The social-first digital media literacy program MediaWise of the nonprofit Poynter Institute is expanding its Teen Fact-Checking Network internationally.
The TFCN was launched in 2019 with a goal of reaching 1 million teens across the United States through peer-to-peer education. MediaWise exceeded that goal within four years with over 12 million views of TFCN-produced videos across YouTube, Tiktok and Instagram.
Now, with the real-life impacts of the TFCN evident, and with support from Google, MediaWise will partner with Lupa in Brazil and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) in Germany to reach Gen Zers in those countries through popular social platforms.
“The Teen Fact-Checking Network embodies everything that makes MediaWise so impactful: innovation, representation and media literacy-infused journalism,” says Alex Mahadevan, Director of MediaWise. “We’ve reached millions of Gen Zers — the group shaping our future — in the U.S., and I couldn’t be more excited about doing the same in Brazil and Germany.”
Teen fact-checkers, recruited from those countries, will teach their peers how to be critical thinkers when consuming digital information by creating engaging videos that demonstrate tools to debunk claims, while empowering their peers with digital media literacy skills. The goal is to inoculate them — many of whom are first-time voters — against misinformation.
The teens will deliver 10 fact-checks per country beginning May 2023, covering topics that teens face daily on their social feeds. Videos will cover trends in sports, health, entertainment, science — even finance.
“At Google, we partner with organizations that have shared goals of helping people develop information literacy skills. That’s why we build tools and features into our products to support these efforts and also why we support programs like the Teen Fact-Checking Network. We know that information literacy is critical around the world, so I’m proud that we’re able to partner with Mediawise to bring this program to two new countries — Germany and Brazil,” said LaToya Drake, Head of North America, News Lab at Google.
Lupa, dpa and MediaWise’s TFCN are verified signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network, a global community of fact-checking organizations committed to fairness, truth and transparency.
“We are delighted to be part of the Teen Fact-Checking Network with dpa-Faktencheck,” said Teresa Dapp, managing editor of dpa’s fact-checking team. “In Germany, too, social networks are a central source of information for young people. In order to form their own opinions based on facts, they need to become more aware that there is also a lot of nonsense and deliberate lies on the internet.”
Lupa education coordinator Raphael Kapa said programs like the TFCN empower young people, as well as educators and journalists.
“This exchange of pedagogical experiences brings us up to date and makes us better prepared to deal with the flood of media content we receive today,” Kapa said.
The international Teen Fact-Checking Network will deliver fact checks in their regional languages.
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media, and 21st-century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, and at newsrooms, conferences, and organizations around the world. Its e-learning division offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum, with hundreds of interactive courses and tens of thousands of registered international users. The Institute’s website produces 24-hour coverage about media, ethics, technology, and the business of news. Poynter is the home of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, a digital information literacy project for young people, first-time voters, and senior citizens. The world’s top journalists and media innovators rely on Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians, and broadcasters. This work builds public awareness about journalism, media, the U.S. First Amendment, and discourse that serves democracy and the public good. Learn more at poynter.org.
About MediaWise
MediaWise is a social-first digital media literacy initiative of the nonprofit Poynter Institute. The program teaches people of all ages and backgrounds how to responsibly engage with online content in the age of information overload. The fact-checking enterprise was created in 2018 to empower citizens to find trusted sources and make sense of the vast amount of information at their fingertips. We bring simple, yet effective, digital media literacy tools to people where they are — whether they’re on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or TikTok or in one of the six countries where MediaWise operates — and walk them through every step to determine what’s real and what’s not on the internet. Through MediaWise, everyone can do their part to reduce the spread of misinformation and elevate the truth. Follow MediaWise on social media to learn how to debunk viral claims and be more critical consumers of online information. Explore programs and be part of the solution at poynter.org/mediawise.
About Deutsche Presse-Agentur
The German Press Agency (dpa) was founded in 1949 and is one of the world’s leading independent news agencies. The organisation supplies media outlets, businesses and other organizations with editorial content, including text, photos, videos, graphics, audio and other formats. As an international agency, dpa reports in seven languages. The company has around 1,000 journalists at some 150 locations in Germany and abroad. Its shareholders consist of around 170 German media companies. Staff work according to the principles outlined in the dpa statute: independently of ideologies, commercial interests and governments. The central editing desk, headed by Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann, is located in Berlin. The management team is led by CEO Peter Kropsch and based in Hamburg. The Chairman of the Board is David Brandstätter (Main-Post GmbH, Würzburg). Internet: www.dpa.com (German, English, Spanish, Arabic)
About Lupa News
Lupa is a Brazilian platform for fighting disinformation through journalism and education. Founded in 2015, Lupa’s mission is to be a reference in fighting disinformation, delivering journalism and education solutions. By monitoring disinformation on social networks and refuting false information through fact-checking techniques, Lupa brings to the public contents that clarify lies and help restrict the circulation of rumors that make the digital environment more harmful. The journalism team also investigates disinformation chains and their financiers and goals, and closely monitors the behavior and speeches of public authorities. On the educational axis, Lupa gives courses and offers training in fact-checking to journalists and journalism students. It also promotes lectures and workshops about disinformation and its impacts on society for the general public. Lupa maintains partnerships with public and private basic and higher education networks, helping teachers and students to reflect about the critical consumption of media, promoting scientific disclosure.
