The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has advocated early media and information literacy education to help children identify fake news, resist online manipulation and protect themselves from cyber threats.

The UNESCO Representative to Nigeria and Head of the UNESCO Abuja Office, Dr Isaías Barreto da Rosa, said children needed to learn how to verify information before sharing it to help curb misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

He made the call on Thursday at the public presentation of Young Truth Detective, a media and information literacy workbook designed for children aged six to 10, in Abuja.

“The best way of fighting them is through education,” Barreto da Rosa said.

He stressed that teaching children to check facts and avoid sharing unverified information would contribute to building a better society.

He described media and information literacy as an important part of UNESCO’s work, particularly as social media and other digital platforms continue to shape how people access and share information.

The Secretary-General of the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO, Dr Lateef Idowu Olagunju, also emphasised the need to equip children with critical thinking skills to help them assess information before accepting or sharing it.

He said children should learn to question the source of a message, establish who was behind it and understand the motive before sharing it with others.

Olagunju cited cartoon-based educational resources designed to teach children the importance of checking claims, including an unverified announcement that schools would be closed the following day.

He said such interactive materials could make fact-checking easier for children growing up with smartphones and other digital technologies.

In her remarks, the Director of the International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI), Dr Sharon Omotoso, warned that children faced various dangers online, including scams, identity theft and inappropriate contact with strangers.

She said parents, teachers and communities had a shared responsibility to help children navigate digital platforms safely.

“Parents need to see that there are children who are engaging or interacting with media technology. They know what they are doing,” Omotoso noted.

The director said parents must also educate themselves to guide their children effectively and help them recognise suspicious online activities.

She added that media literacy education should cover personal data protection and the risks associated with using artificial intelligence tools, sharing digital images and subscribing to online services without understanding the possible consequences.

The Executive Director of the Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue Foundation (MILID Foundation), Chiamaka Okafor-Onumah, said the workbook was developed to instil responsible information habits in children before they grew older.

She explained that many interventions against misinformation focused on adults, journalists, civil society organisations and older young people, prompting the foundation to introduce media literacy education to children aged six to 10.

“Why wait for when people get older before you start influencing how they consume information?”
Okafor-Onumah queried.

According to her, information consumption habits involved behaviour that could take time to change, making early education important.

The workbook contains six missions designed to teach children media and information literacy through interactive activities. The foundation also developed a facilitator’s guide to help teachers, parents and community leaders deliver the lessons.