The apparent misinformation that has bubbled up during the pandemic must be tackled from various angles, whereby the government must make a country-wide decision to integrate critical thinking into the national curriculum from primary-age. Increased censorship of media platforms is not necessarily the answer. Solutions lie in taking responsibility in education to better teach the growing generations how to spot fake news and misinformation, making them more responsible individuals. Multi-platform information literacy and critical thinking could easily become a core, cross-disciplinary component of the national curriculum that is not only cost-effective but critical. Countries, such as Finland, have already begun to act on this idea; raising their children with cross-subject critical thinking skills. Looking into our classrooms, we could, for example, demonstrate the ease of lying with statistics through maths lessons. This would have the two-fold effect of teaching students key concepts in maths, alongside the integration of engaging real-world examples. In art, it could be shown how an image’s meaning is manipulated, as seen in bad journalism. In history, notable propaganda campaigns could be explored to show students how the power of persuasion and language can mislead and deceive. In computer science, we could demonstrate how to spot and avoid scammers. Obviously, these skills are more required than ever with COVID-19 and subsequent internet-use. The scheme would not require great financial investment, but its effects would be prominent. Critical thinking workshops would have to be delivered to teachers by professionals, such that they can be correctly trained on how to weave small exercises into every class. It would not be enough to simply give one-off workshops to primary and secondary age children, rather, little examples woven in their regular study would instil positive change. The long-term goal extends far beyond the pandemic and into the future of fast information. The education policy would render more active and responsible citizens who are able to fact-check, evaluate and interpret any secondary sources. We must assist children of the UK to be better, more efficient, and less-easily led thinkers. Thus, we are not banning freedom of speech, but encouraging people who earnestly seek the truth. It would be dangerous and irresponsible for the UK to ignore the consequences of fake news. Without proper training, we are walking blindly into the future, whereby many of us – and our children – are poorly equipped to use critical thinking against those who capitalise on ignorance, especially online.
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