Verschwörungstheorien im Netz: Zur Rolle der Nachrichtenkompetenz Jugendlicher in Zeiten von YouTube und Co.

The digitalisation of life has increased the risk for young people to be confronted with conspiracy theory content in this unsettling phase of life. On various platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook, conspiracy narratives are common content. Not every conspiracy theory poses a danger, but such posts on these platforms tend to be characterised by extreme thoughts and often contain content that is harmful to minors, punishable and detrimental to development. Against this background, the early development of a basic news competence among young adolescents is a central and increasingly important social task.