Headline Decoder, Deepfake Detective, Algorithm Lab, Newsroom Simulator. Four new labs in one drop. Here's what each one does and why I thought they were missing.
The Media and Truth world had three labs in it (Spot the Fake, Media and Misinformation, Media and the Election). They were getting used a lot, but the messages I was getting through the contact form kept hinting that something was missing.
Kids weren't just asking "is this fake?" anymore. They were asking "why did this end up on my feed?" and "how do I know that video is real?" and "who actually decides what's news?" Those are bigger questions than spotting a single fake post, and they needed their own labs.
So I built four new ones. Quick tour:
Headline Decoder - takes a real headline apart. Loaded words, missing context, the difference between what a headline says and what the article actually proves. Because most people only read the headline. Including me, sometimes.
Deepfake Detective - how AI-generated faces, voices and videos work, and the tells that give them away. This one was the hardest to write because the tells change every six months. I tried to teach the thinking, not just the current tricks.
Algorithm Lab - the one I'm most proud of. You play with a tiny pretend feed and see how your clicks change what you get shown next. It makes the "the algorithm" thing concrete instead of mysterious. Adults have told me they learned things from this one, which is both flattering and a tiny bit worrying.
Newsroom Simulator - you're the editor. You've got six stories, two front-page slots, and twenty minutes till print. What do you run? What do you cut? Why? It's the lab that made me most respect actual journalists, who do this every day under more pressure than a quiz.
Each one has the same shape as Media and Misinformation: a proper lab page, kid-friendly reading toggle, sources, and a little activity at the end. They live in the Media and Truth world if you want to poke around.
If you try them and something feels off - too hard, too easy, weirdly worded, factually wonky - tell me. The contact form goes straight to me. These labs get better when actual humans use them and complain.