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Influencers, AI, and Credibility: Teach Students About the Information Ecosystem
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
Presented by Hannah Covington, Senior Director of Education Content, News Literacy Project
Sponsored by News Literacy Project
Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features.
Today’s information landscape is complex, interconnected, and constantly evolving—like an ecosystem. From social media influencers to podcasters and pundits, much of this ecosystem is focused on discussing current issues and events. But not all content about news is equally credible—or, in the age of AI, authentic.
Join the News Literacy Project’s Hannah Covington for this National News Literacy Week edWebinar to explore teaching strategies and resources to help students distinguish between different kinds of content on social media. The session demonstrates how to use the rich analogy of an ecosystem to help students understand today’s information landscape. Viewers consider what makes an information ecosystem healthy and examine ways to encourage students to be mindful about the content they consume, share, create, and act on.
Viewers:
- Explore how standards-based journalism anchors and sustains much of our broader information ecosystem
- Identify characteristics that make information credible
- Apply journalism standards to evaluate other digital sources, including content from influencers
This session features examples pulled from social media and provides actionable insights to help students recognize signs of credibility in any information source. This recorded edWebinar is ideal for K-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders.
About the Presenter
Hannah Covington, Senior Director of Education Content, helps oversee the development of a wide range of resources for the News Literacy Project, including Checkology® lessons, email newsletters, and the educational fact-checking platform RumorGuard. Before joining NLP in 2020, she covered local government and breaking news at The Minnesota Star Tribune, the state’s largest newspaper. She also has a background in journalism and education and worked with high school and undergraduate students as an adjunct instructor at the University of Tulsa and Tulsa Community College. In 2024, Hannah helped launch a community newspaper at a women’s prison in Oklahoma, where she now serves as a newsroom advisor. Hannah has a bachelor’s degree in English from Oral Roberts University and a master’s degree in English from the University of Tulsa.
Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features.
Join the News Literacy community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, provides educators in all 50 states with the resources they need to ensure every student graduates with the ability to thoughtfully evaluate news and information. For nearly 20 years, the News Literacy Project has offered free resources to help educators make news literacy engaging and accessible for their students. Our mission is simple: Help young people become critical consumers of news and information so that they can make more informed decisions throughout their lives and within their communities.
