Media Literacy for Students: Check an Online Claim Before Sharing
An online claim can look convincing because it has an attractive image, a confident speaker or thousands of reactions. None of those features establishes that it is accurate. Students need a practical process for investigating information, not simply a warning that the internet is unreliable. UNESCO's Media and Information Literacy curriculum encourages learners to evaluate content, its producers and its purposes. The routine here is an original classroom activity that teachers can adapt to age, subject and internet access. It works with printed examples as well as connected devices. Step one: state the claim precisely Ask students to write the central claim in one sentence. A headline may suggest more than the article actually says. Separate facts, opinions, predictions and advertisements before trying to verify them. For example, "A new teaching method improved scores in one study" is not the same as "This method works for every student." The wording determin...