Almost 70% of surveyed parents with 13- to 17-year olds at home believe teens have it harder compared to previous generations, the Pew Research Center found in an August poll. The reason, according to parents, is technology. Coincidentally, technology was also the No. 1 reason parents said life is easier for teens these days. No matter on which side of the debate you stand, teens’ mental health and wellbeing are key — and that is where empowering teens with skills to better navigate a digital environment comes into play.
The Poynter Institute’s MediaWise, which teaches media literacy skills to combat misinformation, is joining with YouTube to launch a curriculum designed to be taught by educators for teenagers. The goal? To help young people learn how to sift through the noise and sort fact from fiction.
“We’re thrilled to kick off Media Literacy Week with YouTube and introduce new resources to help educators empower their students with techniques to identify misinformation. Learning to understand the context behind posts, images and videos and share responsibly are crucial skills at any age — even more so for young people,” said MediaWise Director and Poynter Faculty Alex Mahadevan.
The curriculum, launching on Oct. 21 to mark the start of Media Literacy Week, expands YouTube’s Hit Pause program, which uses short videos to teach essential media literacy skills. With the number of views in the hundreds of millions, these videos teach the audience key techniques to better navigate the digital ecosystem such as: reading past a headline, identifying emotional language, determining who is an expert, and many more. This program was first introduced in 2022 with input from the National Association of Media Literacy Education, and the new collaboration with Poynter’s MediaWise aims to extend reach and deepen impact.
“We are proud to partner with MediaWise to build on our Hit Pause video series with a comprehensive media literacy curriculum that educators anywhere can use to help teens become discerning digital citizens – a top priority for YouTube,” said Leslie Miller, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy at YouTube.
Authored by Poynter’s MediaWise, the first release of the curriculum is tailored to fit the needs and interests of teens 13-17 years old. It includes an introductory lesson and 10 skills lessons focusing on topics from evaluating sources and evidence to understanding AI and sharing responsibly. A second release of material for young adults ages 18-34 will be available by the end of the year.
The curriculum includes an instructor’s guide, explaining why media literacy education is crucial for teens and young adults and offering ideas for different ways that it can be used. In addition, lesson plans, slide decks, videos and handouts are included. A “train-the-trainer” video helps instructors learn how to use the materials.
Because the goal is to scale the program globally, it was important for international stakeholders to serve in an advisory capacity, providing input and feedback on core curriculum development with the option to localize for regional implementation. To achieve this, MediaWise partnered with MediaSmarts from Canada, Mythos Labs in India, and Parent Zone from the United Kingdom, who will also be integrating the curriculum into their own programming.
The free curriculum and its suite of resources can be adapted in any country and is available for use at www.hitpausewithmediawise.com. Partner organizations will customize the material by translating into local languages and adding regional context, including relevant examples. Organizations interested in adapting the curriculum for local needs can contact MediaWise at mwtips@poynter.org.
Poynter’s MediaWise partnership with YouTube is another example of their shared commitment to innovative media literacy education and ensuring young people have a safe and enriching experience online.
Media Contact
Jennifer Orsi
Vice President, Publishing and Local News Initiatives
Jorsi@poynter.org
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to address society’s most pressing issues by teaching journalists and journalism, covering the media and the complexities facing the industry, convening and community building, improving the capacity and sustainability of news organizations and fostering trust and reliability of information. The Institute is a gold standard in journalistic excellence and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of press freedom in democracies worldwide. Through Poynter, journalists, newsrooms, businesses, big tech corporations and citizens convene to find solutions that promote trust and transparency in news and stoke meaningful public discourse. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and improve the quality of the universally shared information ecosystem.
The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), MediaWise and PolitiFact are all members of the Poynter organization.
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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. MediaWise was created in 2018 to empower citizens to find trusted sources and make sense of the vast amount of information at their fingertips. MediaWise brings simple, yet effective, digital media literacy tools to people where they are — whether they’re on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, or in one of the 10 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 facts.
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.
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