Every day, students encounter headlines, videos, and posts that look credible but are not. Some distort facts, some manipulate emotions, and others intentionally deceive. In this submodule, we will break down the different types of misleading and harmful content, from misinformation and disinformation to malinformation and beyond. You will gain the tools to help students question more deeply, evaluate more carefully, and recognize when something online is not what it seems.

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Test Your Knowledge!

Reflecting Back

You may have recognized that preventing the presentation of misleading information begins with strengthening two core components of digital media literacy: critical thinking and research skills. Teaching students to use strategies such as lateral reading, CRAAP or CRISP evaluations, and verifying information across multiple credible sources could have helped them spot the fabricated statistics and AI-generated expert quotes. Reflecting on your own response, you may notice opportunities where you could have turned the moment into a guided learning experience; by inviting students to analyze the article together, model verification steps, or discuss how misinformation spreads. You might also consider redesigning the project to include required source evaluations, checkpoints for credibility, or brief lessons on how AI tools can generate realistic but misleading content. These proactive strategies would better equip students to navigate digital information independently and confidently.