An overwhelming majority of teenagers鈥�84% percent鈥攈ave a dismal view of the news media, released Nov. 6 by the News Literacy Project, a nonprofit organization.
Teenagers鈥� negative take on the media could have disastrous consequences for their own well-being and the future of democracy, says the report, which is based on a survey of teens ages 13-18 conducted last spring. That鈥檚 particularly true as artificial intelligence technology makes misinformation easier to spread.
Young people鈥檚 belief that objective, fact-based news is rare or nonexistent 鈥渘ot only threatens the viability of the press as an important watchdog and guardian of democracy but it also leaves those teens highly vulnerable to manipulation and influence by political propagandists, trolls, conspiracy theorists and ideological extremists,鈥� the report argues.
It also potentially diminishes 鈥渢heir ability to make well-informed decisions about their own lives on topics such as their health, and [makes it] harder [for them to] participate effectively in our shared civic life,鈥� the report adds.
Many students believe journalists engage in unscrupulous practices rather than practices considered to be hallmarks of standards-based news organizations, the News Literacy Project found.
About half of teens believe that journalists 鈥渁lways, almost always, or often鈥� engage in unethical behaviors such as giving advertisers special treatment, making up quotes and other details, or paying or doing favors for sources to get information. And 60 percent of teens say reporters 鈥渢ake photos or videos out of context.鈥�
By contrast, less than a third鈥�30%鈥攐f teens believe journalists 鈥渁lways鈥�, 鈥渁lmost always鈥� or 鈥渙ften鈥� confirm facts before reporting them. About the same percentage of teens believe journalists report stories in the public interest.
Those statistics are concerning鈥攂ut not particularly surprising鈥攖o Hailey Hans, 18, a senior at Weir High School in West Virginia, where she takes a journalism class and works on her school newspaper.
鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 have journalists, I feel like our nation wouldn鈥檛 be very successful,鈥� said Hans. Hans gets most of her news on social media, but tends to rely on what she sees on accounts of local reporters or news stations. Her peers don鈥檛 always differentiate between those legitimate news sources and other content, she said. 鈥淎nyone can be a journalist on social media nowadays. That doesn鈥檛 make them a good journalist with good morals.鈥�
Teens conflate fact-based reporting and opinion content as 鈥榯he media鈥�
Teenagers鈥� attitudes seem to mirror the public at large, the report notes. Less than a third of American adults鈥�28%鈥攈ave confidence in the media to report a story 鈥渇airly and accurately,鈥� according to a 2025 Gallup poll cited in the report.
Part of the problem may be that teens鈥攁nd the public in general鈥攄on鈥檛 really understand the difference between a standards-based news organization and an influencer or opinion writer. It doesn鈥檛 help that both types of content often come at teens, and the public in general, through social media, said Peter Adams, the News Literacy Project鈥檚 senior vice-president of research and design.
If teens think that 鈥渆verything they see online about current events and social issues and politics is quote 鈥榥ews鈥� from quote 鈥榤edia,鈥� then they鈥檙e going to blame standards-based news organizations for some of the shortcomings and deceptive tactics that users online engage in, that bad actors engage in, that hyperpartisan outlets engage in,鈥� Adams said.
Hans鈥檚 solution: 鈥淲e need media literacy, and we need news in classrooms,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to be told how to look at a story and tell what鈥檚 biased, what鈥檚 fake.鈥�
In fact, teens who report higher trust in news media are more likely to report having had classes with some media literacy instruction, compared to their peers who did not have any media literacy lessons, .
Schools can help teens make sense of what is opinion-based commentary鈥攐r straight-up propaganda鈥攁nd what is accurate, objectively reported news by explaining the differences between information produced by standards-based news organizations and information from other sources, the report notes.
Schools can also teach students how journalism is supposed to operate when it is adhering to the highest standards鈥攁nd how to hold media outlets accountable when they fall short. And 糖心动漫vlog can help teens move beyond the sweeping idea of 鈥渢he media鈥� by sharing specific examples of high-quality, public-service journalism produced by standards-based news organizations.
Teachers should 鈥渉ighlight Pulitzer Prize winning investigative series, saying, 鈥楲ook, these reporters went and discovered that this factory was polluting this community, and exposed it. Federal regulators were failing to catch this. The press caught it and impacted real people鈥檚 lives,鈥欌�� Adams said.
Another powerful way to help teens understand the news media: Have them report their own stories, using the same ethical standards as professionals, such as objectivity and fact-checking.
That can be helpful even for students who aren鈥檛 interested in becoming professional journalists, such as Greyson Scott, 16, a sophomore at Weir High School.
Greyson, who is considering a career in accounting, didn鈥檛 know much about how news gathering worked before he took a journalism class. He thought some media outlets were pushing an agenda.
鈥淏efore I started doing journalism this year, I did believe there was heavy bias鈥� in news outlets such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, Greyson said. But now that he鈥檚 experienced a journalism class and taken a closer look at the news reporters versus the commentators on those networks, he thinks the bias among the actual news reporters is 鈥渟light,鈥� he said.
He鈥檚 noticed reporters on all three platforms share 鈥渢he same details鈥� of a story, even if commentators may put a different political spin on it. He can see information presented on different platforms and draw his own conclusions, he said.
And Greyson said he is getting better at sussing out when information comes from an objective source, even if he stumbled on it on his TikTok feed. 鈥淚 get my news from social media, but if it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 not from a trustable source, I鈥檒l fact check it on my own.鈥�
