Teaching children how to know what information is fake is now part of the curriculum for schools in France. This is what Director of the Media and Information Education Center (CLEMI) Serge Barbier told Armenia’s journalists visiting France within the framework of a media tour organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The CLEMI was established 35 years ago, meaning even back then, there was an awareness of the fact that the young generation needs to be taught how to differentiate between true and fake information published by the media. This problem became an important problem following the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

“Our goal is to shape schoolchildren’s critical thinking. After all, critical thinking is the guarantee of a healthy stance of citizens,” the Center’s director noted. The CLEMI is training teachers of different subjects since there is no instruction for a specific subject.

In addition, every year, French schools host media and information weeks during which mass media representatives meet and talk with schoolchildren. Since the program became mandatory just recently and educational reforms continue in this sector, not all schoolchildren had the opportunity to participate in the program. However, studies have shown that more than 60% of children and adolescents have acquired skills in reading news on the Internet with a critical approach.