Schools in the UK will begin teaching pupils how to spot fake news and extremist content following riots that spread across the country last week.
Schools across the UK are revising their curricula to help children identify and filter out extremist content by “embedding” critical thinking lessons in subjects such as English and maths. The Telegraph reports.
“It’s more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to challenge what they see online,” Bridget Phillipson, Britain’s education secretary and minister for women and equalities, told the Telegraph.
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Police officers confront protesters during an anti-immigration demonstration outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, on August 4, 2024. (Danny Lawson/PA via The Associated Press)
“That’s why our curriculum review will set out plans to embed key skills into lessons to protect children from the misinformation, fake news and harmful conspiracy theories that abound on social media,” she added.
Mr Phillipson said the country would still set “high and improving standards in core subjects” which he said were “non-negotiable”, but the new curriculum would “widen access to cultural subjects and give students the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the workplace and throughout life”.
The move to reform Britain’s schools comes after days of rioting across the country following a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed event that left three girls dead and several others injured.
The murder was allegedly carried out by an 18-year-old British man born to Rwandan immigrant parents, and the protests have fuelled widespread fears about immigration in the country.
In response, the government warned it would crack down on online content that could be deemed extremist or “incite violence”.
Police officers intervene as anti-racism activists gather in Guildhall Square and confront the protesters after far-right demonstrators announce a protest on August 5, 2024 in Plymouth, England. (Behlul Cetinkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The UK government is scrutinising social media to arrest people who share “harmful” footage of the riots, regardless of their intentions.
“Content that incites violence or hatred is not only harmful, but potentially unlawful,” the UK Prosecution Service said in a post on X on Wednesday.
Philipson argued the revised curriculum would help students identify and ignore the content, which he said highlights both far-left and far-right views.
One example of how UK schools could use current teaching to introduce a pushback against extremist content is by teaching pupils in English classes to analyse news articles and compare the language they use with examples of “fake news”, the report said.
Computer classes can teach students how to identify and avoid unreliable sources, helping them tell the difference between websites that offer legitimate journalism and those that contain bias and propaganda. Students can also learn to tell the difference between real and Photoshopped photographs.
Trouble breaks out during an anti-immigration protest outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, on August 4, 2024, when a chair is thrown at a police officer. (Danny Lawson/PA via The Associated Press)
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Meanwhile, math classes could help students better understand how to analyze statistics and put them into context, the report said.
The curriculum review will be led by Professor Becky Francis, a leading UK education expert, and aims to report next year with a plan in place by September 2025.
