BBC  starts a new initiative to fight fake news through teaching  children how to identify fake news. The organization started this initiative because false information “threatens fact-based public debate and trust in journalism.”

Details of the scheme, which will involve up to 1,000 schools, will be outlined in the BBC’s annual plan on Wednesday.

It will includes BBC journalists such as Huw Edwards, Tina Daheley, Nikki Fox, Kamal Ahmed and Amol Rajan.

The details come after Ofcom, the communications regulator, warned that children were being increasingly exposed to fake news, with nearly half of 12 to 15-year-olds finding it difficult to tell fact from fiction on social media.

The annual plan, which sets out priorities for the year ahead, will also focus on the BBC’s role in society and the ways it could be used to unite politically estranged communities.

“When the country is increasingly being portrayed as fragmented and divided, the BBC will maximize opportunities to bring the country together,” it said.

“This is important at a time when the UK is seeking to redefine its relationship with the world.”

The plan will outline ways in which the BBC plans to invest in new content, with commissions “that no other broadcaster would make”.
 
It also intends to improve iPlayer, admitting that it need to provide a more personalised service for subscribers with more content and “reinvent” itself for a new generation.

But the BBC said it faced continued financial challenges, highlighting the frozen licence fee and noting that investment in British content across the television industry was falling.

Another area of focus believed to be in the plan involves maximising the BBC's global reach, with "BBC World Service undergoing its biggest expansion since the 1940s".

A BBC source said: "The BBC can and will do more for Britain at an important time. Our aim will be to bring the public together while challenging fake news and false facts.

"The world is changing fast and Britain's media sector is still the envy of the world. We need to enhance and protect that against new global challenges."

It was announced by the Government in February that the annual TV licence fee will increase to £150.50 from £147 from April 1.