High School Students in Philadelphia Develop Curriculum to Combat AI Misinformation on Vaccines

Nine Kensington Health Science Academy seniors are waging war on misinformation and disinformation in their Philadelphia high school hallways — and they say it’s working.

The students have recognized that social media algorithms they frequently scroll are feeding them AI-generated content, medical falsehoods, and political rhetoric designed to confuse and anger both their classmates and family members. After witnessing loved ones fall for fake videos, and having unintentionally shared misleading content themselves, these seniors have embarked on a mission to equip their peers with tools to identify internet falsehoods.

“People are trying to control what you think and see,” senior Apollo Sunun explained.

In response to growing concerns about online misinformation during the 2024 presidential election cycle, KHSA Principal Nimet Eren launched Project FACTS, an acronym for “find out where a post is from, analyze it, challenge it, think for yourself before you share.” Eren emphasized that FACTS represents a nonpartisan effort to teach students critical thinking skills and to question information they encounter online.

The initiative quickly gained momentum as nine seniors joined the effort: Rafael Rosario, Antonio Edwards, Ian Santiago, Jalyssa Moll, Saniya Salcedo, Carlos Perez, Arianna Cartagena, Apollo Sunun, and Solange Jean. Together with Eren, they developed a curriculum and incorporated it into lesson units for homeroom and advisory periods.

“The message became more powerful when students led the charge,” Eren noted.

Media literacy programs have gained significant traction in recent years as educators increasingly seek ways to help young people distinguish fact from fiction online. The FACTS program at Kensington Health Science Academy represents a student-driven approach to this growing educational need.

The nine seniors established a FACTS club that meets weekly during lunch periods. They examine articles, social media posts, and other information sources to critically evaluate online content and develop well-informed opinions.

“It’s definitely encouraged me to be more careful with the things I see,” said Cartagena, one of the participating seniors.

Beyond their own learning, the students actively spread their knowledge throughout the school. They’ve designed fake texts and emails as examples, conducted school-wide assemblies, and engaged their friends in conversations about limiting screen time and social media’s impact on real-world connections.

Eren remarked that before FACTS, the school lacked a curriculum addressing social media, algorithms, and online challenges. Now, she frequently overhears students between classes asking each other to “check their facts.”

“I definitely hear kids use the FACTS acronym around the school, and it lets me know people really understand,” Salcedo said.

The students discovered that acknowledging both the benefits and drawbacks of social media was crucial to engaging their teenage peers effectively. “We didn’t want to focus too much on the negative, because that would have caused especially people our age, to tune out of what we were talking about,” Cartagena explained. “We weren’t trying to persuade them into just thinking that social media was negative, but to make them think about how using social media may impact their lives.”

The program also tailors content to align with the school’s specialized focus on health sciences. In April 2025, students investigated medical misinformation surrounding measles outbreaks across the country. They conducted independent research and organized a panel featuring doctors, nurses, and reporters who helped them navigate vaccination-related facts and myths.

With midterm elections approaching, the FACTS seniors are intensifying their efforts. Several will be eligible to vote in November, and they express concern about both classmates and older relatives making political decisions based on misleading information.

“If somebody spreads something totally false about one of the candidates that’s running, and somebody believes it, now their mind is swayed to vote for somebody else,” Moll pointed out.

The students recognize that adults sometimes need even more guidance navigating online spaces than teenagers do. Salcedo expressed particular concern about scams targeting older individuals, noting, “It’s kind of scary because [they] can vote.”

Cartagena hopes the FACTS curriculum will inspire both students and parents to think more critically about online content, while Principal Eren envisions FACTS becoming a national model for media literacy education.

“I think parents, they understand and they know the dangers of social media, but a lot of the time they’re not actively seeking to stop it,” Cartagena said. “I just think hearing and seeing it coming from us, it may encourage parents to be more on top of their kids and their social media.”