Open Call for Teacher Submissions: AI, Deepfakes, and Misinformation

AI, Deepfakes, and Misinformation: How Schools Can Fight the New Literacy Crisis

Across the country, educators are facing a new challenge: preparing students to navigate a world where AI-generated deepfakes, misinformation, and viral lies are becoming harder to detect. Teachers are working to equip students with the skills to think critically, verify information, and engage with the truth — but without the right resources, support, and curriculum, the fight against misinformation is an uphill battle.

At Teachers in Their Power, we want to amplify the voices of educators on the frontlines of this issue. Your stories matter — not just to other teachers, but to parents, policymakers, and communities who need to understand what’s at stake when truth itself is under threat.

Who can submit?

Current PreK-12 teachers.

The word teacher is intentionally used to bring more power to this title and keep the focus on PreK-12 educators who work within school systems. School educators who work directly with students — including paraprofessionals, speech language pathologists, and counselors — are welcome.

Frame your thoughts on this issue for maximum impact

We know the challenges are real — but simply stating “students live on their phones and don’t know how to spot misinformation” can lead to public disengagement rather than action. Instead of reinforcing frustration, we encourage educators to frame their stories in ways that inspire understanding, urgency, and solutions when discussing the role of AI, deepfakes, and misinformation in education.

✔️ Make it personal, but connect it to the bigger picture.

• Share a real classroom experience, but tie it to broader trends in media literacy and student engagement.
• Example: “Last semester, a student confidently cited a deepfake video as evidence in a class debate, and I watched all my students accept it as fact. It was a wake-up call — not just for them, but for me. I realized that without strong media literacy education, students are vulnerable to misinformation in ways we’ve never seen before.”

✔️ Describe the impact on students.

• Many people are concerned about misinformation and feel most moved by how it affects children’s ability to think critically and engage with the world.
• Example: “I’ve seen students dismiss real news as ‘fake’ and believe conspiracy theories shared on social media. Without digital literacy skills, they struggle to separate fact from fiction — putting their education, civic engagement, and personal safety at risk.”

✔️ Offer solutions, not just problems.

• Show what’s working in classrooms or schools that are successfully teaching media literacy and critical thinking.
• Example: “In my school, we’ve integrated fact-checking exercises and AI awareness lessons into our social studies and ELA curriculum. When students learn how deepfakes work and practice verifying sources, they become more skeptical of misleading content and more confident in their ability to find the truth.”

✔️ Avoid “us vs. them” language.

• Parents, administrators, and policymakers are not the enemy — frame them as potential allies in helping students navigate the digital world.
• Example: “We all want students to be informed, thoughtful individuals. Teaching them how to analyze information isn’t about politics — it’s about preparing them for a world where AI-generated misinformation is only going to increase.”

✔️ Challenge misconceptions with facts and experiences.

• Many people assume students are “digital natives” who naturally know how to navigate online information. Counter this with real examples.
• Example: “Students may be tech savvy, but they’re not necessarily media literate. Studies show that young people struggle to distinguish reliable sources from misinformation, which is why explicit instruction in digital literacy is more important than ever.”

✔️ End with a call to action.

• Leave your audience with a clear takeaway — what can they do to help?
• Example: “If we want students to be prepared for a future shaped by AI and digital media, we need to prioritize media literacy in schools. Support policies that fund media literacy education, encourage schools to integrate fact-checking lessons, get families involved, and talk to young people about how to verify what they see online.”

Framing your story in these ways ensures your voice is not just heard, but that it moves people to care, engage, and take action.

Explore the process

Guide on filming and uploading your video 

Devices

You can record your video using any device of your choice: a camera, a phone, or a computer. We recommend creating a short test video to check that everything is working properly before recording your full story.

Here are some step-by-step guides and resources you might want to use:

Lighting & Sound

Record in a well-lit space free of ambient noise. If you’re worried about background noise, you can use headphones with a mic. We strongly recommend doing a couple test recordings to check that everything’s working before you get started.

Layout

To ensure your video fits the layout on different platforms, please record in landscape (horizontally). Situate yourself in the center third of the frame.

No Editing Needed

If you’re submitting your video to Teachers in Their Power, you don’t need to worry about editing! We’ll clean everything up and format your video for posting to different platforms. We prefer if the video does not include text or effects.

But if you’re feeling ambitious, you can check out the free version of our go-to editing tool, Descript, and share your Descript file with us.

Ethical & Legal Considerations

Please don’t mention students, parents, or other individuals by name. Avoid any potentially identifying details. And if you’re not sure, err on the side of caution. “I was teaching in a small town in Kansas” instead of “I was teaching in Cottonwood Falls” is just fine.

Submission

If you’d like your video to be considered for inclusion on Teachers in Their Power, you can submit it via this Google form.

Create your story

Having trouble of thinking of what to say in your video? One recommendation is to use the And, But, So (ABS) Framework. The purpose of this particular storytelling framework is to drive people to take an action.

Example:

Teachers play an important role in preparing students to navigate the world, and in today’s digital landscape, that includes teaching them how to think critically about the information they consume. Schools should be places where students develop the skills to analyze, question, and verify what they read.

But with the rise of AI-generated deepfakes, viral misinformation, and manipulative content, many students struggle to distinguish fact from fiction. False narratives tend to spread faster than truth, and without strong media literacy education, young people are at risk of being misled, manipulated, and disengaged from real civic participation.

So if we want students to be informed, responsible digital citizens, we must prioritize media literacy education in every school. That means equipping teachers with the resources, training, and curriculum needed to help students critically evaluate information — because in a world where misinformation is evolving faster than ever, teachers can be our best defense.

You could ask yourself:

• What problems related to this issue are you facing that you wish would be addressed?
  • What do you love that’s at risk because of this problem?
  • Explain this problem like you’re explaining it to someone who knows nothing about education.
  • What should we do as a society to address this problem? 

Or, you could work backwards from the action you know you want people to take:

• What is the problem this action addresses?
• Explain this problem like you’re explaining it to someone who knows nothing about education.
• What do you love that’s at risk because of this problem?

You don’t need to write out your story before recording — in fact, we recommend not doing that. Instead, imagine that you’re doing a casual, conversational interview with someone asking you these questions. In your recording, simply answer the questions the way you would in a conversation. It’s absolutely fine if there are hesitations, repetitions, or moments of silent reflection in your recording. We’ll take care of all that during our editing process.

Once you’re set up, it should take you less than 30 minutes to record your self-interview. Submissions can be anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes, but we find that the ideal length tends to be about 10 (unedited) minutes. If your story is accepted for inclusion on Teachers in Their Power, it will most likely be edited down.

Ready to get started?

Submit your story