Media literacy can be defined as the ability to access, analyse, evaluate, and create media critically. We all understand how on a daily basis, children and young people are being subject to content through several channels including television, radio, and the mobile devices they may use. Weaving media literacy into our teaching in the primary classroom is key if we are to prepare and futureproof our learners for a positive lifelong relationship with media and technology. Media literacy empowers individuals to understand and navigate media messages effectively in various forms.

In this chapter, the power of AI to develop media literacy learning opportunities is explored, both within computing lessons and more widely. Coauthor Katie shares how as a computing and media teacher, AI is effectively part of both subjects. For Computing, it is asking how it works, along with the concept of algorithms. For Media, fake news is about the construction of meanings, regulation and audience positioning.

In this chapter, Katie shares a real life case study of how AI can be used to support students in both subjects, understanding that fake news isn’t always obvious, and that it can be polished, and convincing. Katie generated a news article using AI. In under two minutes, a professional-looking, convincing but entirely fabricated news article can be generated by AI. The story even included realistic statistics, expert quotes, and references to non-existent research. When shown to the class, several students claimed it looked legitimate. That was the point. Students were automatically persuaded not by the truth of the content, but by the conventions: confident tone, structured formatting, and the presence of “evidence”. As a group, they dissected the ‘fake’ article: who was the author? Could we verify the expert? Where did the statistics come from? As the sources were checked, and not found, the lesson moved from “spot the fake” to a deeper conversation about trust, authority, and how quickly misinformation can be produced to scale. If a typical teacher can generate a plausible piece of misinformation in minutes, the volume that can be produced at scale is significant. Using AI didn’t replace media literacy teaching, it strengthened it. By exposing the mechanics of fabrication, students became more sceptical, more curious, and far less likely to accept information at face value.

This is especially important when we consider social media, and that children and young people may worry about the ‘ideals’ and standards that they see online in terms of body standards, material possessions, and lifestyle; helping users question what they see online can help support their wellbeing and mental health through recognising that not all content they view is true, and may have been edited with AI or entirely AI generated!

In the second part of the chapter, the authors provide three other examples of how AI can generate meaningful resources for valuable learning opportunities in the primary school.

Embedding AI within computing lessons allows teachers to address concerns such as amplifying misinformation and reducing trust, yet making space for conversations around general trust and appropriate use and sharing of AI content across all curricular subjects can be valuable too. AI is often presented as a threat to academic integrity; used thoughtfully, it can support planning and resource creation, used uncritically it can create mass misinformation.