Don’t tell me how to fact-check; show me, and let me try! A media literacy intervention with sixth-graders

Abstract

This study examines how different educational approaches related to Fria Ordets Dag (Free Speech Day), a media literacy program by the Swedish public service, affect the ability of 859 sixth-graders to evaluate news and misinformation. Findings indicate that verbal instructions from a professional fact-checker and animations to model online fact-checking were less effective than demonstrative, authentic video tutorials. Feedback and practice were also important. The intervention yielded mixed outcomes on students’ attitudes towards credible news sources, pointing to the necessity for educational designs that bolster fact-checking and source trust. The research emphasizes how large-scale school interventions to promote students’ navigation of (mis)information are possible but also need to be carefully investigated to safeguard the usefulness and development of such interventions