LONDON: The British government said on Sunday Schools In England could teach children how to recognize extremists and on-line Spreading content “lazy Conspiracy theories“, as part of planned changes to the national curriculum. Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said she would launch an overhaul of the curriculum in primary and secondary schools to promote critical thinking across multiple subjects.
It follows recent unrest in more than a dozen towns following the Southport stabbing, which authorities say was fuelled by online misinformation. The stabbing, allegedly carried out by British-born Axel Rudakubana, left three children dead. Online reports falsely claimed Rudakubana was a Muslim immigrant.
“It is more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge what they see online,” Phillipson told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “That is why our curriculum review will develop plans to embed critical skills into lessons to arm our children against disinformation, False reports and social media is awash with disgusting conspiracy theories.”
Under the planned changes, students in English classes will be asked to analyse newspaper articles to identify fake clickbait content, while computer science classes will analyse statistics in context. However, the results of the study are not due until next year, meaning the reforms would not come into force until September 2025, according to the Telegraph.
It follows recent unrest in more than a dozen towns following the Southport stabbing, which authorities say was fuelled by online misinformation. The stabbing, allegedly carried out by British-born Axel Rudakubana, left three children dead. Online reports falsely claimed Rudakubana was a Muslim immigrant.
“It is more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge what they see online,” Phillipson told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “That is why our curriculum review will develop plans to embed critical skills into lessons to arm our children against disinformation, False reports and social media is awash with disgusting conspiracy theories.”
Under the planned changes, students in English classes will be asked to analyse newspaper articles to identify fake clickbait content, while computer science classes will analyse statistics in context. However, the results of the study are not due until next year, meaning the reforms would not come into force until September 2025, according to the Telegraph.
