60% of AI Search Results Are Wrong. Almost No Country Is Teaching Kids How to Spot It.

86% of the world is now literate — a staggering achievement over the last 150 years. But the definition of "literate" is starting to feel a bit out of date. As part of a recent media literacy event, UNESCO's Director-General noted that 60% of results from AI search engines contain false information. And only 20.5% of countries are integrating media and information literacy into their education systems.

This month on Actually What's Happening, I dig into the global media literacy gap: why more US school districts are moving to 4-day school weeks and what that's doing to student outcomes; the UNESCO Global MIL Week conference in Colombia; Finland's decades-long head start (and the political shift that might unwind it); Oklahoma putting Bibles back in classrooms; Hong Kong teaching Xi Jinping Thought; South Africa's last-place reading comprehension results; and why Indiana is quietly becoming one of the US states that's actually improving literacy.

Source links:
UNESCO: Minds over AI conference https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/colombia-host-unescos-global-mil-week-2025-leading-global-dialogue-ai-and-media-and-information#:~:text=The%2014th%20Global%20MIL%20Week,world%20shaped%20by%20artificial%20intelligence.&text=As%20AI%20technologies%20increasingly%20influence,concerns%20about%20their%20digital%20futures.

NPR: More school districts count on a 4-day week to attract and retain teachers https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5545937/more-school-districts-count-on-a-4-day-school-week-to-attract-and-retain-teachers

Our World in Data: Literate and illiterate world population https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/literate-and-illiterate-world-population
OECD Digital Skills https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/digital-skills.html

UNESCO: Message from Director-General of UNESCO on Global Media https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396115_eng

Finland Toolbox: Media literacy in Finland https://toolbox.finland.fi/life-society/media-literacy-and-education-in-finland/

Politico: Finland to enter far right government https://www.politico.eu/article/finland-conservative-government-far-right-petteri-orpo/

OKW News: Despite controversy, Oklahoma becomes first state to initiate bibles back in schools https://okwnews.com/news/whatzup/state/despite-controversy-oklahoma-becomes-the-first-state-to-initiate-bibles-back-in-school-campaign/

Guardian: Patriotic Education – Hong Kong schools begin rollout of Xi Jinping Thought https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/03/hong-kong-schools-begin-teaching-xi-jinping-thought

Wits University: When digital progress leaves basic literacy behind https://www.wits.ac.za/future/stories/2025/when-digital-progress-leaves-basic-literacy-behind.html

Youtube: Crash Course on Media Literacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7N-1Mj-DU

Bush Center: State spotlight: Indiana a blueprint for literary gains https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/monthly-education-update-oct-8-2025-2

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