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The MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking
Network, a team of teenagers that use social media to debunk viral claims,
recently concluded a 30-part fact-checking series on YouTube. The series, “Is
This Legit?,” got started through a fact-checking
development grant from the IFCN and was supported by YouTube as part of
the Google News Initiative.
Billed as “for teens, by teens,” the media literacy YouTube series covered a
little bit of everything — politics, pop culture, conspiracy theories and, of
course, COVID-19. Looking back at the work from the TFCN from the past year,
which involved fact-checking on a variety of platforms, here are five of the
biggest misinformation trends tackled by students in the program.
1. How dangerous is COVID-19, really?
Claims questioning the severity of the coronavirus were a regular occurrence
on students’ timelines. The TFCN debunked misinformation regarding the
virus's mortality rate, as well as false claims comparing the virus to the
common flu.
2. Cures that … aren’t really cures
In addition to debunking viral remedies, like injecting bleach or the use of
hydroxychloroquine, students also debunked claims being spread on more
teen-dominated platforms, like the claim that smoking weed can kill the
coronavirus or that vaping is a good preventative measure. (Both not legit.)
3. “COVID-19 tests are dangerous”
COVID-19 conspiracy theories took over teens’ timelines, with many claims
targeting the safety of the coronavirus test itself. Teen fact-checkers
debunked the viral claim that getting tested for the coronavirus would
actually give you the virus, and recently took on the claim that the tests
contain nanoparticles that enter your brain and allow you to be tracked.
4. The “Big Lie” and Jan. 6 insurrection
Over the course of 2020, MediaWise Teen Fact-Checkers debunked countless
claims about the integrity of the U.S. presidential election. What became
known as the “Big Lie,” social media posts claiming the election was rigged
started early with misinformation going viral about the safety of mail-in
voting. As misinformation continued to escalate, MediaWise teenagers flagged
multiple claims about the storming of the U.S. Capitol that went viral on
YouTube.
5. Social justice issues
Following the murder of George Floyd, teenagers were exposed to hundreds of
viral claims on social media about the resulting protests against police
brutality. Teen fact-checkers debunked multiple claims, including the false
claim that a “mall train” driving through protests was stolen, and that a
children’s hospital was set on fire by protesters.
MediaWise will continue the “Is This Legit?” YouTube series, and is currently
accepting applications from teenagers for the program’s summer session. The deadline
to apply is May 31.
For college-aged students interested in media literacy, the MediaWise Campus
Correspondents project is back for another year. Campus correspondents will
learn how to spot misinformation online, then train their peers on these
important skills during virtual trainings at schools across the country.
Campus correspondents also produce a range of social media content and are
paid per training. The deadline
to apply is May 31.
— Alexa Volland, TFCN editor
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