Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash
Misinformation is a particularly messy problem. And problems this messy often require a wide array of tools to solve. It’s hard enough protecting yourself from fake news, but it’s quite a different process teaching your kids to spot it.
If you have young children, teaching them to avoid misinformation is a responsibility that may seem daunting. And that’s fair, because it kind of is. You see, as messed up as the world we live in is, this is nothing compared to the fake news world they’re going to inherit. The Council on Foreign Relations estimates that between 2016-2020, misinformation on Facebook grew by 242%. So let’s make sure these kids have a chance.
Here are some tips on how to talk to your kids about misinformation:
While recent research has suggested there are a multitude of learning styles, the most basic understanding of learning styles for kids often revolves around VARK, a concept that breaks learning into
- Visual – best with images
- Auditory (or hearing) – learning by listening
- Reading & Writing – reading and note taking
- Kinesthetic – learning by doing
You may find that tailoring this approach to your child’s learning style is needed so try to be as flexible as they require.
I find it’s easiest to tackle a grown-up conversation by asking kids what they already know. I have a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old and when asking them about fake news, I found my 9-year-old already had a basic understanding of what it was, so it was easier to guide the conversation knowing this.
Once it’s clear what they already bring to the conversation, start poking around. Make up a claim and ask them how they feel about it. It could be anything from flat earth theory to chemtrails to the moon landing hoax. Or you could even make up your own wild claim, whatever you want to run with. Ask them what questions they have after you present your claim.
Questions to foster in them:
1. Who Said It?
You know how there’s that one kid at school that’s always making stuff up? When he tells you something that seems fishy, how do you feel? Did he tell you where he heard it?
Some websites and news organizations are like that, too. It’s important to know where your information is coming from to know if it’s reliable. And you should expect any good website to show legitimate sources to any claims they make. Parents: if your kids ask about a claim they saw online, sit down with them and look at the source. You may have seen the media bias chart from Allsides floating around your own online sphere. It’s a great start, and they offer details on their own site about the methods they use to determine news outlets’ placement on their chart. This doesn’t tell you how legitimate a story is, but it may shed light on any biases. Additionally, investigate the URL. If it’s a long string of characters, or it looks like it’s impersonating another site, beware. Additionally, google the site. Scroll a bit and see what others are saying about it.
2. Why Would They Say It?
Explain to your kids the reasons people misinform. If a turnip salesperson tells you that eating two turnips a day makes you live to 150, you’d probably think they’re lying. And it’s pretty easy to see the reason they’re lying to you. If you believe their misinformation, you’re going to buy a lot of turnips, and that makes them money. This is the “root” of understanding of misinformation online. If spreading fake news makes people money or gives them power or influence, they’re going to keep doing it. Identifying the motivations behind articles takes some of that power away.
3. What’s The Evidence?
Can they back up what they say? Just like that kid at school whose uncle worked for Nintendo back in the day or that kid who had a girlfriend in Canada you’ve never met, bad news sites use bad sources too. Sometimes they’ll quote an “expert,” but they’re really an expert in a totally different field. Like if a world-renowned nutritionist gives advice on foreign policy, or an electrician recommends a certain medicine. Yes, they’re experts, but not on every topic. I know they sound like grown-up concepts, but I like to talk to my kids about my two favorite razors: Occam’s and Hitchens’. I find they really resonate with kids if you break them down right.
Occam’s Razor is often oversimplified as “The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.” While that’s not the whole concept, it’s enough to get the point across to kids. Try something like this scenario: A window is broken and there is a baseball on the living room floor. Now which of these do you think happened – someone was playing outside and threw or hit that baseball through the window, breaking it, and then the ball landed in the living room OR A professional baseball player broke into our house and left his baseball here on the carpet, meanwhile a ninja punched a hole in our window? It’s an absurd example, but it demonstrates the principal brilliantly that a simpler explanation is usually correct.
Hitchens’ Razor simply states that “What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” If no sources are given, you just get to move on. So when someone tells you their uncle works for Nintendo, ask them what he does there? Make them do the work supporting their claim. It’s not your job.
4. Is It Sensational?
Explain to your kids that emotions are tricky things and people do irresponsible things when their emotions take control. Just like temper tantrums, or things you regret saying after getting in an argument.
If a website makes money off you clicking a link, you better believe they’re going to find the easiest way to get you to click it. A 2022 study by Christy Galletta Horner and her father, Dennis Galletta of University of Pittsburgh determined that “fake news headlines are created to evoke emotional responses in readers that will cause them to interact with the article in a way that allows the creator to make a profit (through clicking on the link to the full article, by sharing the article, etc.)” So consider emotional headlines and articles a big red flag.
As part of this sensationalism, identifying a claim as secret information that “they” don’t want you to know about is an old tactic. No one can resist a good secret. When someone says that “they” don’t want you to know about it, it’s both because secrets are exciting and because it gives them an excuse when you search other sites and don’t find that claim anywhere else. Skeptoid Media calls claims of suppression “the territory of conspiracy mongering.” Double whammy.
Ask A Grown-up
Finally, let them know that they can ask you. Always make yourself available to coach. It takes time. It takes work. But it can be fun, and it’s definitely worth it.
I hope this helps guide a conversation with your young ones about misinformation and how to spot it. Kids should be allowed to be kids, so they don’t have to be experts, but they are going to need to be ready to deal with misinformation, because it’s not going away.