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Today is Saturday, November 8th. Here on the Newsworthy, we try to help you navigate the overload of news there is every day. We use our journalistic backgrounds and pull from a variety of credible sources for each story. But I'm guessing you still feel bombarded by all the noise and information around you. Sometimes, and especially for teens, it's not always easy to figure out what's real, honest and fair and what's fake, malicious or biased. In fact, this week a new survey is raising some alarm bells about how teens view the news and and how that might make them more susceptible to misinformation and conspiracy theories. The News Literacy Project found many teens don't have a clear idea of how true journalism works on a daily basis and who they can trust. So today our guest is the senior vice president of research and design at the News Literacy Project, Peter Adams. He oversees the curriculum, research and programs related to helping people identify credible information. Today, he's helping to break down what this new data tells us about teens trust and the future of news.
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Welcome.
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Welcome to the Newsworthy Special Edition Saturday. When we sit down with a different expert or celebrity every Saturday to talk about something in the news. Don't forget to tune in every Monday through Friday for our regular episodes where we provide all the day's news in 10 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. It's now time for today's special edition Saturday. Peter Adams, thank you so much for joining us here on the Newsworthy.
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B
Thanks so much for having me.
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Let's just start with the headline findings from this latest survey about how teens are viewing the news and their overall level of news and media literacy.
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I think it revealed some challenges, right. And some misconceptions in the way that the press does or doesn't operate. One of the big centerpieces of the study were eight actions that we asked teens to tell us how often they think professional journalists and the news organizations they work for do or don't do so. Things like correcting errors when they happen, gathering information from multiple sources, confirming facts before you report them, or cover stories that help protect the public's interest. These are things that happen in newsrooms all across the country on a daily basis, usually many times a day. But we actually found that teens think that these happen much less often than they actually do. And then we asked them about four actions that would be extraordinarily rare in a high quality standards based newsroom. For example, giving advertisers special treatment and coverage, or making up details and making up quotes for sources, or paying and doing favors for sources in exchange for information, or intentionally taking photos or videos out of context and saying there's something they're not. So teens think that those unethical behaviors happen at a much higher rates. Between 50 and 60% of respondents think that those unethical behaviors are things that professional journalists and news organizations always, almost always, or often do. But only about 25 to 30% think that the ethical actions that are far more common are things that those organizations always, almost always, or often do.
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A
Do you have a sense of where these misperceptions are coming from?
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We don't. We can speculate. Right. And guess I want to be clear. You know, I don't think this is something we should point fingers at teens about. I don't think we should blame them for this. These kinds of misperceptions appear in popular discourse pretty regularly, all over social media, even in entertainment media. Obviously, there is a lot of antipathy and hostility directed toward the news media. I think there has been for decades. People kind of love to hate the media and paint with that broad brush. So I think teens have picked up on that. I believe that some of this comes from the sort of selection bias of looking at conversations about news coverage on social media. People rarely take to social media to praise a report that does a good job, but they often take to social media to complain about a headline that they think is unfair. And so when we look at our social media feeds, where we all spend probably too much time, we're seeing the opposite of a highlight reel of the news of the day. And I think it's easy to forget that those are maybe the outliers. Even though the discourse on social media about news coverage is highly debatable. People on the left thinking they're seeing bias against their views and ideas, and people on the right seeing opposing biases even in the same headline or the same piece of. But even still, I think the tenor of the conversation about news and news media, whether it's on social media, in our political discourse, or in entertainment media, is much more often negative than positive.
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So let's clarify. What would you tell people to look for or consider when thinking about a credible news organization? And how can they start to decipher looking on social media at some of these clips that have two different headlines that sound totally different about the same story? How can they not take that as this is what all media does?
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So to take your first question, I think if you're evaluating the credibility of a source, you're looking for evidence of key journalistic Values and principles. Right. So you're looking for a demonstrated commitment to accuracy at a very granular level. Right. To correct even the most minor of errors. But you're looking for a demonstrated commitment to fairness, to being impartial, to providing you with the information you need to make up your own mind about a subject. Subject to be accountable, to be independent of any kind of special interest, to put the public's interest and the reader's interest first or the audience's interest first. And then on social media, I think you have to be careful, right. When you see these kinds of comparisons with people alleging that two outlets are framing a story completely differently. Sometimes that's the case, but sometimes those two headlines are from two different news cycles. Sometimes one is the first story about a subject and the second the headline is a follow up story. It might be that news organization's fourth headline about a topic that's clarifying a new detail. So it's not really the way they frame their overall coverage. So I would say take those kinds of assertions on social media with a grain of salt and always go look at the actual coverage so that you can decide if the criticism is accurate. Because two screenshots can appear to tell a story about news coverage that actually isn't borne out by the coverage itself.
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And what would you say is the impact of some of these misperceptions that you found in this data?
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Yeah, I think the impact can be that students get that young people get an impression that all sources of information are unethical, that they all engage in some form of manipulation and secret tactical decision making with some kind of ideological goal in mind. Certainly there are lots of sources of information and lots of individuals online who do this, but I think if they believe that sort of everyone does that equally and there's nothing to set one source of information apart from any other in terms of credibility. That really opens them up to some low quality information sources that could result in them being misinformed, could result in them making bad decisions, could result in them being manipulated or influenced by someone who wants to deceive them to get their support for something. So I think it's vital that we help students differentiate between different kinds of sources of information and to have a clear eyed understanding of what constitutes credibility. It isn't being perfect because then no source of information would ever be credible, but it does require a demonstrated commitment to some key characteristics that make information credible.
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And I know we talked about this last year as well, but when the data shows rising cynicism toward the Press. How can people differentiate between maybe healthy skepticism with all information you come across similar to what we were just talking about, you need to verify or check the full source versus that cynicism that makes people think everything is false. And I'm just going to tune it all out.
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Yeah. So I think skepticism is distinct from cynicism in that, number one, it's not applied to everything equally. So you can be skeptical and ask hard questions about what evidence am I seeing that this is true? Why should I believe this source? Those are skeptical questions. But I think cynics assume that everyone is out to manipulate them, that no one in the information climate today is actually trying to inform them, is actually being honest in their reporting. And I think that's a real mistake and non ironically, those sources that would actively mislead folks love to bash the media. Right. Because it helps shore up their audiences as well. So I think those are some of the key differences to really ask clear questions, but also understand the standards and practices at play when you're looking at different kinds of information from different sources.
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Anything else in the data that was notable, surprising, interesting that you want to point out here.
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I think one question that we asked that stands out a bit is we asked the panel of teams what is something that journalists are doing well at. And even when we framed the question positively, because we also asked them what they feel that journalists could improve on. But even when we asked them what journalists are doing well today, the top two answers were negative. The top answer was lying or deceiving people. And the second most common answer was nothing. They're doing nothing well. Right. Which is really disheartening because there is a lot of high quality, very important public interest journalism being done. There are a lot of very passionate journalists who believe strongly in the mission of their work to inform the public, to hold powerful people accountable, to help the public understand important issues, to help them be more informed voters for themselves and their interests, for their communities. And so that was a bit disheartening, although again, not surprising given the hostility that we often hear directed at the press. But still, we were a bit surprised that the top two answers even to that positively framed question turned negative.
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Who do you think is most responsible for helping to fix this moving forward? Should news organizations be doing more to educate their audience about what they're doing behind the scenes? And I know it should be more than just reporters who are under deadline. But is it news consumers? Do we just need to make sure people are more informed and taking more steps themselves? Is it lawmakers Is it tech companies? What can be done about this moving forward?
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My answer to all those is yes, I think there's something everyone can do, right? Certainly news organizations and individual journalists can do more to share their process, can do more to help the public understand the kinds of conversations they have in the newsroom about what to cover. Those are some hard choices. They're necessary choices. What makes the news conversations about the fairest way to describe something, conversations and decisions about how stories are sourced, who gets included, whose voices are included in a report, and whose voices are not. There's a role for certainly educators to play, and not just journalism teachers or social science teachers, teachers, social studies and history and civics teachers, but teachers in any content area to address media literacy with their students, to find a way to integrate some of those lessons and some of those skills and dispositions into their curriculum and work. There's a role for parents to play. There's a role for teens themselves and any news consumer to play. And there's a role for lawmakers to play. Social media companies, too. There's plenty they can do to help promote credible information and help people understand what they can believe.
- [11:35]
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Still ahead, what does teaching news and media literacy actually look like in the classroom? Peter Adams provides the five standards for students from identifying what's what while scrolling to understanding the role a free press plays in a democracy. Plus, even outside the classroom, the ways adults talk about media can make a difference. And yes, we talk about AI, what's giving our guests hope and how we can all navigate the new challenges coming next. That and more coming up. But first, a quick break to thank our sponsors as the weather turns and the holidays get closer. It's a time of year where I just want to feel cozy and Quince delivers layers that last. To help with that, think sweaters, outerwear and everyday essentials that feel luxurious, look timeless and make holiday dressing and gifting easy. Quince has it $50 Mongolian cashmere sweaters made for everyday wear, denim that never goes out of style, silk tops and skirts that add polish and outerwear built to take on the seasonal. Perfect for gifting or upgrading your own wardrobe. In fact, my go to layer lately has been the soft wool half zip sweater I got from Quint's last year. It is so warm and easy to style. I'm already wearing it again this season. Or if you need new luggage for holiday travel, definitely check out Quince. I love my carry on and I use it every trip, so step into the holiday season with layers made to feel good. Look polished and last from Quints. Perfect for gifting or keeping by yourself. Go to quince.com newsworthy for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com newsworthy to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com newsworthy the newsworthy is also brought to you by Dose. Can we talk about what's possibly the most underrated organ in your body? Your liver. It's doing over 500 functions every single day. Filtering unwanted elements, supporting digestion, helping with energy. But we rarely think about it until something's wrong. So what if we actually supported it before problems started? That's what Dose for your Liver is all about. It's a clinically backed liver health supplement that comes in a simple 2 ounce liquid shot and honestly, it tastes like fresh squeezed orange juice. It's really good. Plus there's zero sugar, zero junk, zero calories. Just clean plant based ingredients designed to help your liver do its job. In double blind studies, Dose was shown to support healthy liver enzyme levels, which means you're helping your body function at its best every day. So, ready to give your liver the support it deserves? Head to DueDaily co Newsworthy or enter Newsworthy to get 35% off your first subscription. Your body does so much for you. Let's do something for it that's D O S E D A I L Y co Newsworthy for 35% off your first month subscription. Now back to my conversation with Peter Adams from the News Literacy Project. So you were talking about youth education. What does that actually look like in the classroom? What are some key things you think teens need to be taught specifically?
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Yeah, that's a great question. There's a lot. I think this can be a challenging question for educators, right? Because there's so much to try to get across. So to try to give that some structure, the News Literacy Project developed a framework for teaching news literacy that has five standards. And within those standards we've also published a set of grade band expectations like what students should know and be able to do from from kindergarten all the way through high school. And that can really add some definition to this work. Some of those key skills I think are just first of all, differentiating between different kinds of content. We live in a very social media driven world, but those streams make all information look the same. Right. So I think it's easier now than ever to fall into the trap of just seeing everything as content or making the mistake of Thinking that everything about current events is news and it's not. So having students distinguish between actual hard news reporting and opinion journalism, or the opinions of folks just being shared on social media or ads, including trickier ads like branded content or things that are primarily produced for entertainment, even if they are about news like the Daily Show. So I think working with students on that level is really important. Giving them an appreciation for the First Amendment and the role that a free press plays in a robust democracy and in civic society is also very important. Helping them understand what the standards of quality journalism are and what those characteristics of credibility are is vital. Helping them recognize trends and patterns in viral misinformation is another big bucket that we tend to focus on.
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And I know we were talking before we got started about how important it is to recognize the good in quality journalism and not just talk about the skepticism that we all need to have when it comes to looking at all media and what we're seeing on social media. Can you talk about the difference there?
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Yeah, that's actually baked into one of our recommendations in the report, which is that educators need to be mindful of the need to present students with positive examples of journalism, exemplary pieces of journalism, at least as often as they present students with problematic examples of journalism. Looking at lapses in standards, looking at headlines that need to be fairer or are biased in some way, or that you believe are biased in some way is really important. But so is appreciating high quality reporting, high impact investigative reports in your community that might expose practices that damage public health or corruption from a public official, and to appreciate the role that that news coverage plays in holding those folks accountable, yeah, I think that's vitally important. And if the only time students really think and talk about news coverage is to to look at something that is presented to them as problematic, they may get the impression that all journalists do and all news. The only thing news organizations really do is mess up or mislead or publish biased things. And that's just not an accurate reflection of the overall body of work coming from those organizations.
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Was AI in your findings at all? Because it's talked about so much today. And either way, how is AI changing the landscape when it comes to the news literacy that we're all going to need to have moving forward?
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We didn't ask any questions specifically about generative AI in this particular follow up report, but we did in the original report that was published back in 2024 with the same group of teens. And we asked them to distinguish between two images and to try to figure out which one was an actual photo and which one was synthetic or AI generated. And they did pretty well. 69% could pick out the synthetic image of the two when paired together. That is a bit easier than picking out a synthetic image in your feed as you scroll through dozens or hundreds of images. But it was still heartening to see that. And maybe even more heartening we did get in that original survey a clear indication that teens have a degree of skepticism toward these tools in terms of their accuracy. But I would say that the technology is maturing so rapidly, especially now with synthetic video rocketing across the Internet, that it is representing a really large disruptive kind of sea change in how viral disinformation is being produced and published and circulated that we all need to help teens grapple with and understand.
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And do you think even adults are going to be able to differentiate an AI generated video versus a legit news video?
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No, for the most part, no. And I don't think it's fair to ask people to be able to just based on their senses. The technology's gotten so good that you can't to literally tell the difference with the naked eye. Often there are still some cues and clues that you can suss out and pick out depending on the quality of the AI video. But currently, like speaking today 2025, there are tools that can make AI video that is absolutely realistic and I would say impossible for a non expert to pick up on and tell the difference between that and an actual video. So you need a variety of skills and tools at your disposal. Certainly looking for visual cues and clues is one useful tactic and strategy, but that doesn't provide you with the answer. Right? So you also need to look at the source that's publishing it. You need to know how to trace visuals back to their source. If you can do a reverse image search, for example, and figure out if that's a real photo. To really ask questions for unattributed images like where did this come from if it's a real photo? And to learn how to ask those kinds of key questions and to take those kind of basic verification steps is something that I think everybody needs to use online now.
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And I wonder if this will give news organizations a new role of help us decipher what is real or not.
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Indeed, I think it does highlight the importance of standards based content. Right? You are not going to see a reputable standards based news organization try to pass off a synthetic image as an actual photo. This is why news organizations verify the provenance of photos before they use them. If they didn't come from them, they use a wire service and they'll credit the photo and the photographer in the caption or the photo agency like Getty that they got it from. So I think those sorts of credits and captions are more important than ever. And sources that have the standards to be transparent about where something is coming from are more important than ever.
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You talked a little bit about some of this AI skepticism that you're seeing that's giving you hope. What else is giving you hope about Gen Z or Gen Alpha's ability to navigate the modern news and media landscape moving forward?
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I think one overriding prevailing positive finding from the first report is that the vast majority of teens, something like 94%, recognize that they need media literacy as part of their educations and want it right. And that goes right to the heart of the News Literacy Project's mission, to make sure that teens have access to high quality news and media literacy education and that educators have the training and high quality resources that they need to help teach it.
- [21:40]
A
If there's one takeaway you want listeners to remember from our discussion today, what would it be?
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Holding news organizations accountable to their ideals is important work, no doubt, and helping students do that and young people do that as well is important. But to remember that, you also have to appreciate when news organizations get it right and appreciate the role that they play in public life and in civic discourse. So there has to be a balance. And I think that can be easy to forget. It can be easy to take news reports that don't get anything wrong, that are informative and impartial and fair for granted, and to really only notice things that you have an issue with. And I think that that would be a kind of grave mistake. And we're already seeing the disappearance of a lot of local news organizations. I think we've lost something like a third of American newspapers since 2005. And so if we don't have an appreciation for the role that these standards based sources of local news play in our lives and in our communities, we could lose them. And I'm not sure that people fully understand what we lose when we lose local news as a source of information. Counties that have few or no local news organizations experience more political polarization, more corruption, even higher taxes and higher municipal costs. So I think people really need to recognize that and reflect on that in their attitudes about news coverage.
- [23:06]
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Well, thank you so much to Peter Adams and the News Literacy Project. We'll link to the full survey results in today's episode notes on thenewsworthy.com just look for today's date and be sure to check out the News Literacy Project. For a wide variety of resources, go to newslit.org Educators can sign up for their weekly newsletter, the Sift, parents can check out the monthly Scroll Smarter newsletter, and you can grab your kids or other family members to go through examples of viral misinformation with key news literacy takeaways@rumorguard.org I highly recommend all of that information. And because we also feel passionate about this topic here at the Newsworthy and Media Literacy Week just happened last month, we want to highlight a shorter one page cheat sheet we've created for you to be a quick overview of the basics. It has seven key questions to ask yourself to improve your news and media literacy. So grab seven ways to check if news is biased or false by going to thenewsworthy.commedialiteracy and you'll get the download for free. That's thenewsworthy.com Medialiteracy and of course, we try to make your life easier every weekday by doing some of this hard work for you and giving you 10 minute news roundups based on credible sources and a wide variety of perspectives every Monday through Friday right here on the Newsworthy Podcast. So thank you so much for listening today. We'll be back on Monday with more news to know. For now, enjoy the rest of your weekend.