(The Center Square) – Amid a flood of online mis- and disinformation, lawmakers in both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly have proposed legislation to help students evaluate the credibility of their sources and empower them with critical thinking skills to distinguish fact from fiction. 

House Bill 332 and Senate Bill 839 would require K-12 media literacy education. 

Recommended Stories

• Ossoff brings in $10 million fundraising haul in reelection bid
• Judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order in nationwide class action case
• New World screwworm reports halt cattle shipments from Mexico. How much danger do the parasites pose to humans?

The authors of both bills say the prominence of intentionally false stories made to appear as legitimate news reports has continued to increase, and “fake news” continues to do a disservice to our public discourse.

They also note that the sophistication of how false information can be disguised and circulated makes it especially difficult for young people to determine fact from fiction. They stress that opinions should not be presented as fact regardless of someone’s political affiliation unless they are backed by evidence. 

Both are similar in that they require the Pennsylvania Department of Education to establish a media literacy curriculum; however, the House bill specifies a six-month timeline of implementation after enactment and includes explicit professional development requirements, while the Senate version provides more detailed curriculum guidelines.

In his co-sponsorship memo, Rep. Tim Briggs, D-King of Prussia, said he believes that the future of our democracy is contingent upon all of us being critical consumers of information.  

“As online news and social media have proliferated over the last decade, a whole new category of information has entered the popular lexicon – fake news, misinformation and disinformation.”

Sen. Katie Muth, D-Royersford, in her memo, said the curriculum developed as a result of this bill “would provide Pennsylvania’s students with the necessary critical thinking skills and knowledge to evaluate the accuracy of news stories for themselves.”

She added that 21 states currently have some form of media literacy education in statute.

Some of the groundwork for these efforts may already be laid. 

In an email statement provided to The Center Square, Erin James, department press secretary, said Gov. Josh Shapiro is committed to ensuring Pennsylvania students have the resources they need to learn and grow from early childhood through adulthood – that’s why he directed the agency to create a toolkit for teachers and parents on digital literacy and critical thinking.

The department, she said, released a comprehensive toolkit last September to help educators, students, and families navigate the complex digital world. This resource helps young people – and all Pennsylvanians – develop the critical thinking skills they need to discern fact from fiction online. 

The information literacy toolkit is available online and offers resources on how to recognize biases, distinguish between credible information and misinformation, and create and share content responsibly. 

Through a collection of evidence-based resources, she said, the toolkit encourages critical thinking, active participation in society, and contextual understanding of past and current events.

PHILADELPHIA TRASH WORKERS REACH UNION DEAL AFTER DAYS WITHOUT PICKUP

“We welcome the opportunity to buildon the success of this project, and we look forward to continued collaboration with members of the General Assembly on this important initiative,” said James. “The Department is continuously working to enhance the toolkit, and we welcome feedback on any updates to the information literacy toolkit to ensure it is designed with the needs of Pennsylvanians in mind.”

The bills await hearings by their respective Education Committees.