This is how teenagers prepare for the minefield of election disinformation

This story was published in partnership with Headway, a new initiative of The New York Times. Chalkbeat and Headway were ask questions about the presidential election to educators and high school students from Feb. We heard from more than 1,000 students and 200 teachers across the country.

In this presidential election year, young Americans are navigating a chaotic world of information, often with limited tools to discern what’s credible, what’s questionable, and what’s outright fake.

AND a recent survey of more than 1,000 teenagers by the News Literacy Project found that while many young people can easily recognize AI-generated images, they have difficulty distinguishing news from commentary and advertising, and regularly encounter conspiracy theories on social media. Eight out of 10 respondents said they believed in at least one of these conspiracy theories.

Young people who vote for the first time and their peers told us that they regularly encountered false information on the Internet about historically close election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump. Some teachers dedicated entire lesson plans this fall to help students better understand media literacy and fact-checking.

And many students told us that they gained confidence in spotting lies. We asked more than 1,000 students what tells them that information might be false or misleading, what their approach is to verifying information, and what advice they have for other teens. Here’s what we heard.

Answers have been edited and shortened for length and clarity.

How do teenagers know if information is sketchy, fabricated, or fake?

“If the content I’m seeing causes me to have an extreme emotional response—anger, fear, or joy, to name a few—without offering subtle context, it makes me think it might be designed to mislead. When faced with what appears to be absolute certainty about morally and politically complex topics such as Israel’s war and Hamas, without acknowledging alternative views or uncertainty, I suspect that advancing the agenda is an oversimplification of reality.”

— Sena Chang, 18

Freshman at Princeton University in New Jersey

“Articles that sound sketchy, contrived or manipulated are a warning. Some media sources strip away bits of context that make the situation clear. And mass media sometimes contradict each other. Media validation and cross-validation. When true information spreads like wildfire, some media outlets will try to draw attention to the situation and end up spreading lies about the situation. This is why I find most articles about popular controversies to be annoyingly eye-rolling.”

— Antonette Davis, 14 years old

Freshman at Central High School in Philadelphia

One source does not allow us to verify that this is true

“I verify my information by getting it from many sources, not just people on the internet who link to the original article I read. I also look at the information presented in the article from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the subject and see if the article and the ideas presented still make sense.”

— Yoni Zaks, 17

A senior at Blake School in Minneapolis.

“More often than not, I Google it and read about it on a more reliable website. For example, if an article makes a claim about a piece of legislation, I try to find the full text of the cited law to better understand what it’s about.”

— Olivia Harrison, 17

In 2023, he graduated from Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada

“There’s a tool called Google Reverse Image Search that I use to check the origin of viral images or memes to see where they first appeared and if they were used out of context. During events like the presidential debates, I also check numerous websites that offer real-time fact-checking, such as The New York Times, to help contextualize what I hear and determine when what was said candidates, was misinformation.”

— Sena Chang

“To verify information, I try to listen directly to the candidates or their campaigns. I believe that this is the easiest way to understand a candidate’s political plans, his views on certain issues and general decency. While comments can be helpful, they often contain opinions that make me feel certain things a certain way. That’s why I think it’s important to hear directly from the political candidate first. After that, I listen and watch the video with commentary. It helps me to compare my understanding with someone else and clarify things that I may not have fully understood.”

— Megan Pierce, 18

Freshman University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois

How young people navigate the world of misinformation

“As a teenager, I get a lot of information from social networks. I know a lot of other teenagers get their information this way too, so my advice is to know the algorithm and how you’re usually fed information from one side. You’re not getting the full story, so do your research and don’t just trust one source!”

— Emma Luu, 17 years old

A junior at Pine Creek High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado

“Verify anything you think is misleading with a quick search and cross-check to see if it’s legit or not.”

— Arnav Goyal, 14

A freshman at Olentangy Liberty High School in Powell, Ohio

“Understand media bias and do your best to consider different points of view and keep an open mind while being aware of media bias.”

— Lucas Robbins, 17 years old

Senior at Mandela International Magnet School in Santa Fe, New Mexico

“My (unpopular) opinion is that fact-checking is easier than it seems. … ​Social media serves as an integral egalitarian source of news where anyone can create and share information from a primary source, no matter where they live in the world. However, using social networks as the only source of information can be dangerous. Sometimes it’s hard to even recognize satirical news sources—I was a victim of thinking The Onion was a real news source. You don’t need to research every headline you ever see. The Internet can be overloaded with information at times, and young people need to be able to switch off. However, if you see something surprising, understanding the context is just a Google search away.”

— Kush Kaur, 17

Freshman at Collin College in McKinney, Texas

Teenagers are inundated with a mixture of authentic information and fake news every day. Out of necessity, they hone their instincts to recognize misinformation and develop the skills to verify or debunk it. Their advice is clear: be aware of the impact of algorithms, avoid relying on a single source, and remember to back off when things seem overwhelming.

Need more information? Check out the resources below.

Caroline Bauman is the Associate Managing Editor for Engagement at Chalkbeat. Contact her at [email protected].

Erica Meltzer is the national editor of Chalkbeat, where she covers education policy and politics. Contact her at [email protected]