Imagine scrolling through your phone on the morning of October 7, 2026, and seeing a news card with the familiar News 1st logo. It says former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been arrested. He had gone to the Criminal Investigation Department, the CID, to give a statement about the “Helping Hambantota” account, and instead of walking out, he was taken into custody. It sounds dramatic, and it is exactly the kind of update that makes people stop, gasp, and hit share. The only problem is that it never happened. The arrest that actually took place that day involved someone else in…

Imagine waking up each morning to a firehose of information. Before you’ve even gotten out of bed, your phone is glowing with social media posts, breaking news alerts, videos from strangers, and messages from friends and family. Some of it is true. Some of it is half-true. Some of it is deliberately designed to deceive. For adults, navigating this constant stream is hard enough. For young people, whose identities and beliefs are still taking shape, it can feel overwhelming. They are told to be careful online, but rarely are they taught how to figure out what to trust. They are…