A strange thing happens when you ask students whether something online is true. They don’t pause. They don’t hesitate. They answer — confidently. Too confidently.
In a world where confidence has replaced curiosity, this is a problem. Because today, the truth is no longer a fixed point; it’s a moving target shaped by algorithms, deepfakes, and AI models that can mimic authority better than most humans ever could.
A decade ago, misinformation meant tabloids and conspiracy blogs. Today, it’s indistinguishable from reality — smooth, persuasive, and algorithmically engineered to be believed. A child scrolling TikTok or YouTube Shorts might encounter a video generated entirely by artificial intelligence: a politician saying words they never said, a scientist denying their own research, a news anchor whose lips move perfectly in sync with synthetic lies.
What’s most worrying is not that children believe these things — but that they don’t even know there’s a question to be asked.
This is where education must change. The curriculum review in England speaks about oracy, creativity, and critical thinking — but the missing link is applied media literacy. Students don’t just need to learn what to think, but how to question. How to spot bias, check sources, and recognise the telltale signs of AI-generated manipulation.
That’s the bridge Learner Journey is quietly building.
Instead of static worksheets and one-size-fits-all lectures, Learner Journey turns media literacy into an interactive investigation. Teachers can prompt AI to generate real examples of fake news, then guide students through the process of unmasking them — side by side with verified stories. Learners can listen to audio notes, read transcripts, and compare tone, language, and intent. They can ask questions, annotate, and collaborate on shared “truth detective” pages that evolve as they learn.
The result isn’t just digital literacy — it’s discernment. A habit of doubt in the best possible sense.
Truth has never been a static thing. It has always lived in the friction between what we see and what we choose to question.
Learner Journey doesn’t hand students the answers. It gives them a compass — so they can navigate a world where even the maps can lie.
