What should a child do with a video that promises “miraculous” weight loss in just a few days? Or with the confident, but unsourced answers provided by artificial intelligence chatbots? The new educational materials on the Detekto.hu learning platform offer guidance for such situations, through concrete examples and interactive exercises.

The Detekto courses, designed for 13-16 year-olds, aim to help students navigate the online environment with confidence, and not only consume content but also critically evaluate and interpret the information they encounter. The new chapters focus on two areas: misleading health-related video content and information, and the use of artificial intelligence.

One of the new modules highlights the importance of verifying health tips and trends that spread on social media, especially on TikTok. Short educational videos and exercises based on real examples help young people recognize exaggerations, identify hidden advertising or other persuasive intentions, and learn to ask the most important questions: Who is saying this? Why are they saying it? What evidence is it based on? The module also demonstrates that popularity is not the same as credibility, and that algorithms do not necessarily amplify reliable content but rather content that attracts attention.

The other new chapter focuses on how artificial intelligence works and how it can be used. It approaches the topic primarily from a user’s perspective: what different AI tools are useful for, where their limitations and risks, and what users should pay attention to. The material also explains that AI can sometimes “hallucinate”, meaning that it may generate information that sounds plausible but is actually fabricated. For this reason, users should not automatically accept AI-generated answers and should verify them using reliable sources when necessary.

The courses do more than simply present definitions and test students’ knowledge, they encourage critical thinking. The exercises build on one another and provide continuous feedback, allowing students to arrive at insights step by step. The goal is not simply to give the correct answer, but to help learners discover through their own responses how to ask questions and verify information effectively.

The Detekto online courses were primarily designed for independent learning, but they can also serve as valuable supplements to classroom instruction. As with previous modules, teacher guides have been developed for the new chapters, offering practical ideas for classroom use. The chapter on artificial intelligence is also available in English, enabling English teachers to incorporate it into their lesson plans.

The program was implemented within the framework of the Hungarian Digital Media Observatory. (Magyar Digitális Média Obszervatórium)

Detekto’s educational materials are available here: https://detekto.hu/

(The newest courses can be found in Chapters 13-15.)

Guide for teachers: https://detekto.hu/tanaroknak/