specialist Dorothy Killmeyer, Downs’ colleague, nominated her for the award. Killmeyer described how Downs is a vocal advocate for helping students become more news-literate, driving the development of classes in research and information literacy for the middle school grades and inspiring fellow educators. “Lindsay collaborates with teachers from grades 6-12 in multiple subject areas. She works diligently with them to ensure that they can locate, evaluate, and create information ethically and accurately.”

Preparing tomorrow’s voters

Downs believes it’s important to support educators in other disciplines as they work to incorporate news literacy concepts into their lessons. For example, she recently collaborated with a science teacher whose students were doing research projects related to climate change. “I was brought in not only for the resources and the research process, but also to talk about how others talk about science, because whenever they were researching scientific topics related to climate change, they were inevitably coming across misinformation or manipulated content.”

And she knows that the ability to identify credible information benefits students inside and outside the classroom. With some of them eligible to vote for the first time this year, the stakes are high. “I think that my responsibility as an educator to prepare voters is to really help them critically think about information. It’s not so much what to think, but how to think.”

Ultimately, she’d like to see news and media literacy education become a national priority. “I think that as a society we really need to think about what media literacy education looks like. I would love to see that implemented in every state,” she said. “I’m concerned that if we don’t implement media literacy education on a large scale, we’re going to continue to see this crumble in civil discourse and how we interact together as a society.”

Committed educators like Downs are working hard to keep that from happening.

About the award

Alan C. Miller founded the News Literacy Project in 2008 to give middle and high school educators the tools to teach students how to separate fact from fiction. As a reporter with the Los Angeles Times for 21 years, he won more than 20 national honors, including a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. In 2020, Washingtonian magazine named him a Washingtonian of the Year, and in 2021, he received an AARP Purpose Prize. As Miller prepared to step down as NLP’s CEO in 2022, the board of directors designated the Educator of the Year Award in his name to recognize his contributions to the field.

Tamoa Calzadilla
Factchequeado
Miami

Tamoa Calzadilla understands better than most people how vital a free press is to a functioning democracy. As editor in chief of Factchequeado, an initiative created to counter mis- and disinformation within Spanish-speaking communities in the United States, she has practiced journalism in conditions where press freedoms were protected as well as under a dictatorship.

To recognize her fearless investigative reporting in her native Venezuela and her leadership in fact-checking for Spanish speakers in the U.S., the News Literacy Project named Calzadilla its 2024 John S. Carroll Journalist of the Year.

Alan C. Miller, founder and former CEO of NLP, called Calzadilla to tell her that she had been selected for the honor. “Initially, she was stunned and speechless. It took her several minutes to be able to express in words how much this means to her.”

“It’s a great honor,” she told Miller. “I’m an immigrant woman who had to leave her country. You never expect that you will receive an award like this. It has been a hard path as a professional, and personally. I am so grateful.”

Calzadilla has been a dedicated partner with NLP since 2022. She assisted in two election campaigns by recording Spanish-language content, providing translations of NLP resources and actively promoting National News Literacy Week. Earlier this year she participated in NLP’s first-ever Spanish-language event on election misinformation.

“I think news literacy should be required for high school curriculums,” she told NLP in a recorded interview.

Forced to flee Venezuela

An internationally recognized award-winning journalist, Calzadilla’s honors include the Maria Moors Cabot Special Citation from Columbia University and the Press and Society Institute and Transparency International in Latin America and the Caribbean prize for coverage of corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean. She was a Reynolds Journalism Institute fellow at the University of Missouri (2023-2024) and is a John S. Knight journalism fellow at Stanford University (2024-2025).

Raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Calzadilla discovered a love for journalism in college. “I think the journalism chose me,” the former engineering major said. Her investigative reporting exposed corruption and human rights violations, ”to give voice to people who don’t have a voice.”

“I went to the poor communities in my country. I covered a lot of stories in jails. But I loved that. When you understand the personal stories and the complex stories about the system and what is wrong, this kind of journalism was my passion for many years.”

Her coverage of government corruption and repression forced her to flee Venezuela with her family in 20I5 following the deepening of authoritarianism after the death of President Hugo Chávez in 2013. Calzadilla’s husband, a photojournalist, was briefly jailed on groundless claims of espionage, and someone broke into their apartment and stole her computer. “It was the moment we figured out we were in danger. We have two children. We have to go.”

They immigrated to the U.S., settling in Doral, Florida, near Miami, where Calzadilla worked as an investigative journalist with the Spanish language TV news outlet Univision. She covered major stories, including the Panama Papers, a massive leak of financial and legal records that exposed a system of crime and corruption hidden by secretive offshore companies.

Disinformation in Spanish-speaking communities

With the rise of mis- and disinformation targeting Latino and Hispanic communities, she led elDetector of Univision Noticias, the first Spanish-language fact-checking platform in the U.S., and later joined Factchequeado. As its editor in chief, she leads a team that fact-checks digital content, educates their audience on journalism standards and election practices and “prebunks” trending misinformation topics and tactics before people encounter them.

While misinformation is a problem for everyone, Latino and Hispanic communities can be more vulnerable to bad actors, Calzadilla explained. “For Spanish speakers, there are fewer reputable news sources and just three fact-checking organizations.”

Her team already is contending with election-related disinformation similar to what occurred during the 2020 election season. “We have to be prepared because we’ve started to see the same kind of disinformation that we’ve seen before or during electoral processes.”

The work she does to combat misinformation with partner organizations, and especially NLP, is deeply important to her. “I love the idea of collaborating to do something powerful. It’s very important to reach young people and give the students the tools and knowledge. We will be much better in general and in our community. Bilingual students are key in this process.”

About the award

Named for one of the most revered newspaper editors of his generation, the John S. Carroll Journalist of the Year Award is given annually to journalists who have contributed significantly to NLP and its mission. The honorees are selected by a committee of NLP board members and staff. During an acclaimed journalism career spanning four decades, Carroll was the editor of three major U.S. newspapers — the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, The Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times. He was a founding member of NLP’s board and served as its chair for four years until shortly before his death in 2015.

Vetting election information: How service members, veterans and military families can get credible voting information

About the webinar

As the 2024 election season is underway, falsehoods about voting and ballot issues already are circulating widely. Bad actors exploit a charged political atmosphere by spreading false claims about candidates, disinformation about how to vote and baseless rumors that undermine trust in election systems and infrastructure.

Military service members, veterans and their families in particular encounter conspiracy theories and other types of mis-and disinformation frequently. In a recent poll of Military Times readers, 57% said they personally have been targeted.

To break through this confusing and often misleading information landscape, the News Literacy Project is hosting a panel of experts who work with the military community for a virtual discussion about common types of election-related misinformation and practical tips and tools for finding reliable news sources before voting.

Panelists include: Richard Brookshire, CEO and co-founder of the Black Veterans Project and Army veteran; Joe Plenzler, communications advisor for We the Veterans and Military Families, volunteer poll worker for Vet the Vote and Marine Corps veteran; Nikki Wentling, Military Times reporter and Military Veterans in Journalism fellow; and Scott Wiedmann, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. Zack Baddorf, co-founder of Military Veterans in Journalism and Navy veteran, moderates.

Ellie Blanchard

On March 29, 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was working on an assignment in Russia when he was accused of espionage and arrested. More than a year later, Gershkovich is still wrongfully detained, despite his and the U.S. government’s denial of Russia’s allegations.

This high-profile case highlights the necessity of a free press. Without the standards-based reporting press freedoms enable, we risk the spread of misinformation, disinformation and declining trust in institutions. Paul Beckett, an assistant editor at the Journal who is also responsible for their efforts to secure Gershkovich’s release, recently joined the News Literacy Project to discuss the case. Here are some key takeaways from our conversation with him:

The effect on reporting in Russia

Concerned for their safety, most reporters from the United States left Russia after Gershkovich was detained. “Russia is now being covered by most of the major U.S. news organizations from Berlin, from Warsaw, from Dubai, from London,” Beckett said. Independent Russian journalists also fled the country, contributing further to a lack of trustworthy news coming from inside the country.

“We know there is no substitute for being on the ground and writing about what you are seeing.”

Recognizing reliable journalism

When journalists are not allowed to do their duty as truth-tellers, it becomes even more important for individuals to be able to recognize signs of credible reports.  As a starting point, Beckett suggests looking for multiple sides to a story. Consider whether the information you see includes various angles that represent multiple stakeholders.

“You want to think you’ve heard from everybody. And if you haven’t heard from everybody, you have to ask yourself, ‘Why not?’”

How to support Gershkovich

As Beckett’s team and the U.S. government continue to work toward Gershkovich’s release, you can support their efforts. Beckett encourages sharing Gershkovich’s name widely. “If people talk about him, think about him, mention his name, talk about him over dinner, I just think all of it makes a difference,” he said. You can also show your support more directly by visiting wsj.com/evan for updates and resources, including how to send Gershkovich a letter of support in Moscow.

“That he’s not forgotten is very important in a practical sense for our ongoing efforts.”

🌱 For the classroom

Educators: To seamlessly incorporate discussions of Evan Gershkovich and press freedoms into your classroom, start with our free “Misinfo 101” course on the Checkology® virtual classroom. This preset sequence of lessons will help students identify and debunk misinformation. Checkology also includes a “Press Freedoms Around the World”  lesson, which explores the state of press freedoms in 22 nations.

“If you want to be informed, if you don’t want to be fooled by this sort of stuff, you have to be an active consumer. You can’t just take these rumors as they are.”

🐌 Slow down

Information travels quickly on the internet. If a post prompts an emotional reaction, practice patience and seek out additional sources as you look for answers. Dan suggests asking yourself, “If that image or claim is true, what else would need to be true?” For example, a fake image that appeared to show the Eiffel Tower on fire went viral earlier this year. If the Eiffel Tower were truly on fire, you would also be able to find breaking news coverage, photos and videos taken from multiple angles, statements from local officials and police reports. But none of that was true when that false image circulated in January.

“The problem is that there’s so much information that comes at us that we rely on our instincts too much, and we have to slow down to critically examine content.”

🖼️ Remove the frame

Misinformation is often designed to exploit our biases, and content on social media is often paired with a caption to prime the way we view it. Try this exercise: If you ignore the photo or video’s caption, what do you see? Try to view the content for what it is, rather than in the context set up by another user.

“When we remove the frame and just view the content as itself, we can make our own conclusions before we can be influenced by these people who are spreading falsehoods.”

 🥸 Check the source

Not all internet sources are created equal. If you come across an unusual or bold claim on social media, look into the account that posted the information. Does the source post legitimate news coverage, or does it focus on satire and jokes?

“Checking the source is probably the quickest and easiest thing that we can do when scrolling on social media. Just clicking on a person’s account can give us a good idea of the type of content that they share.”

Ellie Blanchard

Americans in 203 counties don’t have a local news outlet, recent research shows. During election season, a lack of local news presents a challenge to voters looking for vital information about ballot initiatives and candidates running for office.

As information becomes harder to find, especially in rural areas, the News Literacy Project convened three experts to share tips for finding reliable news before heading to the polls.  For more ways to find credible election news, check out our elections resource hub.

💦 Sweat the details

To avoid being fooled by bad actors masquerading as local officials, learn to recognize legitimate election information that you find in your mailbox or online. Brianna Lennon, county clerk for Boone County, Missouri,  advised looking for clues that a source is legitimate, like an official election mail insignia or a web address that ends in .gov.

“In terms of finding out what’s on the ballot, the actual government website and the mail are the two biggest ways that people are going to find it.”
— Brianna Lennon

💡 Take responsibility

If your area lacks news coverage on local issues, turn to trusted community leaders to better understand candidate positions, suggested Benjy Hamm, director of the University of Kentucky’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. “I call friends who deal with the court system… I talk to teachers about school board members,” he said. While this is a good starting point for getting information, be aware of biases and be sure to consult multiple sources.

🤔 Think like a journalist

Without a formal voter guide from a local news outlet, you can operate like a journalist yourself to find important information. Alana Rocha, editor of the Rural News Network, encourages all voters to think critically when they see promotional flyers or texts. Seek news from a variety of sources and confirm claims by visiting candidates’ platforms directly.

“Diversify your sources. Go to the person’s website to see what they have to say.”
— Alana Rocha

NLP’s digital learning platform Checkology® has won a prestigious Webby People’s Voice Award, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced today.

The Academy’s 28th annual awards honor the “best of the internet,” recognizing artists, media companies and other creatives at the leading edge of tech and culture. Checkology won in the category of Websites and Mobile Sites — Responsible Information, which recognizes products, platforms, software and other technologies working to combat disinformation, misinformation and false or misleading information online.

Checkology was selected as an honoree from among 13,000 entries across the world. The Academy noted that just 4% of those entries won a Webby Award. The People’s Voice Award is decided by a popular online vote. The academy said more than 550,000 people cast 2.2 million votes this year.

“The future of our shared civic life depends on young people learning the skills necessary to find credible information online,” said News Literacy Project President and CEO Charles Salter. “Checkology is the most comprehensive resource on the internet to do just that. We are honored by this recognition and remain committed to our mission of building a future founded on facts.”

Checkology teaches vital news literacy skills

Checkology, a free digital learning platform, teaches people how to identify credible sources and discern fact-based information in a sea of falsehoods, manipulated content and viral rumors. The platform features 19 foundational news literacy lessons on topics including misinformation, conspiratorial thinking and news media bias. Respected journalists and leading experts guide the interactive lessons, which include real-life examples drawn from the internet, including social media platforms such as TikTok.

Primarily intended for middle and high school, more than 100,000 students used the platform last school year. Independent evaluations show students who completed Checkology lessons learned vital skills, including how to identify when social media posts fail to provide credible evidence. Launched in 2016, Checkology is just one of the many free resources offered by the News Literacy Project and used by educators in all 50 states.

Winners will be honored at a gala hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin on Monday, May 13, in New York City.

Photo courtesy of Pam Szabo

If educator Pam Szabo were a student today, she’d probably be the kid asking the teacher for extra homework.

“I like to be busy. That’s who I am,” said Szabo, a veteran English teacher and reading specialist who joined La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, as a part-time library assistant in fall 2022, when her son enrolled as a freshman.

La Salle, a Catholic all-boys college-prep school, transformed its traditional library into the McShain Center for Digital Research and Collaboration, and Szabo envisioned all the ways she could make an impact. “With my ambitious personality, I began to ask for more and more responsibilities. I was bugging my dean, ‘What else can I do, what else can I do?’”

So, the dean asked her to create a media and news literacy curriculum as a component of the school’s required freshman course, Introduction to Technology and Design.

“I have a great interest in curriculum design and development, so I started to dig for resources to teach this,” she said.

Szabo came across the News Literacy Project’s Framework for Teaching News Literacy and then discovered Checkology^®, NLP’s e-learning platform. She likes that subject matter experts guide students through the lessons and that the topical subjects and examples from social media make the material relevant.

An investigative news literacy curriculum

Photo courtesy of La Salle College High School

To develop the curriculum, she watched all 19 Checkology lessons and found that this exercise also benefited her as a media and news consumer. “It made me stop and think of what I see in media. It made me more aware,” said Szabo, who is now the school’s media literacy instructor. Using NLP resources, she teaches more than 300 freshmen each year.

She focuses her sessions around nine Checkology lessons, including “Arguments and Evidence,” “Evaluating Sources Online” and “Introduction to Algorithms.” She frequently uses challenges offered within the platform’s Check Center, where students put their investigative skills to the test.

Szabo works through the lessons and exercises with her students, stopping frequently for discussion and closer examination. For example, she might present an image from the Israel-Hamas war and stop to ask questions that test the students’ critical observation skills: “What do you think you’re looking at? Who is saying what? Do they have the authority to say it? Is there money involved?”

Students enjoy the investigative nature of the class and are often surprised that an authentic-looking social media post is doctored, fabricated or taken out of context by a source that lacks credibility, she said.

Concepts apply to many disciplines

Photo courtesy of La Salle College High School

At her dean’s request, Szabo is preparing to give a presentation to colleagues explaining what it means to be news-literate and demonstrating how other teachers can incorporate news literacy skills into their lessons. She also will promote the value of having a journalist as a guest speaker in class because it provides real-life authenticity and could relate to a variety of disciplines, she said.

Szabo already has witnessed how students apply their new skills in other settings. “I was helping with a research project in social studies classes, and I heard them using terminology from Checkology about finding credible resources and using some of the skills they learned — especially lateral reading.”

She noted that educators don’t need to dedicate a full class period to teach this important material. “It’s very doable even if you don’t have a lot of time. You can do it as a bellringer. And it’s valuable for assignment modules when you have a substitute teacher.”

Move over “Oppenheimer,” the News Literacy Project’s Checkology® digital learning platform is in the running for top honors in The Webby Awards, the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences’ signature awards program.

Checkology, our field-defining news literacy product, is one of five finalists in the websites and mobile sites category Responsible Information. Just being nominated is a big win. Our entry was one of 13,000 projects from around the world vying for honors in this category.

Even better, NLP has two chances to come out on top: The Webby Award, which is chosen by the Academy itself, and The Webby People’s Voice Award, which the public chooses. “Both awards are a mark of international distinction for Internet excellence,” the academy’s president Claire Graves wrote in when notifying us that Checkology was a finalist.

Here’s where you come in. The public voting period has begun and is open until Thursday, April 18, at 11:59 PDT. Please visit the Webby site to cast your vote for Checkology today. It’s quick and easy.

The academy will announce the winners on Tuesday, April 23, and will celebrate the honorees at the 28th Annual Webby Awards gala hosted by Amber Ruffin on Monday, May 13 in New York City.

Thank you for supporting NLP and a future founded on facts.

On April 8, millions of people across North America will don special glasses, crane their necks and gaze skyward to view a rare natural phenomenon — a total solar eclipse.

An eclipse occurs when the shadow of the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight for several minutes and darkening the sky. The upcoming eclipse will begin on the Pacific coast of Mexico a little after 2 p.m. ET and carve a diagonal path in the sky northeast across the U.S. before slipping off the continent in Newfoundland, Canada, shortly before 4 p.m. ET. The United States won’t see another total eclipse for 20 years.

Given the rarity of the event, it’s no surprise that the eclipse is generating conspiracy theories and misinformation, which have been spreading across social media and sparking fear, confusion and anxiety. Natural phenomena are often the subject of misinformation, and conspiracy theorists mine them for hidden meanings, secret government machinations and apocalyptic omens. The TikTok video we debunked on our RumorGuard® platform and the biblical-related falsehood we unmasked on Instagram are good examples of the scare-mongering circulating about this eclipse.

When family and friends share misinformation

Purveyors of mis- and disinformation who have a stake in its spread know that this is exactly the kind of content that well-intentioned friends and family might share widely. Just ask Tony Russomanno of California, who emailed us recently to share how he responded to eclipse-related misinformation that a relative shared and her friend amplified:

“i heard on the day of the Eclipse CELL PHONES may not work well or at all. be mindful and prepared. (April 8th)”

“They say plan on having cash on hand, plenty of food & water …”

Russomanno realized the women were being misled, so he researched credible information and replied to them in a thoughtful post that read, in part:

 “What both of you said is technically TRUE, but perhaps not for the reasons you may think.

“The eclipse will NOT affect cell service in any direct way. However, a story in The Herald-Times in Bloomington, Indiana, a town that will be in the path of totality, said that so many people will be visiting the area and streaming live video to their friends elsewhere that the local cell towers may not have the capacity to handle the increased usage.”

The misinformation about hoarding cash and food is similar to the hysteria before the turn of the millennium, when there were fears that the Y2K computer bug would bring down civilization. Spoiler alert: It didn’t.

‘A spark of truth’

There are several reasons for the appeal and intractability of conspiracy theories, and Russomanno shared an important insight. “Reading the story made me aware that even conspiratorial nonsense may contain a spark of truth.”

He used this realization to craft a response that prompted the women to  delete their posts. “That awareness shaped my reply. By leading with an acknowledgment that the rumors, as written, were ‘technically TRUE,’ the refutation that followed may have been received in a more amenable frame of mind.”

You can avoid being tricked by scare tactics and wild conspiracies about everything from solar eclipses to U.S. elections by sharpening your news literacy skills. You will then be equipped to use that knowledge to help people in your community avoid these traps and stay well-informed, as Russomanno did. To begin, check out NLP’s free resources like RumorGuard, subscribe to our newsletters and explore our website.

If you are lucky enough to be in the path of the eclipse, remember, there’s no need to stock up on cash, candles and canned goods, but be sure to use proper eye protection before you look away from your phone and up at the sky.

Ambassador Connections is a series highlighting NewsLitNation^® Ambassadors.

Yearbook and newspaper advisor Sara Gonzales’ leads her class of Journalism I and II students through a Checkology lesson at Paetow High School in Katy on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. Photo credit: Laura Sponaugle for NLP.

1. As a NewsLitNation ambassador, you clearly are committed to news and media literacy education. What drives that commitment? 

I remember the morning after Election Day in 2016 and hearing my students question why fake news and misinformation were such a large part of the election. They sought to have a deeper understanding of how to think critically, to fact check and help others with educated decisions in all facets of their lives. After that day, I made it a small mission of mine to help my students become critical thinkers and to normalize the standard of being news-literate. Every single day in my journalism classes we go over news from the previous 24-hour cycle and cross-verify stories from multiple outlets. If my students learn only one thing out of my journalism classes, I want them to learn how to truly understand the news and media today and how they impact their lives.

2. Please name a favorite tool or tip for teaching news literacy and how students responded to it.

Checkology® is a great tool to bring into the classroom. Recently, we did a Checkology lesson that allowed for the best classroom discussion as we went along. I love the aspect that it can be self-paced or taught as a full class (one-to-many) with the teacher leading instruction.  The best part of the Checkology lessons is seeing that students question whether something is one way or another as they are going through the course. It is eye-opening and makes the learning fun.

As a class, we went through the “Citizen Watchdogs” lesson. A large number of my students had not heard of the Rodney King case, and it made them pause and look at the importance of that event and the unrest that followed in Los Angeles. Through the lesson, students were able to look at how one recorded event caused a national uproar. With this, my students were able to relate information to current news events and find ways to source their information even with people being everyday watchdogs.

3. These are particularly challenging times for being an educator. What has been your go-to de-stressor?

Isabella Semiglasov, Curtezha Woods, ambassador Sara Gonzales, Gabriella Leighton, Yvette Garcia, class of 2023.

I think everything is about balance and learning to know your boundaries. As a new teacher decades ago, there were nights I would be at school until almost 10 p.m., but now I have learned that the work will be there tomorrow. Sometimes that makes my to-do list really long, but I love Post-it® notes to-do lists. You can only put so much on a Post-it, and it is easily attainable. Also, I love to sit and read. Nothing can de-stress you more than getting lost in a book and letting go for a few hours as the pages flow by.

4. NLP’s PitchIt! student contest has recently opened in Texas. How do you think it will help educators with lessons related to news and media literacy in their classrooms?

Jabari Bush (left) and Joseph Ugwu (right) Present Sara Gonzales a uniform after being named Teacher of the Week by the football team. Football players vote and select teachers who have made a difference in their high school careers both in their classroom and as support systems.

Several years ago, Texas passed legislation that requires K-12 news literacy for all school-age children. I think there has been concern of how to best teach news and media in the classroom that is objective and teaches our students to analyze resources. With the News Literacy Project, teachers have free resources with a click of a button. The information is unbiased and gives a holistic perspective of how to properly analyze the news.

This year, through NLP and the Ambassador Program, I have been able to get PitchIt! Texas off the ground and started. PitchIt! is a campaign perfect for teachers of any content to have their students write about news literacy, their thoughts and perspectives. We hope to get students to compete in Texas in such a pivotal election year where their voice matters.

5. Aside from fighting for facts, what else are you passionate about? 

I am a fierce advocate of diversity in scholastic journalism. I firmly believe that journalism speakers and boards across the country need to be reflective of the voices of our students and mirror the diversity we see in our classrooms daily. In 2019, at the World Journalism Education Congress I was the only high school teacher attending to speak on diversity in scholastic journalism and how to increase the narrative to our reporting. While working with fellow journalists and journalism educators, we came up with five main points to focus on in our classrooms.

• Journalism educators and journalists must recognize the role news media haveplayed in marginalizing and sometimes traumatizing communities along the fault lines of race, class, gender, disability, generation and geography with missing voices, tokenism and negative stereotypes.
• A “call to action” to journalism educators and journalists to build diversity, inclusion and equity into all aspects of the curriculum, and a call to newsrooms to foster community accountability and power sharing based on diversity, inclusion and equity in all aspects of their operations.
• We need to recognize that diversity is an ongoing issue that is interconnected with economics, politics, entertainment and the environment.
• We must all recognize the impact the intersectionality of identities has on our journalism practices and teaching. This can be achieved through required and ongoing antibias (especially unconscious bias) education and multicultural competency training for educators, students and journalists.
• We must encourage and actively support students from marginalized groups to become journalists and recognize communicators from representative groups and local communities as professional communicators.

6. Are you on team dog, team cat, team wombat?

Team dog all the way. I have three dogs: Maebel Lou, Dolly Estelle and Mason. Two are rescues. I can’t imagine my life without my dogs; they are the best and always provide a laugh at the end of a really stressful day. Feel free to ask me about my dogs. I have a story a day about them. There’s never a dull day at my house with them.

Susan Minichiello
Northern California

1. What led you to the news literacy movement? 

I could give a long list of reasons why the news literacy movement is essential, but for me, it all boils down to people. Everyone I care about is affected by misinformation one way or another, myself included. It’s a huge issue not just for our democracy but also for our collective health, the everyday decisions we make for ourselves and others and our interpersonal relationships.

Watching the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and seeing vaccine misinformation spread during the pandemic were also motivating factors in joining the movement. Misinformation can be distressing, especially when loved ones share it. I like that news literacy is a sensible and practical solution to counter mis- and disinformation.

2. What news literacy tip, tool or guidance do you most often use?

Taking a pause! It sounds simple but it works. Instead of an instant like or share on a social media post, just taking a breather to fact-check or verify claims helps us to avoid contributing to the spread of misinformation.

3. Aside from fighting for facts, what else are you passionate about?

Minichiello’s son hiking a trail near their home in Sonoma County, California.

I’m a notebook addict. Does that count as a passion? I collect notebooks everywhere I go, and anytime I’m in San Francisco one of my first stops is usually the stationery store in Japantown.

I also love being outside as often as I can. Living in Sonoma County, California, we’re fortunate to have access to so many beautiful parks and wineries. It’s a wonderful place to hike and bike. If I need to decompress, working in my garden or taking a walk relaxes me.

4. Are you on team dog, team cat, team wombat?

I’m a former cat person fully converted to team dog! My family and I adopted a 20-pound rat terrier named Loki last year. She is the sweetest little lady! She came with the name Loki, and we didn’t want to change it because she is an adult dog, but we have so many nicknames for her: Loki Dokie, Gnocchi, Mochi, smokey Loki, etc. When I’m working from home, she’s usually curled up right next to me.

And no, I’ve never seen Loki, the Disney+ show, but I heard he’s quite mischievous. My Loki is pretty low key, but every once in a while, she unleashes a little chaos.

5. And finally, what item do you always have in your fridge?

Eggs from local farms. I love that bright orange yolk you can get only when the eggs are fresh. I cook eggs poached, sunny-side up, in a soft and fluffy French-style omelet with chives, or my favorite Thai omelet over steamed Jasmine rice. (Here’s a good Thai omelet recipe if you’re interested in cooking it, too.)

This past year, artificial intelligence generators became a proficient misinformation tool. With a little human input and a few clicks, anyone can quickly fabricate convincing (and misleading) fake images, audio or text. Still, bad actors don’t need elaborate technologies to mislead people. Tactics that are cheap and easy, like presenting an image or video out of context, are still more prevalent than their AI counterparts. Even worse, recent changes to X (formerly known as Twitter), such as altering the meaning of its blue check symbol or removing headlines from link preview panels, have made this content easier to spread and more difficult to spot. As the year ends, we review misinformation trends and the news literacy lessons they offer, so we can resolve to be better news consumers in 2024.  

1. Truth remains in the AI of the beholder

AI generators are complex tools that make it simple to quickly fabricate synthetic digital images of, well, almost anything: the pope in a puffy coat, explosions at the White House, former President Donald Trump being arrested and crying babies in the rubble of destroyed buildings. Voice cloning AI tools also can create other deceptions: Videos of public figures saying things they never did. By altering the mouth movements and adding an AI audio replica voice to a genuine video, purveyors of disinformation falsely made it appear that former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal promoted a new Medicaid spending card, that President Joe Biden confirmed the existence of aliens or that environmental activist Greta Thunberg called for the use of “biodegradable” bombs in Israel. 

Newslit takeaway

AI image generators aren’t flawless, and careful observation often reveals clues that may indicate if a particular image is authentic. But that’s not the only way to know something is amiss. Look at the surrounding context. Who shared the image? Where was it originally posted? Have any credible news outlets published it?

2. Israel-Hamas war and fake conflict rumors

Not only were AI image generators used to spread false rumors about the Israel-Hamas war, but the mere existence of these tools lent conspiracy theorists another reason to push absurd falsehoods that the war itself was being staged. Along with AI misinformation, many of the false claims that spread on social media after the start of the war relied on the same old tactics that we’ve seen in years past: conspiratorial rumors about “crisis actors” and fabricated news reports spread to sow doubt about the conflict itself, mislabeled images of crowds and protests shared out of context to garner support (or opposition) for one side or another, and video game clips shuffled into the mix of war footage by engagement-seeking opportunists.

Newslit takeaway

The amount of misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is a clear reminder of how important it is to get news from standards-based sources with a track record of getting the facts right and strong incentives to do so. Remember, one of the main goals of misinformation is to create doubt and distrust in mainstream news coverage.

@newslitproject Let’s take a look back at some of the biggest stories in misinformation from 2023 and see what we can learn from them. #HappyNewYear #YearInReview #Misinformation #NewsLiteracy ♬ original sound – News Literacy Project

3. Musk, X and platforming misinformation

Following Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter in October 2022, the site underwent numerous changes that disinformation researchers and experts criticized as seemingly designed to help the spread of misinformation and make accurate claims more difficult to find. The site’s verification symbol, which once signified the authenticity of an account, became a badge that anyone could buy for $8 a month. This, unsurprisingly, led to a rash of impostor accounts and some of the biggest drivers of false claims.

Several news outlets left the platform due to Musk’s changes, including NPR, after the site falsely labeled them as “state-affiliated media.” Many advertisers followed suit, as they didn’t want their content to appear beside antisemitic or white nationalist posts. Musk himself has promoted debunked conspiracy theories, and at the end of the year, reinstated the account of Alex Jones, a far-right pundit who promoted the false idea that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a “false flag” event. X also removed headlines from preview panels, which made it harder for people to recognize and read news — and easier for bad actors to misrepresent the contents of a link with a misleading claim.

Newslit takeaway

Information on X, like all social media sites, moves quickly and relentlessly — and the changes to the platform require everyone to recalibrate how they use it. It’s more important than ever to be cautious and use basic verification practices when using the platform.

4. Subtitles and subterfuge

In 2023, social media saw plenty of videos featuring people speaking languages other than English accompanied by inaccurate subtitle translations, such as this video, which appeared to show the emir of Qatar threatening to cut off the world’s oil supply. As with voice clones, this method of disinformation literally puts words into a person’s mouth and makes it seem as if they expressed an opinion they never did.

Newslit takeaway

One reason that these falsely captioned videos are effective is because people inherently trust subtitles, since we are all accustomed to encountering good-faith translations of movies and TV shows. On social media, however, it is important to take some time to consider who is providing the purported translation, as purveyors of disinformation often add these captions.

5. Climate and meteorologist misinformation campaigns

Meteorologists and weather reporters covering climate change and extreme weather events received a slew of death threats, spurred on in part by persistent misinformation campaigns attempting to cast doubt on the overwhelming scientific consensus about climate change. People who do not agree with mainstream science that says the climate is changing and who are bent on convincing the public to doubt this consensus relied on a familiar playbook in 2023: doctoring weather maps, fabricating translations and misrepresenting data points to try to convince the public that scientists, the media and meteorologists are lying about climate change.

Newslit takeaway

A key feature of online disinformation campaigns is the ongoing attempt to discredit reputable sources. By casting meteorologists, health groups, scientific organizations, the press and other credible sources about climate change as untrustworthy, purveyors of disinformation can steer audiences to false information and unreliable sources. Pushing back against misinformation isn’t just about debunking individual claims, but also understanding the overarching goal of these campaigns.

Bonus: Continuing COVID rumors just won’t quit

As 2023 began, vaccine skeptics were still busy spreading persistent falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccine. Moments after NFL player Damar Hamlin collapsed during a football game at the end of 2022, they falsely blamed a COVID-19 vaccine. Then over the next few months, as Hamlin reappeared in public, conspiracy theorists also claimed that he died and a clone replaced him. While it has been nearly three years since vaccines were released, and studies continue to show that they are both safe and effective, they remain a reliable topic for bad actors to exploit with fearmongering and conspiratorial claims.

Newslit takeaway

While examples of falsehoods about COVID-19 vary in their details, they frequently fall into the same general buckets: A celebrity “died suddenly” due to the vaccine; the government is planning new pandemics to enact lockdowns, and vaccines are more dangerous than the disease itself. Being mindful of common misinformation tropes can help us better recognize them the next time we encounter one.

DeMario Phipps-Smith
Chicago

1. What led you to the news literacy movement? 

While completing my master’s program, one of my professors tasked me with following newsletters from organizations doing unique things in journalism and news. One of the newsletters I followed was The Sift^®. Instantly, I resonated with NLP’s mission and work. I knew it would be a great place to work if I ever got the opportunity.

2. What news literacy tip, tool or guidance do you most often use?

When having productive conversations about misinformation, it’s important to remember P.E.P. You need PATIENCE to understand these conversations take time, EMPATHY to respect other’s knowledge and beliefs and PERSISTENCE to keep up the conversation even when things get tough.

3. Since you joined NLP, what has been your most surprising or satisfying experience?

Having the opportunity to speak at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum was certainly one of my most cherished experiences at NLP. It was an honor to represent the organization on such a prominent platform, and I got a chance to meet the former president.

4.  You said that you’re committed to helping amplify the voices of marginalized communities. Can you talk a little more about that?

I was drawn to journalism because I grew up in a neighborhood in Chicago where Black and Brown people often feel their stories and truths aren’t being depicted accurately in the media. In my current role, I am particularly passionate about helping to bring news literacy training opportunities to marginalized communities to help them combat misinformation — which has disproportionately affected many of these communities.

5. Aside from fighting for facts, what else are you passionate about?

I’m a huge sports fan (Bulls, Bears, White Sox… I know, pray for me). I enjoy live events like catching a Bears game or going to see a band perform at my local bar. I’m also a  big foodie, and Chicago has so many great restaurants that I’m excited to try!

6. Are you on team dog, team cat, team wombat?

I’m a fan of most pets, and I side more with team doggo… but currently, I do not have a pet.

7. And finally, what item do you always have in your fridge?

A pack of purified water. I can’t stand tap water, and water is like the most essential part of our diets. Good water is good for your health.

1. As a NewsLitNation ambassador, you clearly are committed to news and media literacy education. What drives that commitment?

Outside of the high school classroom, I work as an adjunct at a few local universities. One of those universities asked me to teach a course about the current civil rights movement. They wanted me to discuss the concept of “wokeness,” the development of the Black Lives Matter movement and the impact of George Floyd’s death.

In putting together the course material, I was amazed by the way that social media platforms were used to promote ideas that were completely false, and easily disprovable. When George Floyd was murdered, various memes and posts were spread about some of his past arrests, one of which included a photo of a woman. It was said that this woman was pregnant, and that Floyd had assaulted her. While it is true that Floyd was imprisoned for an assault, it was not an assault of a pregnant woman. Further, the picture that was used was a photo that had been taken of an American tourist who had been assaulted in Spain and had nothing at all to do with Floyd. For me, stumbling across this post and researching it further really brought out the need to do more work with news literacy.

Our decisions as a society are only as good as the information we have, and if we are consistently making decisions with incorrect information that we believe to be correct, we’re in trouble. Therefore, I believe it is imperative to share news literacy tools with others so that we can learn to discard this misinformation and actually hold on to the information that is true. Without that ability to discern, we can become jaded and simply choose not to listen to any information, which is not only a travesty, but dangerous.

2. Name a favorite tool or tip for teaching news literacy that you can share with our educator community, and your students’ reactions.

One of the best things that I’ve learned through being involved with NLP is how to do a reverse image search. I previously had no idea that something like this was possible, but it is so helpful because it often allows one to see that misleading images were posted before the incident that they supposedly depict (like the aforementioned photo that was said to be of the woman that Floyd had assaulted). I haven’t yet shared this tool with my students, but I plan to do so shortly.

The tool that I’ve most recently shared with my students that I’ve found really helpful has been Reuters Fact Check. When I shared it with the students, they were blown away by how many misleading posts are made each day. Rather than focusing on the specifics of each post on Reuters, looking at the number of posts per day really helped my students see the extent of the problem of misinformation and disinformation.

3. These are particularly challenging times for being an educator. What has been your go-to de-stressor?

I find a lot of strength in connecting with people. I think that we as humans were made to create connections, to relate to each other and to empathize with one another. Therefore, despite the fact that this time is challenging, I de-stress by reaching out to others, trying to connect with them and attempting to see how they are coping with everything. I’ve also been trying to give more classes related to things like news literacy, simply because I think that when society can get ahold of better information, society will improve. In this way, I feel as though I’m contributing to slowly helping society become healthier and happier.

4. How does your work as a news literacy ambassador contribute to your local community?

I already mentioned the course that I gave about the current civil rights movement. Without news literacy, that course would have had very little impact. News literacy undergirded it and made it meaningful. It allowed the students to see past some of the false narratives they had heard previously and start thinking more deeply about information and the way that it impacts their view of the world. Further, in using Checkology® and RumorGuard^TM in my classroom, I have found that my students are really beginning to grasp the way that information can be manipulated and used to shape public opinion. They are developing the ability to sift through material and to figure out quality sources.

One of my major goals this year as a news literacy ambassador is to connect with the superintendents of the local districts and start holding regular professional development with the public schools in this area. In the next week or so, I intend to reach out to the local paper and introduce myself and my work as an ambassador, and then with that introduction, reach out to the superintendents.

5. Aside from fighting for facts, what else are you passionate about?

This is connected to my fight for facts but is also slightly different. I’m really passionate about people. People matter. Building on that, people working together matters. One of my major goals in life is to bring people together, to acknowledge that we are all part of a shared community, to appreciate each other, to learn from each other and to also struggle with each other. We all have different ideas. Even if we all get to the facts, it can still be difficult to bring together disparate personalities, religions and ideologies. But I think it’s crucial. Thus, I fight for facts, but I also fight for appreciation –– appreciation of differences and appreciation of each other, despite our differences.

As part of that love for people, I decided to get my Ph.D. in Holocaust and genocide studies. I wanted to better understand what develops hatred between groups (particularly religious groups) and why some choose to stand against genocide. In the process of studying the Holocaust, I stumbled across stories of rescue via the Kindertransport that had not yet been told; these eventually led to writing the award-winning book Part of the Family and producing a documentary of the same name.

6. Are you on team dog, team cat, team wombat?

So, I don’t have a dog or a cat. If I had to choose one, I’d choose a dog, just because dogs are so happy; I love that about them. However, I’m actually part of team bunny. I always thought that having a bunny was silly, and  when I met someone who had one as a pet, I didn’t believe it –– I couldn’t understand why someone would have something as a pet that couldn’t really do anything helpful (i.e., it can’t act as a guard dog and isn’t really a companion in the same way that a dog or a cat could be). But, after I had four daughters, I found bunnies becoming an important part of my life. Now, I absolutely love being part of team bunny. There’s nothing that quite makes a day better than petting something so fuzzy.

Jason was recently featured in a story in Acorn Newspapers in California:  “Students learn to discern fake news.”

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement dedicated to charitable giving. Every day, the News Literacy Project is working to create a national community of upstanders for facts. We’re equipping educators, students, journalists and the public with tools to discern fact from fiction and the critical thinking skills to identify, share and act on credible information.

This is no small feat, and we could not do it without the generosity of our supporters! (We’re proud of the achievements you’ve made possible over the last year!  Click here  to view our latest annual report.)

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If you believe as we do that everyone deserves access to these skills, make a Giving Tuesday gift to support #NewsLiteracyNow.

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When it comes to natural beauty, Utah’s landscape never fails to impress. If you’re looking for that same reaction to the news literacy landscape, Utah’s Canyons School District delivers.

The school system created a professional learning initiative for teaching media and news literacy through NLP’s District Fellowship Program that has become a model for the state. “They have done a great job planning for a districtwide news literacy initiative. They have great district leads, discipline leads and educators who see news literacy education professional learning as their responsibility,” said Shaelynn Farnsworth, NLP’s senior director of education partnership strategy.

“We were already in discussion about how to improve information literacy, and NLP was an obvious choice for the partner,” Gretchen Zaitzeff said. She is the district’s library media specialist.

Hard work and serendipity

Lesli Morris, high school ELA specialist and a member of the district’s information literacy team, said Zaitzeff got the ball rolling. “Gretchen was at the forefront. She started us thinking about information literacy.”

Through Zaitzeff’s impetus, simultaneous efforts across the district and a dash of serendipity, the program fell into place. Morris became a member of NLP’s News Literacy Ambassador Program, which supports educators doing news literacy work in their communities. Utah passed legislation requiring civics education that included an information literacy component. (Retired teacher and school principal State Rep. Dan N. Johnson sponsored the legislation.) And the state awarded Jodi Ide, a high school social studies specialist, a competitive $250,000 grant for professional learning, which is part of the civics education legislation.

Support at the state level

The district also has a strong supporter at the Utah Department of Education in Davina Sauthoff, library media specialist lead. “Davina is a huge advocate of our work,” Farnsworth said.

Sauthoff said the district’s approach sets it apart. “I love how Canyons is building the capacity of information literacy skills with all educators, not just librarians or ELA teachers,” she said. “It’s a unique model to intentionally include all content area teachers from kindergarten through high school. I’m very excited about that.”

The initial year included 110 middle and high school educators in social studies and ELA, as well as teacher librarians and instructional coaches. They met in person or worked online asynchronously for eight months, voluntarily. This fall, secondary educators in all disciplines are participating. And next year, the program will expand to include elementary educators. That means teachers across grade levels and subjects in the 33,000-student district can join.

Sauthoff said Canyons’ program has inspired other districts that want to create similar initiatives. “Every district can choose to integrate news and media literacy the way they want. We find it important that districts build what makes the most sense for their communities,” she said.

Empowering educators

The response to the first year was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers read ahead in coursework and shared resources in school and with their families. Educator feedback indicated an interest in continued support and resources, which the team is incorporating.

“This needs to be something built with a structure for sustaining it because this is essential to saving democracy,” Ide said.

Morris, the ELA specialist, agreed. “Our democracy will not survive if our citizens are not making accurate, informed decisions,” she said. “People act on the information they have. If they have poor information, their decisions might be poor.”