In the late 1990s, President Bill Clinton participated in the first Internet campaign for President by developing a candidate website. In fact, the Internet played an important role in Clinton’s education agenda. He along with Vice President Gore developed the Technology Literacy Challenge, aiming to “connect every classroom to the Internet, expand access to modern computers…, [and] enable teachers to effectively integrate technology into their instruction” (Clinton White House Archives, 2000). With the rise of the Internet, a wealth of information was accessible at the press of a button, and Clinton and Gore’s initiative strived to prepare students to navigate the growing World Wide Web.

But not all Internet users had positive intentions. Malicious actors also used the Internet to purposely spread disinformation, or false information meant to deceive. Hoax websites, for example, “[disguised] themselves as legitimate sites” to trick the user into believing that its information was authentic (Piper, 2000). During President George W. Bush’s campaign in 2000, several parody websites with deceptive URLs like gwbush.com purported to provide official candidate information, which was false. President Bush described these websites as malicious and unsuccessfully filed Federal claims to have them removed (Piper, 2000). So, though the Internet became more accessible, especially in K-12 classrooms, disinformation was an unfortunate consequence.

The Internet also gave users the opportunity to connect with others from all corners of the world with the advent of social media. Facebook, the first popular social networking site, was launched in 2004 as an online directory for Harvard and MIT students. But as it grew beyond the Ivy League, users had the exciting opportunity to share their experiences, develop online relationships, and access information on a global scale. In fact, by 2011, Facebook became the largest online photo host (CNN, 2015). Other platforms like Instagram, Twitter (now X), and Tiktok, also emerged during this time.

Many now use these platforms to access “political information…as a preferred information source,” replacing former mediums like newspaper print or candidate websites (Weismueller et al., 2022). Today, 3 in 10 adults regularly get their news from Facebook, which hosts 3 billion users from around the world (Pew Research Center, 2023). Additionally, public polls suggest that 46% of Generation Z now use social media as a preferred search engine (Haan, 2024).

However, social media has also brought new sociocultural dilemmas. Social media algorithms, designed to share personalized content to keep the user engaged, are often blamed for increasing polarization. Researchers have explored how these algorithms “create political ‘filter bubbles’ …and enable the spread of disinformation” by reinforcing user bias through curated content (Guess et al., 2023). A study from Indiana University found that social media feeds are commonly populated with content based on the political leanings of their earliest followers, creating an “echo-chamber” that affirms their own views (Chen et al., 2022). Because of social media’s impact on the civic sphere, social media has undoubtedly become an important competency within literacy education for young users.

The term “fake news” has emerged in public consciousness as well, popularized by former President Donald Trump to discredit his adversaries on social media. Whereas misinformation is false information spread with or without deliberate intent, fake news is categorized as “purposefully fabricated…and sensational information that mimics…mainstream news” (UW Bothell, n.d.). One of the most infamous accusations of “fake news” occurred in 2021, when Donald Trump posted a series of tweets that alleged his loss in the Presidential election was “statistically impossible” (Dreisbach, 2022). His posts suggested that deliberate disinformation resulted in a “stolen election,” which many of his followers believed despite lack of evidence. Trump’s accusations resulted in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 where thousands of citizens raided the U.S. Capitol Building (Dreisbach, 2022). This violent incident demonstrated how divisive disinformation in political media is to our country’s citizenry, exacerbating polarization and eroding faith in the democratic process that civic education champions.