In the digital age, democratic life depends on more than access to information. It depends on the ability to judge what is credible and to act responsibly once misinformation is recognised. Published in Socialinis ugdymas (Social Education), Vol. 64, No. 2 (2025) (February 2026 issue), this article connects citizenship education with real-world online behaviour, presenting evidence from an online study conducted across four European countries: Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Spain.
The authors show that misinformation engagement is not a single moment of “believing” or “not believing”. It involves stages, including evaluation (assessing accuracy and credibility) and reaction (choosing whether to share, ignore, or publicly challenge a claim). The findings highlight that media literacy and sharing behaviours vary meaningfully by demographic, ideological, and social factors, and that political content is particularly challenging. Political headlines are more likely to be misclassified, pointing to the influence of bias and prior beliefs in shaping judgement.
A major contribution of the paper is its educational implication: misinformation is not confined to one subject area, and neither should the response be. The authors argue that judging information should be taught as a transversal competence across the curriculum and reinforced through iterative practice, so that responsible evaluation and reaction become stable habits rather than occasional lessons.
The article also stresses why reaction matters as much as detection. Sharing behaviour amplifies reach, and sensational or false content can spread more easily than accurate information. Democracy education, therefore, must address both critical thinking and civic responsibility online: recognising manipulation, resisting impulsive sharing, and understanding the social consequences of digital choices. Overall, the article frames misinformation education as a core component of democratic resilience in everyday digital life.
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