Navigating Misinformation: Empowering Our Girls to Face the Digital Age with Confidence

As educators, we are navigating an increasingly complex landscape, especially when it comes to how our students engage with digital content. The surge of misinformation, disinformation, and online conspiracies requires us to take a proactive approach to help our students—particularly young girls—develop the skills to critically assess and navigate these challenges with resilience. And let’s be honest, it’s not just challenging for our students; it’s something we, as adults, are grappling with as well!

The recent Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools sheds light on the rising susceptibility of girls to conspiracy theories and the unique impact of social media on their worldview.

This report presents data from the largest study of its kind, involving young people, educators, and parents across English schools. A key finding of the report is that girls are more likely than boys to engage with and be influenced by conspiracy theories, a concern that becomes even more pressing when we consider the prominence of social media platforms like TikTok among younger audiences.

What does this mean for us as educators in an all-girls school?

It means that we must be even more vigilant in fostering critical thinking skills, media literacy, and a deeper understanding of how to evaluate information sources. As our students turn increasingly to platforms where they can access news and information instantly, we must equip them to discern between fact and fiction, truth and manipulation.

The rise of social media has made it easier for young people to access information quickly, but it has also made it harder for them to critically engage with that information.

The report reveals a significant gap in how young people receive and interpret information. While children aged 11-12 still rely on traditional sources like school and word-of-mouth for their news, social media begins to play a larger role as they age. This shift, although natural in a digital world, raises important questions about how we teach our students to engage with online content. We must empower them to recognise when information is biased, distorted, or completely false.

As educators, we have a vital role to play in this process. The report shows that young people still trust their teachers and parents as reliable sources of information—an opportunity we must seize. In fact, 63% of young people expressed confidence in speaking to their teachers about these challenges beyond simple fact-checking (Burtonshaw et al., 2025). However, the report also highlights that trust in teachers and parents declines during adolescence, with only 17% of 17- to 18-year-olds fully trusting their teachers compared to 27% at ages 11-12. This decline makes the primary school years a critical entry point to address these issues (Burtonshaw et al., 2025).

The question, however, remains: how can we support our students effectively in this area? The research indicates that many educators feel ill-equipped to address the challenge of online misinformation. This is where professional development comes into play. The report underscores the need for sustained, research-informed training for educators—something I strongly support. At Penrhos, we are committed to providing our staff with the tools and resources they need to confidently guide our students through these challenges.

Additionally, the report calls for greater involvement from parents, guardians, and the broader community. While we, as schools, play a pivotal role, we cannot work in isolation.

Parents must also be equipped to support their children in recognising and addressing misinformation. We are constantly looking for ways to collaborate with families to ensure our students are getting consistent, supportive messages both at school and at home.

In response to these challenges, I believe it is essential to implement media literacy into our curriculum from an early age. As the report suggests, schools should embed critical thinking and digital literacy into every aspect of teaching, ensuring students have the skills to analyze and evaluate information. The ability to think critically, question narratives, and seek out trustworthy sources of information will serve our girls well throughout their lives, both in and out of school.

At Penrhos College , we aim to create an environment where our students are not only academically successful but also socially responsible, capable of navigating the complexities of the digital world with confidence and integrity. As the report reminds us, the earlier we begin to engage with our students on these topics, the more effective our efforts will be. We must equip our girls to be the leaders of tomorrow, capable of discerning truth from falsehood and using their voices to make a positive impact on the world.

What I feel is most important is working together working —within schools, with our families, and with the broader community—so we can provide our students with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

References:

Burtonshaw, S., Whitehead, P., Braier, A., Baron, D., Dorrell, E., Wride, S., Walkden, J., & Yates, W. (2025). Commission into countering online conspiracies in schools. Public First. https://counteringconspiracies.publicfirst.co.uk/Commission_into_Countering_Online_Conspiracies_in_Schools.pdf.