Schools in the United Kingdom will teach students how to recognize fake news and extremist content following the riots that swept across the country last week.
Schools in the UK will want to revamp their curriculum to help children recognise and reject extremist content by incorporating critical thinking lessons into subjects such as English and maths, a report from The Telegraph.
“It is more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to challenge what they see online,” Bridget Phillipson, the UK Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, told the Telegraph.
“That is why, as part of our curriculum review, we will develop plans to embed critical skills into lessons so that we can arm our children against the misinformation, fake news and vile conspiracy theories circulating on social media,” she added.
Phillipson said the country would still set “high and rising standards in core subjects”, which she said was “non-negotiable”, but that the new curriculum would “broaden access to cultural subjects and give students the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in work and in life”.
The push to overhaul British education comes after days of riots across the country in response to a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift event that left three girls dead and several others injured.
The murders were allegedly committed by an 18-year-old British citizen who was the son of Rwandan immigrants. The protests played on widespread concerns about immigration in the country.
In response, the government has warned of a tougher crackdown on online content deemed extremist or “potentially incites violence.”
“Content that incites violence or hatred is not only harmful, it may also be illegal,” the UK Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement on X on Wednesday.
Phillipson argued that the revamped curriculum would help students recognize and ignore that content, emphasizing that both far-left and far-right views would be addressed.
One example of how UK schools could use current lessons to demonstrate their opposition to extremist content could be for pupils in English lessons to learn how to analyse news articles and the language used against examples of “fake news”, the report said.
Computer lessons can teach students how to identify and avoid unreliable sources of information, while being able to tell the difference between websites that offer legitimate journalism and those that contain bias or propaganda. Students can also learn to tell the difference between authentic photos and photos that have been photoshopped or otherwise altered.
In the meantime, math lessons would help students better understand how to analyze statistics and put them into context, the report said.
The curriculum review is being led by renowned British education expert Professor Becky Francis, who is due to report next year and set out a plan by September 2025.
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