A new report has shown more than one third of young Australians aged 10 to 17 are using generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a source of news, on par with news websites and apps.
The News and Young Australians in 2026 report – a collaboration between researchers from Western Sydney University, Queensland University of Technology and University of Canberra – demonstrated results from the fourth survey of more than 1,000 young people aged 10 to 17 across Australia, as part of a longitudinal project that commenced in 2017.
The report found less than half of young people feel confident they can tell fact from fiction online, and nearly one third of young people who shared a news story online in the past six months later found out a story they had shared was false.
Lead author Prof Tanya Notley, from Western Sydney University’s School of Arts and Institute for Culture and Society, said the findings point to an “urgent need” for enhanced news media literacy education in school that develops young people’s critical capacity to navigate the platforms they rely on most for news.
“Young people who receive more news media literacy lessons in school demonstrate greater digital media knowledge but there is still a disconnect between what young people know and how they actually behave,” said Prof Notley.
“While many young people can correctly identify how a search engine or a social media algorithm works, this technical knowledge does not necessarily result in them reporting that they take steps to verify information and sources online.
Across nearly every indicator, young people are less engaged with news in 2026 than they were in the study’s previous survey in 2023. The report suggests this is likely linked to the social media ban for under-16s, and a “widespread feeling among young people that news is not made about them, is not for them and is too negative in its focus”.
The findings also showed 10 to 12-year-olds most often rely on teachers and parents to get news, but as they enter their teenage years they move toward independent and digital news engagement.
“It’s important we develop young people’s understanding of digital media environments during their pre-teen years, before they begin navigating news online on their own,” said report co-author Dr Simon Chambers.
“Rather than viewing children and young people as separate from the broader news environment, we need to better understand the issues they care about and include their perspectives in the news they consume.”