How can a child check an online claim before sharing it?

A forwarded image can combine several claims: what happened, where it happened, when it happened and why. Check them separately. A genuine image does not automatically prove that the caption describes it accurately.

Ask your child to write the claim in one sentence. Then write what the image or message directly shows. Anything added beyond that is an interpretation to investigate.

Look for the original publisher, date and full context rather than another copy of the same screenshot. For the school example, a parent should use the school's normal official communication route or the relevant issuing authority. Several forwards of one image are still one unverified source.

Check whether the source is in a position to know. A person who witnessed one school closing cannot establish that every school closed. The size of the claim determines what evidence would be enough.

A long queue outside a shop might mean a sale, a slow checkout or a special event. The queue alone does not tell you which explanation is right. Practise offering two plausible explanations before choosing one.

This habit does not mean every explanation is equally likely. Ask what extra observation would help distinguish them. A dated announcement, direct measurement or fuller photograph may change the conclusion.

Agree that pausing is acceptable, especially when a claim could worry or harm someone. If a mistake has already been shared, correct it clearly and tell the same audience what changed. Do not expose private information in an attempt to prove a point.

Thinking Explorer is KAERON's critical-thinking and media-literacy course for Classes 6–8. Its course page explains the weekly journey and lets families inspect the opening chapter before choosing it.