First, let's get clear on what we're talking about, because "fake news" has become this catch-all term that means different things to different people.

Misinformation is false information shared without knowing it's false. Your aunt sharing that debunked health hack on Facebook? Probably misinformation.

Disinformation is false information shared intentionally to deceive. State-sponsored propaganda, coordinated campaigns to spread lies, deepfakes designed to manipulate — that's disinformation.

Malinformation is real information shared to cause harm — like leaking someone's private photos or sharing true-but-out-of-context quotes to damage someone's reputation.

Kids encounter all three types, and honestly, the lines blur constantly. That's partly what makes this so hard.

A huge chunk of misinformation exists because lies get clicks, and clicks make money.

Those sketchy websites with headlines like "Doctors HATE This One Weird Trick!" or "You Won't BELIEVE What This Celebrity Did!"? They're farms churning out sensational garbage because every click generates ad revenue. The more outrageous the claim, the more people click, share, and comment — and the more money they make.

Kids stumble onto these sites all the time, especially when researching for school projects or following links from social media.

Social media algorithms are designed to show us content that keeps us engaged — and unfortunately, outrage and shock keep us very engaged.

Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter/X prioritize content that gets reactions. A boring, nuanced explanation of a complex topic? Not great for engagement. A wild, inflammatory claim that makes you angry or shocked? That's algorithm gold.

This creates a feedback loop: outrageous content gets pushed to more people, gets more engagement, gets pushed even further. Kids scrolling their feeds are being served whatever keeps them scrolling — accuracy is not part of the equation.

Some misinformation is deliberately created to push political agendas or sow division. Foreign governments, political groups, and activists all create and spread false narratives to influence public opinion.

Your teen might not think they're consuming "political" content, but misinformation about climate change, vaccines, social issues, or historical events is absolutely political — and it's everywhere on the platforms they use.

AI has made creating convincing fake content shockingly easy. Deepfake videos, AI-generated images, and chatbots that can write convincing-sounding articles mean that almost anyone can create professional-looking misinformation in minutes.

Kids are growing up in a world where seeing something with their own eyes no longer means it's real. That's... a lot to process.

Sometimes "fake news" starts as satire or parody — think The Onion — but gets shared by people who don't realize it's a joke. By the time it's been screenshot and reshared a few times, all context is lost.

Kids are particularly vulnerable to this because they might not recognize satirical sources or understand the original context.

Let's be real: adults fall for misinformation constantly. But kids face some unique challenges:

Developing critical thinking skills. The part of the brain responsible for evaluating information and considering consequences is still developing through the mid-20s. Younger kids especially tend to take things at face value.

Trust in what they see. Kids are still learning that not everything online is true. If it looks official, has lots of views, or comes from someone they follow, they're more likely to believe it.

Echo chambers. Algorithms can trap kids in bubbles where they only see content that confirms what they already believe — or what the algorithm thinks they want to see.

Speed and volume. Kids consume content fast. A TikTok video is 15-60 seconds. They're not stopping to fact-check every claim — they're scrolling to the next thing.

Social pressure. If everyone in their friend group is talking about something they saw online, kids feel pressure to have seen it too — and to accept it as true.

Okay, so the landscape is bleak. But here's the good news: media literacy is a skill we can teach, and it's one of the most valuable things we can give our kids.

You don't need to wait until your kid is a teen to talk about this. Even young kids can learn to ask questions like:

With younger kids, practice with ads. Watch shows on streaming services and talk about how commercials are trying to sell them something. That's media literacy in action.

This is what fact-checkers actually do: instead of just reading an article deeply, they open new tabs and search for information about the source.

When your kid finds something online, teach them to:

This is a learnable skill, and it's way more effective than just telling kids "don't believe everything you see."

Make it a habit to ask about sources:

If your kid shares something wild from TikTok, don't just shut it down — investigate together. Model the process of evaluating credibility.

Kids need to understand that their feeds are curated for them based on what keeps them engaged — not based on what's true or important.

Have conversations about:

Learn more about how social media algorithms work

When you spot misinformation in the wild — whether it's something your kid shares or something you see — use it as a teaching moment.

"Hey, I saw this going around, but when I checked, it turns out it's not true. Here's how I figured that out."

This is so much more effective than abstract lectures about being careful online.

Show your kids how to use fact-checking sites:

Bookmark these together and make them part of the research process, especially for school projects.

Be honest: this stuff is hard. Adults struggle with it. The media landscape is deliberately designed to be confusing and overwhelming.

Normalizing uncertainty — "I'm not sure if this is true, let's look into it" — is actually really healthy modeling.

Ages 5-8: Focus on the difference between real and pretend, and introduce the idea that not everything online is true. Practice identifying ads and understanding that people create content for different reasons.

Ages 9-12: Start teaching basic fact-checking skills. Talk about clickbait, how to evaluate sources, and why some content is designed to make us feel strong emotions. This is a great age to introduce lateral reading.

Ages 13+: Dive deeper into algorithms, echo chambers, and the economics of misinformation. Teens can handle conversations about political disinformation, deepfakes, and the responsibility that comes with sharing content.

Fake news isn't going anywhere. If anything, it's getting more sophisticated and harder to spot. But the solution isn't to ban our kids from the internet or make them paranoid about everything they see.

The solution is to raise critical thinkers who know how to question, verify, and think carefully about the information they encounter.

This is ongoing work. You're not going to have one conversation and be done. But every time you model curiosity over certainty, every time you investigate a claim together, every time you acknowledge "I don't know, let's find out" — you're building those critical thinking muscles.

And honestly? In 2026, that might be the most important skill we can give them.

Want to talk through a specific situation with your kid and misinformation?