by Brittani Kollar, MediaWise, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
When The Poynter Institute for Media Studies created the MediaWise project in 2018, the intent was clear: to reach Gen Z with skills to navigate the internet safely and not fall victim to false information online. The project goal? To reach 1 million Gen Z’ers by 2020. What happened next was not an ending but only the beginning.
“From the very beginning, MediaWise was all about reaching teens where they are —
with content they care about,” said Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise. “And by the
time I got to Poynter in 2019, the Teen Fact-Checking Network, a digital newsroom
aimed at doing that, was in full swing.”
MediaWise launched The Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN), a peer-to-peer learning
model in January 2019. At its core the TFCN’s mission is to teach teens media literacy
so they can apply those skills in their daily lives.
As a virtual newsroom with some of the world’s youngest fact-checkers, the teens pitch
claims they find on their own social feeds – with the idea being that teen viewers will find
the videos helpful if they can relate to what is being verified.
“Our teen fact-checkers have produced videos on all kinds of things – from politics to
Keanu Reeves deepfakes, from the Israel-Hamas war to giant frogs,” says Kathleen
Tobin, MediaWise’s Youth Program Manager. “The key is to find and fact-check claims
that are about topics young people are interested in.”
Once a pitch is approved, the teens do some research and decide whether the claim is
legit or not. They write a script, explaining how they came to this rating. The goal is not
just to fact-check, but to empower their fellow teens with media literacy skills, so they
can do it on their own. The teens are not only teaching their peers, they are also gaining
valuable life skills. They learn how to work as part of a team, and they learn
responsibility and accountability.
MediaWise has since exceeded 12-million views of TFCN-produced videos across
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Nearly five years after launching, the TFCN expanded globally. In April 2023, Brazil and
Germany launched their newsrooms, each with a group of eager teens. Just one month
later in May, the TFCN India launched, with an unprecedented number of students
applying to be a part of the program. The TFCN is led by in-country partners who are
active fact-checking and/or media literacy experts.
The partners – and their dedication to teaching media literacy – makes the program a
success. In Brazil, MediaWise partnered with Agência Lupa, which actively works with
schools and teachers. It built upon those relationships, and an already established
social presence, to promote the Portuguese-language TFCN. Deutsche-Presse Agentur
serves as the lead for the German based TFCN, and BOOM Live serves as the India
partner working with students across the country.
All TFCN partners publish to social media platforms that serve their audience and are
widely used in their countries – and the feedback has been positive.
Pratyush Ranjan, a parent to one of the fact-checkers in India, posted via X, the
platform formerly known as Twitter, “Proud ❤️ father. She is the Youngest in the Teen
Fact-Checking Network (India). Congratulations @mediawise @boomlive_in for running
the successful scholarship programme in India.”
Next up on the global expansion is Spain. In partnership with Verificat and with support
from Mobile World Capital, applications are open for all teens there who would like to be
considered for the opportunity. Applications are open until Dec. 3, 2023, and can be
accessed via this website.
Author
Brittani Kollar, Deputy Director, MediaWise, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies
