Schools to wage war on ‘putrid’ fake news in anti-extremism crackdown

Children will be taught how to spot extremist content and fake news online in a revamp of the curriculum following last week’s riots.

Schools will use lessons such as English, ICT (information and communication technology) and maths to “arm” pupils against “putrid conspiracy theories”, the Education Secretary has said.

Bridget Phillipson told The Telegraph that pupils as young as five would be given the critical thinking skills to identify misinformation online under the new plans.