On April 23rd, 2026, Alexandru Ioan Cuza High School in Bucharest became a space for meaningful civic dialogue about one of democracy's most pressing challenges: navigating trustworthy information in an increasingly complex digital landscape. The "CivicHype EU: Learning Circles" event brought together 56 students aged 17–18 from two 11th-grade classes to reflect on their experiences with misinformation, explore media literacy needs, and articulate civic priorities for democratic participation in the digital age.
What happened: Creating space for honest conversation
The event, facilitated by Simona Păvăloiu, an English teacher and member of EDU Community, employed an innovative methodology designed to capture authentic youth insights while creating psychological safety for honest dialogue. Rather than lecturing about media literacy, the assembly invited young people to become researchers of their own experiences and concerns.
Participants completed an anonymous survey capturing their personal experiences with misinformation, emotional responses to unreliable information, primary news sources, common peer discussions about online content, confidence-building strategies, and desired changes to digital information systems. Crucially, the anonymity proved essential—students expressed concern about being individually identified for their answers, yet felt comfortable sharing frankly when responses remained confidential.
The facilitator conducted a facilitated discussion focused on capturing students' know-how on media literacy, identifying shared concerns and brainstorming solutions to the identified challenges they are confronting with while being online. This collective analysis transformed individual experiences into collective learning, allowing participants to discover that peers faced both similar and strikingly different challenges navigating digital information ecosystems.
What young people are experiencing: The trust crisis
The survey results reveal a generation navigating profound uncertainty about information trustworthiness. Nearly 70% of participants encountered situations where friends disagreed about whether information was real, or where content seemed too extreme or sensational to be true. Forty-five percent faced conflicting information across different sources, while an identical proportion encountered unclear or suspicious sources.
When asked how these experiences made them feel, skepticism dominated—52.7% reported skepticism as their primary emotional response. Confusion affected 25.5%, while smaller proportions experienced frustration or worry. Notably, only 1.8% reported feeling worried, suggesting young people have adapted to information uncertainty as a normalized condition rather than an acute threat.
Perhaps most revealing is where young people obtain news and information. TikTok emerged as the leading source, followed closely by friends and family, then news apps. Instagram, YouTube, and school ranked lower in preference. This distribution underscores a critical reality: young people increasingly rely on peer networks and algorithmic feeds rather than traditional news institutions or educational settings for understanding current events.
When discussing online content with peers, fake news and misinformation topped concerns (45.5%), followed by information taken out of context (45.5%). Distinguishing opinion from fact emerged as a challenge for 25.5% of participants, while 32.7% reported peers discussing manipulation. These conversations reveal young people possess sophisticated awareness of information distortion mechanisms—they recognize not only obvious falsehoods but also more subtle forms of manipulation like contextual stripping and algorithmic curation.
What young people need: Skills, institutions, and systemic change
Perhaps unsurprisingly, participants identified concrete needs for building confidence in evaluating trustworthy information. An overwhelming 74.5% wanted to know where information comes from and how to verify sources. Sixty-three percent sought fact-checking skills. Understanding how algorithms work attracted 27.3%, while 54.5% expressed desire for better tools and features on social media platforms.
Notably, 61.8% identified schools and teachers as essential actors in supporting media literacy development—tying a close second with parents and family (also 61.8%). Fifty-four percent emphasized young people's own role in peer education and democratic participation. This distribution reveals participants don't view media literacy as primarily an individual responsibility; rather, they recognize it as a collective endeavor requiring institutional support and shared civic commitment.
When asked what single change would most improve information sharing online, 45.5% prioritized removing fake news and misinformation. Thirty-six percent emphasized better protection of young people's privacy and data. Twenty percent advocated for better media literacy education itself. Only 5.5% focused on changing social media algorithms—surprising given the prevalence of algorithmic concerns in peer discussions, perhaps suggesting participants recognize algorithm modification as more systemic and less immediately actionable than content moderation or educational intervention.
Emerging civic insights: Beyond individual literacy
The most significant insights emerged during collective discussion of survey results. Participants expressed surprise and curiosity discovering the diversity of their peers' experiences, some encountered misinformation regularly, others less frequently; some felt highly skeptical, others uncertain. This discovery process proved educationally valuable, normalizing concerns while broadening perspectives on digital literacy challenges.
Several participants offered unsolicited comments reflecting deeper civic awareness. One noted that "media literacy is important for all kinds of people of any age," signaling recognition that information challenges transcend youth demographics. Another emphasized "the importance of not sharing personal information online," reflecting privacy consciousness. Most provocatively, one student suggested that "kids under 16 shouldn't be allowed on the internet, adults of the current generation over 40 shouldn't be allowed either"—a comment reflecting frustration with how both age groups navigate digital spaces.
Perhaps most significantly, one participant called for permanent banning of "media outlets that misspread information," particularly "TV news channels that share out of context propaganda." This demand reveals young people's frustration with weak institutional accountability and their conviction that trustworthy information ecosystems require active gatekeeping and institutional responsibility.
Implications for democratic participation
These insights point toward fundamental truths about media literacy and democratic health. Young people understand, perhaps more intuitively than many adults, that trustworthy information systems constitute essential democratic infrastructure. They recognize that individual skill-building alone cannot counter systemic design promoting misinformation. They expect institutional actors—schools, platforms, journalists, governments—to bear ethical responsibility for maintaining information integrity.
The event raised awareness not only among participants but also for educators and policymakers observing the assembly. The anonymous survey data provides concrete evidence of youth experiences and priorities, moving beyond speculation to evidence-based understanding of what young people actually need.
"CivicHype EU: Listening circles" was part of the local activities organized in the frame of the "CivicHype EU: Youth Engage, Debate, Influence, Connect" CERV Project.