Finland has introduced AI literacy into its national curriculum to teach children as young as three how to identify fake news and deepfakes. Officials say the move is designed to strengthen democratic resilience by improving critical thinking and resistance to propaganda. The initiative builds on Finland's long tradition of media literacy education and includes courses for adults who may be vulnerable to misinformation.
Finland Adds AI Literacy To National Curriculum To Teach Children How To Spot Deepfakes
Finland has added AI literacy to its national school curriculum to teach students—from preschoolers to teenagers—how to recognize fake news, manipulated media and AI-generated "deepfakes." The new modules are available to children as young as three years old.
Why this matters: Officials say the initiative aims to strengthen democratic resilience by building critical-thinking and media-evaluation skills that reduce vulnerability to propaganda and misinformation.
"We think that having good media literacy skills is a very big civic skill," said pedagogical specialist Kiia Hakkala. "It's very important to the nation's safety and to the safety of our democracy."
The updated curriculum emphasizes how AI can create, amplify and target content with minimal human oversight. Educators stress that early instruction gives students practical tools to evaluate sources, spot manipulated audio or video, and question the intent behind online content.
"When citizens can no longer agree on what is real, institutions weaken and trust erodes. Debate collapses into noise," said author Ahmed Fessi. "AI accelerates this risk. Teaching critical thinking early is a major pillar to protect citizens and democracy."
Finland has taught media literacy since the 1990s, and the government also offers courses aimed at older adults who may be more susceptible to online misinformation. The expansion reflects growing concern about disinformation campaigns in Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the rapid spread of AI-generated content worldwide.
Reporting adapted from NewsNation.
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