Teaching Kids How to Validate Information on Social Media

Each year, as I prepare for my Media Literacy unit with my Freshmen, I scour my various social media timelines for examples of things to share with my students to challenge their critical thinking and research skills, and to spark discussions about their own experiences consuming media.

This year, an example came in my own Facebook timeline. A friend shared an image from reddit that took a jab at President Trump. It was worded in the same way as some of the conservative-leaning posts that my family members share on the platform…