More than 60% of Brazilians believe in fake news, a fact that makes Brazil the world leader in believing false news, which is spread mainly through digital social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube, among many others.

This data from Global Advisor—a study conducted by the Ipsos Institute, which surveyed more than 19,000 people in 27 countries—only confirmed an “unprecedented” reality, as stated by Laura Chinchilla, former president of Costa Rica and head of the Organization of American States (OAS) mission to observe the most recent general elections in Brazil.

The fact that people—especially children and young people from Generation Z onward—live in their own online bubbles, where they interact only virtually and only with people who share their views, and where the truth isn’t always expressed, is harmful—very harmful—to society.

Spreading and sharing rumors and/or false information—whether intentionally or not—is a dangerous crime that, in addition to resulting in a prison sentence of up to 3 years for those found guilty, can pose risks to public health, reinforce all kinds of prejudice, and sow doubt about the system.

Despite the laws in Brazil, false information circulates across all social media platforms and messaging apps, and during the second round of the 2022 elections, it increased dramatically compared to the first round. 

The increase was observed on Telegram (23%), WhatsApp (36%), and Twitter (57%). Overall, according to a study conducted by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the daily average number of false messages jumped from 196,900 before the first round of this October’s elections to 311,500 after the first round. 

Not only in relation to elections, but also in the health and economic sectors, for example, the disinformation machine is becoming increasingly sophisticated; and in addition to reaching and reinforcing themselves within social media bubbles, they transcend the virtual world and spread into the real world—that is, they begin on the internet and also extend to society beyond it. We see the harmful consequences of anti-vaccine misinformation and even of the fake news that exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

For these and countless other reasons, fake news has already led to the lynching of innocent people, an increase in the number of children missing critical vaccine doses, homophobia, xenophobia, and the legitimization and spread of violent acts; this highly vicious cycle must and can be broken through education.

Schools play a decisive role in resolving this issue, and the only way to put an end to fake news is through substantial, targeted investment in media education and digital literacy as part of the formal education of children, youth, and adults.

When integrated into formal education—appropriately, purposefully, and across all subjects—media education and digital literacy are powerful tools for teaching our children and young people to use the internet properly and to learn not only to identify but also to debunk fake news.

That is what Finland—a model country in terms of quality education, according to PISA—has been doing for several years: it invests in media literacy starting in early childhood education.

In Finland, teachers—who are highly qualified for this purpose—include, for example, valuable insights in their math classes on how statistics can be distorted, or use history classes to show how certain elements are manipulated to distort past events in order to influence an entire population.

The big question is why people not only believe, staunchly defend, and share fake news without questioning it—or at least raising doubts about the content—in the form of text, audio, or video that they receive through social media or messaging apps. I would venture to say that one reason is a lack of critical thinking, which is still not sufficiently encouraged in school.

And the question that keeps coming up is: How can schools break the harmful cycle of fake news sharing?

Training educators and administrators is essential

Combating fake news is not simple, much less easy to carry out, since the mechanisms used to produce and disseminate misinformation are quite efficient and almost always conceal and protect the identities of the perpetrators.

Precisely for this reason, we need to train our teachers to embrace media literacy and to make educommunication a routine part of school life, so that we can raise generations capable of eliminating this practice from society in the medium term.

Since media literacy is a branch of educommunication, it can be applied in schools in an effective and cross-curricular manner, with the goal of providing in-depth knowledge about fake news, as well as engaging students and developing their critical and analytical thinking skills. 

Another advantage of adopting educommunicative processes in school settings is the promotion of digital literacy, communication skills, teamwork, and the ability to argue a case among adolescents—requirements that are among the 10 competencies and skills mandated for education by the BNCC (National Common Core Curriculum).

In schools, combating fake news involves digital literacy, raising students’ awareness that they are immersed in bubbles created by algorithms based on what they search for, post, share, or comment on online, and in-depth guidance on the creation, spread, and harmful effects of fake news on society, as well as how to analyze news stories to verify their accuracy.

Training teachers and administrators to integrate media education into the school setting through educommunication (education by and for the media) places students at the center of the teaching and learning processes, helping teachers guide their classes toward the highest level of civic development and opening the door to autonomy, proactivity, and the ability to think critically and analytically about everything.

And isn't that the primary purpose of school?

To teach beyond mere content, in a globalized world that produces thousands upon thousands of pieces of information every minute—not all of which are important or even true? Teach students to use the internet in a way that is rational and productive for them? Guide them on how to navigate this flood of information? Show them how to develop the ability to decide, with knowledge and critical thinking, what is truly good for them and what serves to improve their environment and society as a whole?

*Sandhra Cabral holds a master’s degree in Innovation in Public Interest Communication from USCS/USP, with a research focus on the use of communication in Virtual Communities of Practice for the professional development and continuing education of teachers and educational leaders; an educommunicator and journalist with a bachelor’s degree from UMESP—the Methodist University of the State of São Paulo; a university professor at USCS—the Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul; CEO of Educar para Ser Grande; and a consultant in educational innovation and educommunication. She is an award-winning journalist with over 25 years of experience in hard news.

 **This text does not necessarily reflect the views of Bett Brasil.**