Is Your School Prepared? The Rise of Misinformation and What You Can Do

In today’s digital age, combating misinformation while effectively leveraging social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram has become crucial for schools. These powerful tools help engage your audiences, particularly prospective students and families. They’re excellent for showcasing your school’s distinctions to both internal and external communities, from highlighting student work and events to facilitating online learning experiences for parents, alumni, and the wider community.

Facebook is a cornerstone communication tool for many schools. Instagram has become essential for independent schools to reach prospective students and their families.  But in a world where misinformation can spread like wildfire, how can your school ensure the information shared on these platforms is accurate and trustworthy, especially when you  are striving to create a positive and informative online presence for your students?

Most recently, Meta (the parent company for Facebook, Threads and Instagram) announced that it will soon drop third-party fact checkers and instead rely on users to “correct inaccurate and false posts.”While Meta has not formally announced when it will end its fact-checking program, a person familiar with the program said it could be eliminated as soon as March. 

This decision has the potential to unleash a wave of fake news about schools, which should be a cause for concern. Imagine wrong information spreading about your school closures, health scares or even safety threats. This could cause chaos and damage trust between schools and the community.

We’ve broken it down for you on the potential impact, how misinformation spreads on social media and what schools can do.

Potential Impact on Schools

This change could have some serious consequences for your school. Consider the ramifications: 

• Fake news about school policies runs rampant. Rumor mills could spin out of control, spreading false information about school closures, schedule changes or even disciplinary actions. This could cause unnecessary confusion and anxiety among students and parents.
• Misleading health information goes viral. Incorrect advice about vaccinations, contagious diseases or mental health resources could easily spread, putting  students at risk and undermining efforts to keep our schools safe and healthy.
• Safety concerns are amplified. Rumors about threats or emergencies could quickly spiral out of control, causing fear and disruption within the school community.

Beyond that, you might find it harder to get your school’s own messages out there. Accurate information about school events, programs and important updates could get lost in a sea of misinformation. This could lead to missed opportunities and a general sense of confusion within the school community. It may create  increased pressure on your school’s administrators and staff to constantly monitor and respond to misinformation, potentially increasing workload and stress.

Finally, even if the fake news is eventually debunked, the damage may already be done. Misinformation can erode trust between your school and the community, making it harder to effectively serve your students.

Sources of Misinformation about Schools

So, where does all this fake news about schools come from? Well, it can pop up from a lot of different places:

• Everyday Folks: Sometimes it’s just everyday people. Parents might get frustrated with a school policy and accidentally spread misinformation while venting online. Students might hear a rumor and share it without checking the facts. Even well-meaning community members can sometimes spread inaccurate information if they’re misinformed themselves.
• Groups with Agendas: Then there are groups who might intentionally spread misinformation to push their own agenda. Political groups might try to sway public opinion by spreading false claims about school budgets or curriculum. Special interest groups might try to undermine public education to benefit their own cause.   
• The Wild West of the Internet: Let’s not forget the internet itself. Social media is a powerful tool, but it can also be a breeding ground for misinformation. News websites, even some that seem legit, might publish inaccurate information, either on purpose or because they didn’t do their homework.   

It’s important to remember that not all misinformation is spread with bad intentions. Sometimes it’s just a case of people not having all the facts or maybe even just a simple misunderstanding. But regardless of the reason, the impact can still be harmful to our schools.

The Role of Algorithms in Amplifying Misinformation

Social media algorithms are designed to keep users engaged. They prioritize content that is likely to generate interactions, such as likes, shares and comments. Unfortunately, this can inadvertently amplify misinformation.

•  Engagement Bait”: Sensational or emotionally charged content, even if it’s false, often triggers strong reactions from users, leading to more shares and engagement. This, in turn, signals to the algorithm that the content is valuable and should be shown to a wider audience.
• “Filter Bubble” effect: Algorithms tend to show users more of what they already like and engage with. This creates “filter bubbles” where users are primarily exposed to information that confirms their existing beliefs, making them more susceptible to misinformation and less likely to encounter diverse perspectives.

This creates a dangerous cycle where misinformation spreads rapidly and reinforces existing biases, making it even harder to identify and combat.

The Importance of Media Literacy Education

Media literacy education goes beyond simply fact-checking. It equips individuals with the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate the complex media landscape.

It’s important that schools are teaching these skills and reminding students to use them as the Meta policy unfolds. With media literacy, students gain critical thinking skills and learn to understand various media types (news articles, posts, videos and images). As their media literacy increases, they become more empowered and are able to identify biases, make informed decisions, engage in meaningful civic discourse and build their resilience against the negative impacts of misinformation.

Here are some practical tips that your school can use to reinforce media literacy education to help students develop healthy online habits and build their resilience against the negative impacts of misinformation.

• Engage in classroom discussions: Encourage your teachers to spark critical thinking by discussing news articles, analyzing social media posts and identifying potential biases.
• Develop “fake news” detection activities: Use interactive exercises and games to help students learn to identify and debunk misinformation.
• Utilize online resources: Explore online resources and educational platforms that provide engaging media literacy lessons and activities.
• Collaborate with parents: Encourage parents to engage in media literacy discussions with their children at home. As the Meta policy change rolls out, consider highlighting it in parent e-newsletters with what your school is doing and how parents can reinforce critical thinking skills outside of class (include helpful links to resources).

The Role of School Administrators and Educators

School administrators and educators play a crucial role in navigating this challenging landscape. This is an important opportunity to bolster your school’s supportive environment that promotes responsible online behavior. Safety, in person or online, is paramount to every school, and ensuring that accurate information reaches your school community is critical. Communicating about how your school is addressing also fosters your educational mission by enhancing your students’ media literacy.

• Clear Communication Policies: Establishing clear guidelines for using social media and communicating with your school’s community is essential. This includes protocols for sharing information, responding to online inquiries and addressing misinformation. If you don’t have policies, write and publish/post them. If you have existing policies, review this as part of an ongoing crisis communications and best-practices IT plan and publish/post them. Make sure that these policies are easily found on your website. For middle and high school students, reviewing your school’s social media policies should be part of your media literacy curriculum. 
• Prioritizing Professional Development: Investing in professional development opportunities for your educators on media literacy, digital citizenship and online safety is crucial. This will equip them with the knowledge and skills to effectively address misinformation and empower students to become critical consumers of information.
• Leading by Example: School administrators and educators must model responsible online behavior. This includes accurately representing the school on social media, critically evaluating information before sharing it and addressing misinformation promptly and professionally.

How Your School Can Combat Misinformation

So, what can you do? With misinformation spreading rapidly, it’s more important than ever for schools to take a proactive approach.

• Strong communication is key: Be clear and consistent in your communication with families, faculty/staff and alumni.
• Media literacy matters: Most crucial is teaching students,  parents and faculty/staff how to critically evaluate information. When you empower your communities with media literacy skills, you are better able to work together to ensure that accurate information prevails and that your school can continue to thrive.
• Staying vigilant is essential: Actively monitor social media and address misinformation quickly and effectively. This should be part of your school’s crisis communication plan with assigned roles and a clear plan of action to address misinformation.
• Partner with local media outlets: Collaborate with local newspapers, radio stations and TV news to disseminate accurate information and build community trust.

The removal of third-party fact-checkers from Meta’s platforms presents new challenges for schools, but it also presents an opportunity. By embracing proactive communication strategies and empowering your communities with media literacy skills, you can continue to create an online presence for your school, one rooted in accuracy and authenticity, to engage your audiences and continue the trust they have in your brand and mission.

To delve deeper into media literacy for your school, explore these valuable resources: News Literacy Project, NAMLE (The National Association for Media Literacy Education) and Project Look Sharp offer a wealth of information and engaging events for teachers, parents and students that not only combat misinformation but also foster a deeper understanding of media literacy.