Funding commitments mean that the media literacy program can be expanded to all South Australian primary schools. Photo: Alessandro Biascioli.
South Australia is set to be the first state in the country to roll out a school program focusing on media literacy, helping students distinguish fact from fiction online.
In the 2026-27 State Budget, $2.6 million has been committed over four years to make the Newshounds program available in all public, Catholic and independent primary schools.
Newshounds is a course that equips students in Years 3 to 6 with the critical-thinking skills to properly analyse the information they encounter online every day.
Students are encouraged to think about and double-check the information they’re presented with.
“Teaching our youngest learners to spot misinformation they increasingly face online is an important measure to help them navigate the fast-evolving digital world,” Minister for Education, Training and Skills Lucy Hood said.
“More information than ever is coming at our students from sources that require a critical lens, highlighting the power of media literacy to separate fact from fiction.”
This program works alongside the Federal Government’s social media ban, which was supported by the state, as well as the mobile phone ban in South Australian schools.
South Australia’s Government has also introduced first-in-the-nation reforms to educate young people on civics and citizenship, with the objective of safeguarding democracy and properly informing students on how their political system works.
Newshounds is a curriculum-aligned, classroom resource delivered across nine separate sessions with an accompanying workbook and teacher manual.
The interactive course presents podcasts to students, who are then asked to complete activities on them and learn to recognise disinformation and misinformation while also understanding the dangers of AI on various platforms.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said: “With misinformation rife on the internet, we now live in an age where media literacy is an essential life skill.
“It has become just as important to teach children how to spot dangerous disinformation online as it is to teach them to read and write.”
Newshounds was launched in November 2023 by Squiz Media, with help from Google News. It is used in more than 5000 classrooms around the country, including 180 South Australian schools in regional and urban areas.
New funding means the program can now be expanded to all 434 primary schools in the state from Term 4 of this year.
Information on Newshounds can be found here.
