{"id":233,"date":"2026-05-08T06:07:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/theres-going-to-be-even-more-harmful-content-on-social-media-as-meta-drops-fact-checkers-what-to-tell-your-kids\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T06:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:07:55","slug":"theres-going-to-be-even-more-harmful-content-on-social-media-as-meta-drops-fact-checkers-what-to-tell-your-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/theres-going-to-be-even-more-harmful-content-on-social-media-as-meta-drops-fact-checkers-what-to-tell-your-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s going to be even more harmful content on social media as Meta drops fact-checkers. What to tell your kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: <\/em><\/strong>Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book \u201c<\/em>Over the Influence:<\/em> Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls \u2014 And How We Can Take It Back\u201d was published in 2024 by Alcove Press. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many parents were already worried about their kids being exposed to false information and other harmful content on social media before Meta\u2019s surprise decision to drop its fact-checkers. <\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s reason to fear things are going to get even worse. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Meta announced it\u2019s ending its fact-checking partnerships for Instagram and Facebook in the United States. Instead, users will be able to write \u201ccommunity notes\u201d on problematic posts. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that, as a result, the company will catch less \u201cbad stuff\u201d posted on its platforms. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not like social media platforms were all vetted and had strong sourcing for users\u2019 posts before. But Zuckerberg\u2019s decision makes it even more important for children to be taught how to sort out what they should and should not believe on social media. Parents can also use this opportunity to talk to their kids about why they should never share or act on claims they see online without fact-checking them first. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to teach them. <\/p>\n

Confirm with mainstream media, not influencers<\/h3>\n

To figure out whether a social media post is accurate, the mainstream media is a good place to start. \u201cConsider whether other credible, mainstream news outlets are reporting the same news,\u201d said James P. Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that helps parents and teachers instill critical thinking skills in children. \u201cIf they\u2019re not, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not true, but it does mean you should dig deeper.\u201d <\/p>\n

To learn how to understand media coverage, parents should encourage kids to \u201cconsume more news, not less,\u201d said Dr. Jingsi Christina Wu, associate professor of media studies at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York, via email. You can do so by reading or watching the news together and then discussing it. Wu said the more children consume news, the more they gain the cognitive ability to interpret it. <\/p>\n

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When evaluating posts, Steyer said kids should also be taught to consider who made the content, whether they appear trustworthy, what their motivations might be and who might benefit from or be hurt by it. <\/p>\n

In particular, Wu said, kids should be told that \u201cyour favorite influencers are not experts.\u201d Parents can explain that it\u2019s \u201cOK to watch your favorite TikTokers or YouTubers for their entertainment value or special experiences, but they are not credentialed experts on facts and they have their own biases about the world.\u201d <\/p>\n

Similarly, children (and their parents) shouldn\u2019t assume something is true simply because it\u2019s gotten a lot of views or likes. \u201cVirality does not equal truth,\u201d Wu warned. In fact, she said, \u201cFake news travels faster by taking advantage of human instincts for sharing abnormal stories.\u201d <\/p>\n

Beware of telltale errors, emotional content and algorithms<\/h3>\n

Looking for small errors in things such as spelling and grammar is another way to spot unreliable posts, Wu said. She also suggested encouraging kids to look at details in pictures and videos for signs they\u2019ve been manipulated. For example, a hand with the wrong number of fingers could be a giveaway that artificial Intelligence generated it, she said. <\/p>\n

Kids should also consider it a red flag if a piece of content provokes strong emotions in them, Steyer said. \u201cMisinformation and disinformation are created to get extreme reactions out of people.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Children should be taught not to consume inaccurate or extremist content because algorithms are designed to show people what they think they like \u2014 so the more they watch or engage with particular types of posts, the more likely they are to be fed more content that is similar. <\/p>\n

Kids should know that, when they consume content, creators often profit from their views, said Dr. Devorah Heitner, the Chicago-based author of \u201cGrowing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World.\u201d This happens <\/strong>because higher view counts often allow creators to make more money from ads. It\u2019s another reason to steer clear of content that is false or otherwise problematic. <\/p>\n

When I speak to parents in schools about how to handle their kids\u2019 social media use, I suggest consuming social media content about topics that interest their children together. For example, if a kid is interested in becoming a veterinarian, they can watch videos from zoos around the world. Then, even when the parent isn\u2019t present, algorithms are likely to feed the child similar posts. <\/p>\n

Keep an open dialogue with your kids<\/h3>\n

Wu said parents should also encourage their kids to talk to them when they\u2019re unsure how to judge whether content is accurate. Even if parents suspect it\u2019s fake, it\u2019s not a good idea to say so right away. \u201cChildren might feel judged or dismissed if parents simply laugh things off or outright brush off all online content as fake or untrustworthy,\u201d she warned. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> How teens view social media\u2019s impact on their mental health<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Instead, Wu suggested that parents do research with their children. \u201cThis approach keeps the dialogue open and also alleviates \u2026 the stress of being all-knowing at all times,\u201d she said. \u201cIt also demonstrates to the kids that learning never stops and media literacy is a muscle that needs to be exercised.\u201d <\/p>\n

Thanks to Meta\u2019s new policy, I expect that children will be exposed to even more dangerous content on social media. But parents can protect kids by teaching them how to evaluate what they see online, so they know what to believe and how to avoid problematic posts. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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Editor\u2019s note: Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book \u201cOver the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls \u2014 And…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}