IM Lab FoundationInnovative Media Lab Foundation

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News literacy

Knowing how to find, judge and share news and information, so that you decide what to trust.

What is news literacy?

Every day, students see news, ads, opinions, jokes, rumours and AI-made pictures, all mixed together on the same screen. News literacy is the skill of sorting them out.

We teach students how to think about information, not what to think. The goal is young people who check before they believe, and think before they share.

News literacy helps students to:

  • Tell news apart from opinion, ads, entertainment and rumour
  • Check who made something, and why
  • Spot edited or AI-made pictures, videos and voices
  • Understand how journalists work and why a free press matters
  • Share carefully, and correct mistakes when they happen

The 5W1H toolkit

Six questions for any news, post or forward

Journalists use Who, What, When, Where, Why and How to report a story. Students can use the same six questions to check one.

Who

Ask: Who made this, and who is it about?

Try: Search the name of the person or page. Have they been right before?

Red flag: No name, or a name that copies a famous outlet.

What

Ask: What exactly is being claimed?

Try: Underline the facts. Circle the opinions and feeling words.

Red flag: Lots of anger or fear, very few facts.

When

Ask: When did this happen?

Try: Look for a date. Search the key words to see when it first appeared.

Red flag: No date, or an old photo with a new caption.

Where

Ask: Where did it happen, and where did it first appear?

Try: Do a reverse image search. Look for the original source.

Red flag: “Forwarded many times” with no source at all.

Why

Ask: Why was it made, and why is it reaching me now?

Try: Decide: is it trying to inform, sell, persuade or entertain?

Red flag: It tells you to share it urgently.

How

Ask: How do they know? What is the proof?

Try: Look for documents, named people or data. Do other trusted outlets report it?

Red flag: “Sources say” with no proof shown.

What students learn

Six skills sit under all IMLF news literacy work.

  1. 1

    Know the kind of information. Tell news from opinion, ads, entertainment, propaganda and rumour.

  2. 2

    Ask the six questions. Use 5W1H on any story before believing it.

  3. 3

    Check sources and evidence. Find the original, compare outlets and weigh the proof.

  4. 4

    Spot AI-made and edited content. Know the signs, and know when you cannot tell.

  5. 5

    Understand journalism in India. How newsrooms work, their ethics, and freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).

  6. 6

    Share and create responsibly. Think before sharing, correct mistakes, and make credible content of your own.

Two ways to bring it to class

Plan a full year

Monthly cyber club sessions and the class-wise books, in order, with teacher notes.

See the year plan →

Find a 15-minute activity

Short activities on what students are seeing this week. Our activity library is coming soon.

Browse activities →

By class

Class 6-8

Kinds of information · The six questions · Safe sharing · Stories and games

Class 9-10

Checking sources and evidence · AI-made media · How newsrooms work

Class 11-12

Investigating a claim end to end · Making credible content · Media and society

Common questions

Is this one more subject for students?

No. Sessions are designed to fit into cyber clubs and classes students already have, and to be something they look forward to.

Does IMLF take political sides?

No. We teach students how to check information, not what to believe.

Which languages?

English first, Hindi next.