How to talk to your children about misinformation online
Fact check together, encourage them to read beyond the headline and report any harmful content.
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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Online misinformation has been identified as one of the catalysts behind the violent riots which have been taking place in cities and towns across the UK over the last week.
Social media enables users to share unverified information with the rest of the world at just a click of a button, so parents need to warn their children about the dangers of this.
So, how can we give our children the confidence to work out what’s fact and what’s fake?
What is misinformation?
The buzzwords ‘fake news’, ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation’ have become more prominent in the public eye over the last few years, as distrust in the media continues to grow, but what is the difference between them all?
“Misinformation is false information that is spread by those who think it’s true,” says Sheena Peckham, internet safety content expert at Internet Matters. “Their intent is generally to inform, but they don’t realise what they’re sharing is false.
“However, the intent behind disinformation is malicious. It is false information that is shared to purposely mislead people.
“Fake news refers to false information that is presented as fact in a news format. Online, this might look like a news site or a social media account that seems to share news stories.”
And how does this information spread so quickly?
“As the use of the internet is so widespread, false information can reach a lot of people globally in a short amount of time,” explains Peckham. “Platform algorithms can also increase the reach of this information.”
How can I help my child be alert to misinformation online?
Talk to them regularly about their online life
Parents often ask children about how their day at school was, but you should also be asking them about their day online.
“Showing interest can help you spot potential harm, but will also give children an open avenue to come to you if something goes wrong,” says Peckham.
Teach them to think before acting“Before sharing information, encourage children to think about where it comes from,” advises Peckham. “For example, why is it being shared? Could it be false? What would happen if it is false? Could it cause anger, hurt, confusion or fear?”
Practise fact checking together
Set some time aside to fact check information together.
“This could be choosing something from your social media feed and taking them through the process of looking for the information source online,” says Peckham. “Use fact-checking websites such as Full Fact, Snopes or BBC Verify, or try a reverse-image search.
“Remember to fact check information you know is true, as well as information you know is false, to help children think critically about all information.”
Read beyond the headline
“When news stories are shared online, people often just see and react to the headline,” observes Peckham. “Headlines are meant to engage people and don’t always tell the whole story.
“Encourage children to read full articles before sharing them. Similarly, video thumbnails sometimes show things that are not in the videos, so watching the video before sharing is important.”
Encourage reporting and blocking
If your child comes across misleading information online, urge them to report it via the app they’re using every time.
“Reporting can help remove harmful content,” says Peckham. “Users can also block pages or accounts, to avoid getting suggested content from them.
“Lastly, they can also mark content as ‘Not for me’ or ‘I don’t want to see this’ to stop those same recommendations.”
Set parental controls and update content settings“On the platforms your child or teen uses, review the available parental controls, to limit harmful content or apps,” recommends Peckham. “You can also customise content feeds on social or video-sharing platforms, to restrict content you or your child doesn’t want to see.”