Countering fake news in classrooms in the post-truth era: social studies teachers’ perspectives and practices
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/13540602.2026.2743242
- Dergi Adı: Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Psycinfo, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: deepfake, Fake news, media literacy, post-truth, social studies teachers
- Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This qualitative descriptive study examined how social studies teachers in Türkiye understand fake news and related concepts, including information, disinformation, post-truth, infodemic, and deepfakes; the types and sources of false or misleading information they encounter in their classrooms; and the strategies they use to address such content. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 middle-school social studies teachers from nine cities in Türkiye. The interview data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. The findings indicated that participants frequently explained fake news and related concepts through examples and associations rather than conceptually precise definitions. Their understanding of information, disinformation, post-truth, and infodemic was particularly uneven, although most participants were able to describe deepfakes through the manipulation of images, voices, or videos. The false or misleading claims brought into classrooms were generally associated with current events, social issues, disasters, wars, migration, politics, and contested historical topics. Teachers primarily responded by directing students to reliable sources, encouraging research, comparing information across sources, and discussing examples. However, these practices were generally reactive rather than based on systematic instructional approaches. Also, previous media literacy teaching experience did not consistently correspond with more precise conceptual knowledge or more systematic classroom practices.