Home » Events » Fake News and Misinformation – Helping Young People Check the Facts – Speaker Information
Fake News and Misinformation – Helping Young People Check the Facts – Speaker Information
Speakers:
|
Nicky Cox MBE is a British journalist and is editor in chief of First News, the UK’s number one publication for children with a readership of 2.6 million. She is also editor of the newspaper’s OTT video channel, First News TV. She co-founded indie production company, Fresh Start Media, in 2016 specialising in quality factual content for children, including BAFTA award-winning Sky News children’s show, FYI. Nicky was made an MBE for services to children in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2009. She is passionate about giving kids a voice and a fair deal. A mum of four, she was children’s editorial director at BBC Worldwide before becoming a special adviser to UNICEF, an ambassador for WWF and patron of the British Citizen Youth Awards. Nicky appears often on television and radio to talk about children’s issues and is a regular columnist for several UK newspapers. |
|
Savannah Hanson is ConnectFutures’ first Youth Engagement Officer. She works to combat fake news, online hate and radicalisation by equipping both professionals and young people with the tools to critically engage with increasingly polarised online spaces. She facilitates spaces for educators, practitioners, safeguarding leads and senior leaders to reflect on their practice and strengthen their ability to support and empower young people through complex, evolving issues. Savannah also helps young people – who are often aware of and impacted by these issues – channel their passion into democratic, informed action, with a focus on resilience, agency and social responsibility. She is leading the development of ConnectFutures’ first-ever Youth Advisory Board, embedding youth voice at the heart of the organisation’s work through an asset-based approach. As a speaker and facilitator, Savannah champions curiosity, inclusion and nuanced thinking, helping people bravely explore the “sticky topics” – on and offline. |
|
Margaret Holborn is Head of Secondary and Higher Education at The Guardian Foundation. She manages the award-winning Behind the Headlines programme, which delivers inspirational news and media literacy workshops at the charity’s Education Centre London, virtually and since 2023 through the pioneering Media Literacy Ambassador programme in schools and colleges across the UK. Over 160,000 young people and educators have taken part in the programme since it was set up in 2002. She loves devising and teaching news, media and digital workshops for secondary and university groups, teacher training seminars and conferences, and opportunities for young people to engage with the media industry. She sets up educational partnerships and is passionate about expanding the reach and impact of the charity in empowering young people to understand, critically analyse, engage with and participate in the media. Prior to setting up the programme, Margaret was Head of History and Careers in a London secondary school. |
|
Lewis James has been Editor of Newsround since 2014. Prior to Newsround, Lewis worked in journalism across the BBC and has always been interested in reporting on the lives of children, including an award winning series for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on the impact on children of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa. |
|
Jeriah Kibusi is a BAFTA Young Presenter and actor. |
 |
Dr. Charles Kriel is the Founder of Metrotone, an AI-powered film and television studio producing drama and investigative documentaries. From 2017, he advised UK Parliament and the House of Lords on issues surrounding Disinformation, Data and AI, laying the groundwork for the Online Safety Bill. His documentary work includes People You May Know, which investigated Cambridge Analytica and exposed Project 2025 in 2020. |