Since the advent of the Internet, intensified by expanding access and improvements to technology, “information overload” has characterized the Digital Age. Unprecedented access to information, however, is a two-edged sword – while the vast majority of Americans feel better informed thanks to the Internet, an equally significant 95 percent identify misinformation as a problem online.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second largest teachers’ union in the United States, has been outspoken about the harmful impact of misinformation on students. “Misinformation and disinformation are everywhere,” according to the AFT, “fueled by malicious entities aiming to harm individuals, destabilize nations, sow mistrust and damage the foundations of a free and democratic society.”
Critical thought, however, is disinformation’s greatest enemy. The intuitive solution to preventing the spread of fraudulent information is equipping students with a set of skills to “question, frame, evaluate, investigate and analyze content from a wide variety of sources.” The AFT’s track record of support for politically biased “fact checkers” and discriminatory social media algorithms, however, illuminates the union’s vision for the future of media literacy – replacing analytical, diverse thought with ideological conformity.
Meta’s Facebook Algorithm
Facebook, owned by tech conglomerate Meta, has long faced accusations that it suppresses articles from conservative sources. In April 2021, for example, Biden Administration White House Digital Director Rob Flaherty asked Facebook if it was possible to artificially promote outlets such as the New York Times and the Washington Post over the Daily Wire and Fox News, proving, according to U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), that “Facebook and Instagram censored posts and changed their content moderation policies because of unconstitutional pressure from the Biden White House.”
Likewise, the AFT attempted to ideologically sway Facebook’s algorithms in 2022. According to AFT President Randi Weingarten, Facebook fuels and amplifies the “dissemination of political information,” including Russian “attacks” in presidential elections and “conspiracy theories” regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luckily, through its pension funds, the AFT holds 30 million shares of Facebook, valued at $6.3 billion. Attempting to capitalize on the union’s influence over Facebook, Weingarten urged AFT’s pension trustees to sanction Meta for its role in the spread of disinformation, warning of “serious implications for public safety, the public interest and core AFT values.”
Notwithstanding Weingarten’s paranoia, AFT continues to support Meta’s biased algorithms, spending more than $600,000 of membership dues revenue on Facebook advertisements since 2020.
NewsGuard
Other AFT-backed weapons against fake news include independent fact checkers who assess the accuracy of media. NewsGuard, for example, purportedly uses “apolitical and transparent data” to rank news outlets, websites and journalists based on “nine journalistic criteria.” Since 2018, the company has issued credibility scores for more than 35,000 news and information sources, easily accessible through its downloadable browser extension.
Though NewsGuard claims to be politically neutral, liberal outlets are rated, on average, 27 points higher than conservative news organizations. The organization consistently gives high scores to obviously progressive-leaning outlets such as Occupy Democrats, The Nation, and Jacobin, while ranking conservative outlets like The Federalist and Newsmax poorly.
Worse, NewsGuard ranks several Chinese state-run media outlets more trustworthy than conservative-leaning American sources.
Nonetheless, AFT launched a national partnership with NewsGuard to “protect and champion legitimate journalism and fact-based reporting and to help educators and their students navigate a sea of online disinformation” in 2022. The partnership provides 1.7 million AFT members, in addition to “tens of millions of kids they teach and their families,” with free access to NewsGuard’s product. To finance the partnership, AFT purchased $350,000 worth of NewsGuard software in 2022, again drawing from funds collected through union member dues.
Media Matters
Similar to NewsGuard but more overtly partisan, Media Matters monitors “a cross-section of print, broadcast, cable, radio and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation.” While initially established in opposition to Fox News, Media Matters’ campaign against conservative misinformation expanded after its aggressive support of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. Media Matters’ top donors are, for the most part, Democrats, including Deborah Simon, who pledged to do “everything in her power to defeat former President Donald Trump.”
In December 2023, Attorney Generals Ken Paxton of Texas and Andrew Bailey of Missouri launched an investigation into Media Matters, which, “would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square.”
Even so, AFT gave $100,000 to Media Matters in 2022. In addition, Weingarten’s tweets repeatedly express support for the organization.
Facts First USA
After founding Media Matters, David Brock, described by Time as “one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Party,” established Facts First USA. Through “research, media, digital and paid advertising,” Facts First USA acts as a “Truth SWAT-team” working “to limit the reach of the right-wing rage machine … rather than allowing it to become part of the mainstream media coverage.”
In a brazen attempt to skew media left, Facts First promises to “win the war of public opinion by controlling the narrative” with “strong counter-narratives that reveal their motivations and misconduct and tell our side of the story.” In response, organizations like America First Legal have called for congressional investigation into the promises made by “Mr. Brock and his dark money affiliates of ‘direct attacks,’ ‘backlash’ and coordinated ‘maximum pushback.’”
Ignoring these threats, the AFT used $100,000 of its membership funds to support the mission of Facts First in 2023.
From social media algorithms to narrative-pushing fact checkers, the AFT has found a dangerous, disingenuous way to indoctrinate American children without their parents knowing. Algorithms and fact checkers, even those who claim to remain neutral, are inherently biased towards the ideological preference of their leadership. AFT not only fails to acknowledge this bias, but actively encourages teachers and students to rely on shady tools that act as arbiters of truth and falsity.
As fake news runs rampant, critical thought is essential, now more than ever. The AFT’s strategy against misinformation, however, robs students of the opportunity to engage in the marketplace of ideas while developing critical thought to distinguish fact from fiction. Further, AFT’s members should not be forced to financially support the ideologically motivated deterioration of education with dues meant for workplace issues.
Weingarten is right about at least one thing: “At stake is the cornerstone of democracy itself: a well-informed electorate.” If so, the AFT should encourage educators to recenter critical thought in American classrooms as opposed to partisan software less concerned with a well-informed electorate than creating more cogs in the left-wing political machine.
