News

Pupils citing fake news as fact, teaching union poll shows

Pupils are quoting fake news as fact in classrooms, a NASUWT poll has found
Pupils are quoting fake news as fact in classrooms, a NASUWT poll has found Pupils are quoting fake news as fact in classrooms, a NASUWT poll has found

PUPILS are quoting fake news as fact in classrooms and written work, a poll of teachers has found.

More than a third of teachers said false information found online had been cited, according to a survey by the NASUWT.

Speaking as the union prepares to hold its annual conference, general secretary Chris Keates said this was "worrying".

Ms Keates said it showed the power that internet firms had in shaping public opinion, especially among young people.

The finding, part of an NASUWT poll on social media and technology, comes weeks after a leading international education expert said that children should be taught in schools how to recognise fake news.

In one case, a union member said that "some students did not attend school and hysteria ensued because they thought there were killer clowns roaming the streets with weapons".

Another said that pupils "often mistake spoof news sites for real news".

In total, 34 per cent of members surveyed said that in the past year they had seen pupils citing clearly fake news or false information from the internet as fact in their work or classroom discussions.

"It is important for children and young people to be made aware that not everything they see and read online is real," Ms Keates said.