- What Are Children Exposed To Online?
- Can Students Tell Fact From Fiction?
- How Teachers Are Responding to the Spread of Misinformation
- What Do Children Believe?
- Parents Are Struggling to Keep Up
- What Are Parents Doing to Fight Misinformation?
- A Generational Gap in Media Literacy
- Current Landscape of Misinformation in the UK
- Final Thoughts: Building a Smarter Online Generation
From viral videos to filtered news stories, today’s learners are growing up in an online environment where not everything they see is true. The 2025 GoStudent Future of Education Report, based on insights from 5,859 students, parents, and 300 teachers across six European countries, including 1,000 participants from the UK, reveals just how deeply misinformation has impacted students, parents, and teachers, and why addressing it is now a top priority.
This article explores key misinformation statistics, combining internal survey insights and external data to paint a clearer picture of how false information spreads across online platforms, and what can be done to fight misinformation in schools and homes.
🔎 What Are Children Exposed To Online?
Children today are exposed to more digital content than any generation before them. But how much of it can they trust?
According to the report:
- 85% of children say they’re aware of the risks of faked and deepfake images
- 85% are aware of fake news stories
- 73% recognise deepfake videos
- 61% say they’re aware of extremist content
Despite these levels of awareness, exposure remains high:
- 50% of children have encountered fake images
- 48% have seen fake news
- 24% have viewed extremist content online
These figures show that children are alert, but not immune, to false information. As misinformation becomes more sophisticated through artificial intelligence and video content, younger consumers are increasingly challenged to verify what they see.
🧠 Can Students Tell Fact From Fiction?
The most alarming trend: many students are struggling to separate facts from false content. Educators across Europe are seeing the effects firsthand.
- 47% of teachers say children are unable to distinguish facts from falsehoods
- 40% of UK teachers report this difficulty.
According to teachers, misinformation is leading to worrying student beliefs:
- 33% say children have concerning ideas about sex and relationships
- 32% say they believe historical falsehoods
- 32% say students regularly misunderstand general news events
- 28% say children hold extreme or unusual political views
- 25% say children hold incorrect beliefs about science or health
- 25% note inaccurate ideas around social issues
- 22% say children are becoming less tolerant of other cultures
🧑🏫 How Teachers Are Responding to the Spread of Misinformation
Teachers are on the frontline of this issue, and most are alarmed:
- 91% of teachers believe misinformation is already influencing children
- 48% of UK teachers say students misunderstand news events
- 45% of Austrian teachers say misinformation distorts children’s view of history
- 36% of German teachers say it affects cultural tolerance
- 34% fear misinformation is shaping harmful views about sex and relationships
- 27% of UK teachers believe students learn historical inaccuracies from misleading media
Despite these concerns, efforts to combat misinformation vary across countries. Teachers who are most likely to encourage fact-checking in lessons are based in:
- 60% Austria
- 58% Spain
- 42% Germany
- 42% France
- 36% Italy
- 28% UK
🌐 What Do Children Believe?
The influence of online disinformation and social media posts is clearly shaping what children believe about the world.
Here are some of the most widely believed conspiracy theories among students:
- 43% believe COVID-19 was created in a lab
- 41% believe the world is ruled by a secret elite
- 29% believe vaccines are a conspiracy
- 24% believe climate change isn’t happening
- 23% believe the moon landings were faked
This shows a growing divide between trusted sources and what younger internet users actually believe, often shaped by viral content rather than credible news media.
👨👩👧 Parents Are Struggling to Keep Up
Misinformation doesn’t just affect kids, parents are also feeling overwhelmed. The report shows:
- 95% of parents are taking action to address misinformation
- 43% of UK parents admit they don’t fully know what their child sees online
- 39% of UK parents struggle to identify what is true themselves, this rises to 47% in France
🛡️ What Are Parents Doing to Fight Misinformation?
Across the UK and Europe, families are taking proactive steps to protect children from unreliable online content:
- 42% of parents are having open conversations with children about what they see online
- 36% are teaching children how to spot fake news and misinformation
- 32% are monitoring their children’s online activity
- 29% are using parental control apps
- 10% have banned their child from using devices due to misinformation fears
In the UK specifically, 36% of parents now use parental controls, more than in any other country surveyed.
📱 A Generational Gap in Media Literacy
While children may be digital natives, adults aren’t always equipped to guide them. Many parents and teachers are navigating unfamiliar territory when it comes to evaluating news sources, identifying misleading information, and understanding how online platforms work.
The report shows clear demand for greater support, both in school systems and at home. From misinformation on social media to misleading general news content, the digital world is full of traps for the unprepared.
Current Landscape of Misinformation in the UK
While the GoStudent Future of Education Report offers in-depth insight into how misinformation affects students, parents, and teachers, it’s also important to look at the wider national context. In this section, we present the latest external statistics to show how misinformation is spreading across the UK, what people are seeing, how they’re reacting, and where the biggest concerns lie.
📱 Exposure to Misinformation
- 94% of UK adults have encountered misinformation on social media platforms.
- 40% of UK adults reported encountering misinformation or deepfake content in the previous four weeks.
Among those who encountered misinformation:
- 71% saw it online.
- 43% saw it on TV.
- 21% encountered it via print newspapers or their associated websites/apps.
🧠 Public Concern and Trust
- 86% of UK adults express concern about the spread of misinformation online.
- Only 45% feel confident in judging whether sources of information are truthful.
- Just 30% feel confident in determining whether an image, audio, or video has been generated by AI.
- 44% agree that the more a story is edited, the less likely it is to be true.
- 42% believe that important stories are deliberately covered up by traditional news sources.
- Only 32% agree that journalists follow codes of practice.
🧰 Actions Taken by the Public
- 47% of individuals who encounter misinformation choose to ignore it.
- 26% use a search engine to find a more authoritative source.
- 24% check the information on a trusted news website.
- Only 3% have participated in media literacy courses aimed at identifying and countering misinformation.
- A mere 7% have utilised self-help resources, such as fact-checking tools or guidelines, to verify information encountered online.
🧬 Deepfake Awareness and Concerns
- 50.2% have seen deepfakes featuring celebrities.
- 90.4% of respondents are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the spread of deepfakes.
(Sources: Ofcom, The Alan Turing Institute, University of Derby)
🔚 Final Thoughts: Building a Smarter Online Generation
The findings in this year’s GoStudent Future of Education Report show that fighting misinformation isn’t just about banning social media or limiting screen time. It’s about teaching students to think critically, question what they consume, and navigate the internet with confidence.
With nearly every internet user, child or adult, now a potential news consumer, equipping them with media literacy is more essential than ever.
