Media Literacy in the Age of AI

Summary

Generative AI has crashed the party, bringing synthetic media creation to the masses. As society moves further into the exploitation zone, media literacy, healthy skepticism, and fact checking are more critical than ever. Every time an AI‐powered scam succeeds, every instance a deepfake goes viral, every synthetic media creation that slips past our mental filters—it is like a drop of poison in the well of public trust. What sets Teen Fact‐Checking Network apart is its dual focus: not only does it debunk misinformation, but it also empowers its audience with media literacy skills, enabling them to perform their own fact‐checking. PolitiFact is a fact‐checking website that assesses the truthfulness of statements made by politicians and public figures. The fact‐checking process often involves reaching out to primary sources, consulting experts, and digging through archives and databases.