Study: American teens awash in conspiracy theories, cynical about news media

 The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, released a study today that shows the alarming frequency with which American teenagers are exposed to – and believe – conspiracy theories on social media. But the research also found that teaching students media literacy is associated with healthy online habits like fact-checking before sharing on social media. And an overwhelming majority of teens surveyed (94%) want their schools to teach media literacy, although just 39% reported having had any such instruction during the 2023-24 school year.