Promoting News Literacy with epistemological beliefs, IFLA checklist and AI: Insights from a teacher training program in Italy

This study examines the integration of epistemological beliefs, the IFLA checklist for evaluating news credibility, and the News Verifier, an AI tool powered by GPT-4, within a teacher training program aimed at enhancing news literacy. It explores the relationship between educators’ epistemological profiles and their ability to classify news using the IFLA checklist. The study also evaluates alignment between human classifications and those generated by the News Verifier, examining the potential of AI as a complementary resource for supporting practice and reflection in news literacy education. Results indicate that consistent application of the checklist improves alignment with AI outputs, although variability persist across profiles. By combining cognitive, conceptual, and technological components, the study demonstrates the potential of integrating frameworks and AI tools to foster critical thinking and media literacy. It suggests that refining AI tools and adapting training approaches can enhance classification consistency and address discrepancies in human-AI alignment, strengthening media literacy education.