Children starting to spot fake news

OLDER children are becoming increasingly savvy about fake news on social media, according to Ofcom’s report.

More than half of youngsters aged 12 to 15 use Facebook and Twitter to access news online – often clicking on stories that have been recommended by ‘friends’ in their network or by users they ‘follow’.

But even though they like to access news in this way, they are extremely wary about which articles they can trust.

The majority of those in this age group who read news on social media make an effort to check if it is true. Some 86 per cent make ‘at least one practical attempt’ to check the veracity of an article.

For example, they might double check it with other news sources, read the comments posted at the end of the article, or check if it was published by an organisation they feel they can trust. The findings come amid growing concern about made-up news stories being planted online – often by malicious groups trying to divide people and sow discontent.

However, three quarters of youngsters aged 12 to 15 are aware that fake news stories exist. And nearly four out of ten claim to have spotted an invented story themselves.

Nearly two thirds of 12 to 15-yearolds who find a fake news story will also try to take action.

A third said that they would alert their parents or another family member. One in five said they would leave a comment stating it was fake and 14 per cent would report it to the social media where they found it circulating.