CNN’s Brian Stelter visited a news literacy class at the PS/MS 207 school in Howard Beach, New York, as part of a lesson on how to identify “misinformation” in the media.
The visit was featured on CNN’s Reliable Sources this past weekend. The class’s teacher, Barbara King, explained that misinformation can be combated with basic critical thinking skills.
“This is a real world problem,” King said. “So, it’s very easy to bring that in when they start realizing, ‘I can utilize these skills in anything that I do.’”
CNN’s @brianstelter visits a classroom in New York where students are learning how to spot and avoid being misled by misinformation. pic.twitter.com/i7mxOsamgX
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) January 23, 2022
Social media reactions to the Reliable Sources segment called out CNN for the irony of the piece.
“Kind of like when CNN brands something as ‘reliable’, but it couldn’t be further from [the] truth?” Scott Presler tweeted.
Kind of like when CNN brands something as “reliable,”
but it couldn’t be further from the truth?
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) January 25, 2022
Another tweet from New Hampshire’s Libertarian Party questioned, “Didn’t you spread fake Russiagate conspiracy theories for 4 years straight?”
Didn’t you spread fake Russiagate conspiracy theories for 4 years straight?
— Libertarian Party NH (@LPNH) January 23, 2022
Others called into question the lack of diversity in the classroom and piece.
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“Did anyone else notice that there were zero African American students in that NYC public school classroom?” Twitter user Michael Jackson said.
Did anyone else notice that there were zero African American students in that NYC public school classroom?
— Michael Jackson (@whyassume) January 24, 2022
The piece also drew praise for the teacher who uses curriculum from the nonprofit group News Literacy Project, which is supported by CNN and other left-leaning news outlets.
“Love it,” Twitter user Jaime Kelly said. “Wish every middle or high school in America was teaching this.”
Love it. Wish every middle or high school in America was teaching this.
— Jaime Kelley she/her (@JaimeKelley9) January 23, 2022
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Another post drew attention to the need for greater news literacy among publications and platforms.
I don’t have a problem teaching kids critical thinking skills & media literacy. But if the classrooms are only going to focus on one network instead of critically assessing all networks & social platforms, then it’s just propaganda.
— Oak Wood (@WoodOak1999) January 23, 2022
“I don’t have a problem teaching kids critical thinking skills & media literacy,” Twitter user WoodOak1999 tweeted. “But if the classrooms are only going to focus on one network instead of critically assessing all networks & social platforms, then it’s just propaganda.”
