Squiz Kids podcast and Newshounds program help kids spot fake news

A new podcast and program is helping thousands of school students recognise fake news. HEAR LATEST EPISODE

Squiz Kids host Bryce Corbett with Cannon Hill Anglican College students Hudson, 12, Katherine, 12, Ruby, 11 and Arlo, 12. Picture: Steve Pohlner

A new free podcast aimed at helping thousands of primary school students identify fake news has been rolled out, with a Brisbane school part of its pilot program.

News podcast Squiz Kids has launched its new media literacy program Newshounds, with free access for primary schools across Australia and New Zealand.

The program is a plug-and-play teaching resource featuring eight 10-minute podcasts and accompanying online and classroom activities, packed in a board game-style format.

Squiz Kids is presented by journalists Bryce Corbett and Amanda Bower, who between them have over 40 years’ newsroom experience.

Mr Corbett said the Newshounds program taught children how to recognise misinformation and disinformation in an engaging environment.

“Kids today have more information coming at them on a daily basis than at any other time in history,” Mr Corbett said.

“And what little news they’re exposed to, they’re increasingly getting from their social media feeds.

“Newshounds makes kids critical consumers of media – teaching them to stop, think and check before believing everything they come across on the internet.”

Mr Corbett said the podcast was designed in consultation with the Queensland University of Technology’s digital media research centre.

He pointed to recent studies showing about 40 per cent of young people sourced news from social media, and nearly half paid next to no attention to the source.

Still, one-third of Australian children believed they could tell fake news from real news, the QUT and University of Western Sydney studies showed.

“Teachers and parents alike know it’s important to teach their children media literacy, but few know where to start,” Mr Corbett said.

“Newshounds is designed to help teachers teach media literacy in the classroom and take those lessons back to the home environment. It’s all about learning how to tell online fact from fiction.”

Brisbane’s Cannon Hill Anglican College was one of several schools nationally to pilot the program.