The Pennsylvania Department of Education is promoting an “Information and Media Literacy Toolkit” in K-12 schools that directs students toward predominantly left-leaning news outlets, according to the United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE).
In a press release, USPIE reported that the toolkit — touted as a guide to help children navigate disinformation — identifies outlets including NPR, the BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, Al-Jazeera, The Hill, Vox, and the Associated Press as “trusted,” while listing only one conservative-leaning outlet, The Dispatch.
The Federalist reported that the list is “overwhelmingly left-leaning,” saying that many of the outlets included “relentlessly run cover for Democrats and left-wing causes and smear conservatives at all costs.”
An AllSides analysis of media outlets cited by the Federalist found the toolkit’s recommended world and U.S. news sources include six categorized as “left” or “lean left,” three as “center,” and only one as “lean right.”
“This is yet more evidence that government schools cannot be trusted,” USPIE said in the release. “Under the guise of fighting so-called ‘disinformation,’ the state is training children to rely on media outlets that relentlessly promote left-wing narratives and attack conservatives.”
The toolkit was unveiled in September 2024 and heavily promoted by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Acting Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe. It also offers links to fact-checking and media-evaluation resources intended to teach students how to spot “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
One example flagged by USPIE is a link to Boston Children’s Media Wellness Lab, which the group says is backed by platforms often criticized for harming children’s mental health, including TikTok, Roblox, and Discord. Another partner, the Digital Inquiry Group’s Civic Online Reasoning program, is funded by the Hewlett Foundation, which supports Planned Parenthood and “LGBTQ” initiatives, according to USPIE.
Shapiro defended the initiative in a September statement, saying the goal is to equip students and parents with tools to think critically about what they read online.
“In today’s digital age, our kids are constantly exposed to a flood of information online — some of it false or misleading,” the governor said. “Our goal is not to teach students what to think, but to give them the tools to discern fact from fiction, engage in thoughtful debate, and become informed citizens.”
But critics say the toolkit amounts to taxpayer-funded indoctrination.
“Pennsylvania’s Information and Media Literacy Toolkit is indoctrinating youth with leftist propaganda,” USPIE stated. “If that’s not bad enough, November 13 to 19 is national ‘Transgender Awareness Week,’ yet another excuse to corrupt children. The best option is to get your kids out of the government schools.”