Debunking fake news - it doesn't work without media literacy

There are currently countless rumors circulating on the Internet about the new Corona virus Covid-19. Some are due to misunderstandings and ignorance, others are deliberately spread via social media. When it comes to dealing with fake news, children and young people in particular need age-appropriate education and support.

Debunking fake news - it doesn't work without media literacy

Among the spreaders of the false news are conspiracy theorists and commentators from the right-wing scene who see this as an opportunity to criticize the German government and its crisis management. Many of these messages are spread on social media and go unchallenged. This in particular shows how important it is to be able to evaluate information in an enlightened and critical manner. But children and young people in particular are still unable to do this adequately, as shown, for example, by the international comparative study ICILS from 2018.    

Contemporary digital literacy includes the ability to critique sources - a skill that must already be practiced with the use of search engines. Likewise, children and young people should know where they can find good and correct information.

  • On the topic of fake news, klicksafe provides the updated teaching material: "Fact or fake - How to debunk false news on the Internet".
  • The worksheet "Using search engines competently" for elementary school, can be found in the material "Through the year with klicksafe" (project 4). Here, adult search engines are compared with children's search engines.
  • The klicksafe quiz on "Fake News" educates young people about the topic.
  • More information and tools for recognizing fake news can be found on the klicksafe topic page Fake News.


Further information:

klicksafe article: ICILS study: One third of students susceptible to fake news