Building Trust in Diverse, Credible Sources

• In Event: Teaching Democracy Now

Abstract

Today’s young people, as with any generation, need sources they trust for information about the world and their lives. Yet, unlike prior generations, many forces conspire to make young people feel like there is no one to trust. Today’s young people report high rates of skepticism in the media and government, inhabit an information ecosystem often infused with mis- and disinformation, and regularly encounter multitudes of sources vying for their attention (e.g., Faverio & Sidoti, 2024; Kozyreva et al., 2020; Leppert & Matsa, 2024; News Literacy Project, 2024). Further, research suggests that young people need more support making efficient, effective decisions about what to trust in complex online ecosystems (e.g., Breakstone et al., 2021; Wineburg & McGrew, 2019). Young people – and all of us – cannot possibly fact check every claim we encounter online. Therefore, educators need to prepare students for informed citizenship with flexible tools fit for our polarizing and congested media environment. Our chapter focuses on how educators can help young people reason about which sources to trust through building robust conceptions credibility and practicing online evaluation processes.

Authors

• Elizabeth Reynolds, University of Maryland

• Sarah McGrew, University of Maryland