Misinformation

Misinformation can shape opinions, influence behaviours and lead to harmful consequences. That’s why equipping youth with the skills needed to safely navigate this landscape is critical, including helping them question what they find, verify facts and avoid spreading harmful content. By fostering responsible digital citizenship, youth can make informed decisions and contribute positively to online spaces, ensuring a safer and more trustworthy online environment for everyone.

Parents, caregivers and teachers continue to be the main safety guards for youth online and offline and it is critical that they have information and tools to help keep youth safer online against misinformation and other harms. 

This being said, only 39 per cent of surveyed parents feel very (or extremely) confident in their ability to help children navigate and address misinformation online. In fact, only 8 per cent feel extremely confident to do so.

The resources below offer concrete information and steps parents, caregivers and teachers can take. You will find tips for youth of various ages and conversation starters that will facilitate important discussions about media literacy and digital citizenship. 

Our goal is to create a new cyber-smart generation ready to embrace the challenges of the digital age.

To achieve this, Actua’s Cyber Smart Education Project engages youth in technology to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to be responsible and empowered online. Actua’s Cyber Smart Education Project aims to empower youth to explore, create and connect responsibly online. All of the resources created for this project are built on three pillars: cybersecurity, cyber safety and digital citizenship. The project helps youth understand how to critically assess online interactions, avert online threats and use technology in innovative, healthy and safe ways while also introducing them to careers in cybersecurity. 

The project seeks to build positive digital behaviours from the ground up to create a new cyber-smart generation, ready to embrace the challenges of the digital age. We do this by:

• engaging youth in targeted asset-based programming;
• empowering youth through digital skill development; and
• creating positive online connections. 

As part of this project, Actua has created a Cyber Smart Framework (p. 22) to help educators and families understand the key concepts and ideas involved in staying safe online and connect them to the curriculum students are already learning in school.