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The Class Where ‘Screenagers’ Train to Navigate Social Media and A.I.

NYT > Business > Media · Tiffany Hsu · last updated

New technologies are complicating efforts to teach the scrolling generation to think critically and defensively online.

Most teenagers know that baseless conspiracy theories, partisan propaganda and artificially generated deepfakes lurk on social media. Valerie Ziegler’s students know how to spot them.

At Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco, she trains her government, economy and history students to consult a variety of sources, recognize rage-baiting content and consider influencers’ motivations. They brainstorm ways to distinguish deepfakes from real footage.

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