ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, (June 23, 2026) — Young people today are navigating a media environment unlike any generation before them. Non-stop news, disinformation and AI-generated content make it harder than ever to know what to trust. Educators face growing pressure to help students make sense of it all, often without the tools or training to do it.
Poynter’s MediaWise, the nation’s pre-eminent media literacy initiative, is stepping in to meet that challenge, thanks to a $750,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, formerly Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The funding will expand resources that help young audiences think critically about the online content they encounter. It will provide educators, creators and students with engaging and useful media and AI literacy material — including videos from the popular news creator Dave Jorgenson, co-founder of Local News International and former Washington Post “TikTok guy.”
The project builds on MediaWise’s belief that media literacy works best when it is practical, relevant and delivered by trusted messengers — teachers who know their students, creators who know their audiences and young people who know their peers. By bringing those voices together, the initiative meets students where they learn, connect and create.
“The internet is a noisy place, making it hard for young people to separate fact from fiction,” said Brittani Kollar, MediaWise deputy director. “We are equipping the next generation with practical media literacy skills they need to navigate digital spaces safely, thanks to the generous support of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and through our continued partnership with Local News International.
“By meeting young people where they are — through school, humor and peer-to-peer approaches — we can build a lasting foundation centered on facts and civic engagement,” she said.
The grant will support several new and expanded programs. Among them is MediaWise Weekly, a school-year-long series of high-energy mini lesson plans built around weekly videos from Jorgenson. Each lesson will connect the week’s top news stories to an important media literacy skill and encourage students to think critically about the media they consume every day.
MediaWise will also launch a new media literacy and AI certificate course to help teachers confidently discuss artificial intelligence in the classroom. Rather than focusing on specific tools that may quickly change, the course will help teachers lead thoughtful conversations about how AI shapes information, narratives and bias while providing strategies they can integrate into their lesson plans.
The initiative will build on MediaWise’s existing work as well, supporting updates to three successful initiatives — How2Internet, Hit Pause and alt+Ignite — that have helped students and educators avoid spreading online misinformation and guard against AI slop.
While students are the key focus of the grant, the work extends beyond the classroom and will bring practical media literacy lessons to a broader audience through trusted voices and channels, including creators, public service campaigns and Local News International’s newsletter.
“Local News International is thrilled to continue its work with MediaWise, building out teaching resources for teens that instill confidence around media literacy for years to come.” said Jorgenson. “With Carnegie’s support, we aim to help teachers reach teens both in the classroom and where they are already consuming content across social platforms.”
This is Carnegie’s first grant to MediaWise. The support builds on years of impact from MediaWise’s work helping people of all ages become more informed and engaged consumers of media. Through lesson plans, AI literacy materials and youth programs, MediaWise has reached students, teachers and news consumers in the United States and around the world. The foundation’s investment reflects confidence in the organization’s ability to expand that record and reach new audiences.
“Our founder, Andrew Carnegie, believed that access to accurate information was foundational to an educated, engaged citizenry. Today, that means helping young people develop the media literacy skills they need to participate in civic life,” said Ambika Kapur, a program director for Education at the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. “We’re pleased to support MediaWise in equipping students and educators with the tools to think critically about the information they encounter every day.”
MediaWise’s impact can be seen in programs such as the Teen Fact-Checking Network, launched in 2019 to train middle and high schoolers to verify information, challenge falsehoods and explain the news to their peers. Since then, videos created through the program have generated more than 150 million views, and the initiative has expanded to nine countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia.
In 2026, MediaWise launched the Teen Creator Network, a new initiative supported by a $300,000 grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. The program helps creators ages 13 to 20 learn media literacy, journalism ethics, responsible AI use and social video storytelling while producing engaging current events content for their peers. In the past, MediaWise has also partnered on initiatives with YouTube, TikTok and Meta.
Resources supported by the Carnegie grant will begin rolling out with the start of the school year and continue for two years.
As technology continues to reshape how people understand the world around them, MediaWise is working to build a broader media literacy ecosystem that extends beyond any single classroom, platform or program. Through educators, creators, students and community partners, the organization aims to equip people with the skills needed to navigate the media and messages that shape their lives, participate in civic life and succeed in a digital-savvy world.
Media Contacts
Jennifer Orsi
Vice President, Publishing and Local News Initiatives
The Poynter Institute
jorsi@poynter.org
Angely Montilla
Program Communications Specialist
Andrew Carnegie Foundation
aem@carnegie.org
About the Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to address society’s most pressing issues by teaching journalists and journalism, covering the media and the complexities facing the industry, convening and community building, improving the capacity and sustainability of news organizations and fostering trust and reliability of information. The Institute is the gold standard in journalistic excellence and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of press freedom in democracies worldwide. Through Poynter, journalists, newsrooms, businesses, big tech corporations and citizens convene to find solutions that promote trust and transparency in news and stoke meaningful public discourse. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and improve the quality of the universally shared information ecosystem.
The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), MediaWise and PolitiFact are all members of the Poynter organization.
Support for Poynter and our entities upholds the integrity of the free press and the U.S. First Amendment and builds public confidence in journalism and media — an essential for healthy democracies. Learn more at poynter.org.
About MediaWise
MediaWise is a social-first digital media literacy initiative of the nonprofit Poynter Institute. The program teaches people of all ages and backgrounds how to responsibly engage with online content in the age of information overload. MediaWise was created in 2018 to empower citizens to find trusted sources and make sense of the vast amount of information at their fingertips. MediaWise brings simple, yet effective, digital media literacy tools to people where they are — whether they’re on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or TikTok — and walk them through every step to determine what’s real and what’s not on the internet. Through MediaWise, everyone can do their part to reduce the spread of misinformation and elevate the facts.
Follow MediaWise on social media to learn how to debunk viral claims and be more critical consumers of online information. Explore programs and be part of the solution at poynter.org/mediawise.
About the Andrew Carnegie Foundation
The Andrew Carnegie Foundation works to reduce political polarization through grants that support ladders of opportunity and a more peaceful world. Its funding provides individuals with the knowledge and tools needed to improve their lives, participate fully in society, and advance peace. carnegie.org
About Local News International
Founded by award-winning journalists Dave Jorgenson, Lauren Saks and Micah Gelman, Local News International (LNI) is a social-first video company that uses humor to engage young and diverse audiences. LNI provides news and information to people who are underserved by traditional media and hyper-partisan creators. We are committed to delivering factual content and reaching audiences under 35 who lack reliable sources of truth on the internet. You can find us on all the platforms you already love scrolling through. Find our channels at https://linktr.ee/lni.media
