“Stay MediaWise: Teen Fact-Checking Network’s Strategies for Detecting and Stopping Misinformation”

The day’s final session explored how teens are playing a more active role in combating online misinformation with the help of Poynter’s MediaWise. Sean Marcus, MediaWise interactive learning designer, reflected on the organization’s Teen Fact-Checking Network, an effort that trains young people to blend media literacy with digital content creation. Members of the Network respond to viral misinformation claims with explanatory videos on YouTube and TikTok. MediaWise has also partnered with PBS to create “How2internet” videos where teens break down their process for debunking and clarifying information.

Marcus, a longtime high school teacher, also demonstrated to students relatively simple ways that they could fact-check information in their own lives, including reverse image searches and strategic quotation marks around phrases in keyword searches. He noted the positive effects of fact-checking tools created by MediaWise and the celebration’s other speakers.

“Anyone who is fact-checking is empowering you.”