CHECKMATE: Climate Fact-Checking in Action

Climate misinformation is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Young people encounter climate-related claims through social media, videos, influencers, news headlines and everyday conversations, and misleading information does not always look obviously false. For youth workers, this creates an important question: how can we help young people question what they see without turning climate education into another lecture?

The CHECKMATE Fact-Checking Toolkit was developed with this challenge in mind. Created within the Erasmus+ project CHECKMATE – Living Labs and Game-Based Learning to Checkmate Climate Misinformation, the resource combines climate knowledge with fact-checking, critical thinking and interactive learning. Instead of simply presenting the “correct” information, young people are encouraged to investigate claims, search for evidence, question sources and understand why misinformation can sometimes appear convincing.

Start with a claim, not a lecture

One of the easiest ways to introduce climate misinformation is to begin with something young people can immediately react to. Present a statement and ask: Do you think this is true? Why? Where could we check it? What evidence would make you change your mind?

This approach was tested through the project's Myth-Busting Challenge, where participants explored familiar climate claims, decided whether they were facts or myths, investigated them using fact-checking tools and compared information from reliable sources. Instead of being passive listeners, participants became investigators.

The activity was piloted with more than 500 young people across the CHECKMATE partner countries, and their feedback contributed to refining the final resource. Participants practised identifying misleading claims, checking the credibility of sources, recognising emotional manipulation and building arguments based on evidence. Facilitators also found the approach practical to integrate into youth workshops.

For us as youth workers, this is where the value of the toolkit really becomes visible. A climate myth is not only an opportunity to learn another climate fact. It can become a starting point for a much broader conversation about how we decide what information to trust.

Easy to bring into youth work

The CHECKMATE Toolkit was designed to be flexible. You can choose an individual activity depending on your group, available time and learning objectives, or combine different elements into a longer learning experience. It can support 40–120 minute standalone workshops, longer trainings, youth exchanges, climate awareness activities and digital literacy sessions.

A particularly easy starting point is the Climate Change Kahoot Quiz. Friendly competition allows participants to test what they already know about climate change and common misconceptions. But instead of immediately moving to the next question, use the answers to open a discussion: Why did we choose this? Why might the incorrect answer sound believable? How could we check it?

Try the Myth-Busting Challenge Kahoot Quiz

The wider toolkit combines myth-versus-fact materials, trusted fact-checking resources, facilitation guidance and interactive activities that can be adapted to different learning environments. You do not need to be a climate scientist or misinformation expert to use it. Your role as a youth worker is to guide the process of questioning, investigating and reflecting together.

The conversation is part of the learning

Perhaps the most interesting moment is not when participants discover whether a climate statement is true or false. It is the conversation that happens while trying to find out.

Why did some people believe the statement immediately while others questioned it? Did an image or statistic make it sound more reliable? Where did the claim originally come from? Would we react differently if the same information came from another source?

During the CHECKMATE implementation, participants were encouraged to explore these questions in an environment where uncertainty was accepted and questions were not dismissed. By the end of the activities, many were better able to explain why particular climate myths persist and how information can be verified.

The learning also did not have to stop when the workshop finished. Participants were encouraged to share at least one myth-busting insight with someone else, extending the conversation into their own communities. This is a simple idea that youth workers can easily replicate: learn something, check it, discuss it and then pass it on.

Bring CHECKMATE into your next activity

The CHECKMATE Fact-Checking Toolkit can be connected with climate change, sustainability, media literacy, digital citizenship and civic participation. You do not need to use everything at once. Start with a quiz, choose one climate myth or select a fact-checking activity that fits your group and see where the conversation takes you.

The full CHECKMATE Fact-Checking Toolkit and materials are available through the EFE Tools section: CHECKMATE Fact-Checking Toolkit

For more ideas, implementation experiences and information about the wider project: https://checkmateproject.eu

Erasmus+ Cooperation partnership

Living Labs and Game-Based Learning to Checkmate Climate Misinformation

Project No.  2024-2-LV02-KA220-YOU-000266268

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.