Bruh, Read the News: A Teen Guide for Fighting Disinformation, One Critical Thinker at a Time

The news is everywhere 24/7: on television, on laptops and on our phones. It invites us to engage on Twitter, to share on Facebook and to comment on TikTok and Youtube. There are facts, and there are "alternative facts." A news anchor says one thing, and your uncle says another. How do you make sense of it all?

Bruh, Read the News is a teen guide for fighting disinformation by arming yourself with an understanding about the real purpose of journalism vs. the distraction of social media and TV personalities. It exposes the problem with conglomerates and corporate media, and highlights the tools you can use to distinguish between facts, fiction and lies.

You'll learn about fact checkers, differentiate between bias and objectivity, discover ways you can help improve the media landscape and understand the terms you should know to make your way through the media maze. Unfortunately, though they've clothed, fed and raised you, you can't afford to count on your parents, nor older Americans, to fix this situation. Political bickering, partisanship and propaganda have already taken hold of their screens and much of their ability to reason. The future is in your hands, and your generation is our only hope. Bruh, please...read the news.

Derek Postlewaite is an educator, author and musician living in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania with his wife and daughter. He has been blogging for more than a decade and is also the author of Moodle in Minutes: A Practical Introduction for New Online Educators, as well as the ongoing series the Book of Bruh.