skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, April 21, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump stands behind Hegseth after attack plans shared in second Signal chat; Pollution exemptions granted to AR coal plants; Coping with OR's climate change-fueled pollen season; Federal funding cuts could hit MT harder than other states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Defense Secretary Hegseth faces calls to resign for discussing battle plans in a second Signal chat. Indiana denies students the use of college IDs to register to vote, and the White House signals the U.S. might stop trying to end the Russia-Ukraine War.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Money meant for schools in timber country is uncertain as Congress fails to reauthorize a rural program, farmers and others will see federal dollars for energy projects unlocked, and DOGE cuts threaten plant species needed for U.S. food security.

Protecting Kids from Online Harassment, Bigotry

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 3, 2023   

It can be challenging for parents and caregivers to shield their children from bigotry and hatred online, but there are a few tips they can follow.

Lindsay Schubiner, Momentum program director at the Western States Center, said the work is especially crucial because white nationalist groups are using the internet to recruit people.

She pointed out young people are developing identities and ideas in relationship to everything around them, including what they see and hear online.

"As hate violence and threats to democracy continue and bigotry and conspiracy theories reach further into the mainstream, young people see that, and it has an impact," Schubiner asserted. "It's really important for parents and caregivers to provide an open space to critically examine what all of that means to them and to their future, and to their values."

About 45% of middle and high school students said they have been the victim of cyberbullying, according to a survey from the Cyberbullying Research Center. The survey also showed cyberbullying has been increasing over the past decade.

Schubiner stressed vigilance is the first key to ensuring kids are staying safe online. She noted for example, hate groups use jokes minimizing violence, scapegoating or straw man arguments to manipulate people online, tactics she said both kids and parents need to be aware of.

"Helping them to recognize the kinds of strategies that are intended to influence them can be a really powerful way to push back against this," Schubiner emphasized.

Schubiner encouraged parents and caregivers to listen openly and non-judgmentally to their kids' about their online experiences. She cautioned cutting off access to friends or to the internet can backfire because many white nationalists manipulate followers into seeing it as evidence of "political correctness" and attempts to curb free speech.

Schubiner added a better approach is to enlist people your child trusts.

"Really lean on relationships and relationships that the young person has with either older peers or other adults who share inclusive and equitable values," Schubiner recommended.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The National Library of Medicine reports that many schools are incorporating mental health awareness into their curricula to reduce stigma and help students recognize and manage emotions. (Rido/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A national report card finds that even with a $150 million budget threat last year, Michigan still made solid progress in staffing up its school …


Social Issues

play sound

Mississippi's decade-long focus on early literacy has transformed the state. According to the Mississippi Department of Education, the state's …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Law enforcement officers and drug prevention advocates in Missouri are joining forces to tackle prescription drug misuse. As part of the Drug …


California is considering a bill to study the cost to taxpayers of climate-related disasters. Similar measures have already passed in New York and Vermont. (Strikernia/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The "Make Polluters Pay Superfund" bill goes before the California Assembly Natural Resources Committee Monday. The bill would direct the California …

Social Issues

play sound

President Donald Trump continues his pressure campaign on immigrants -- both documented and undocumented -- disrupting the lives of many in Virginia…

The city of Baltimore and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission serve a combined 3.5 million Marylanders. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A new report found 122 million Americans drink water with high levels of cancer-causing chemicals, frequently from runoff at livestock factory farms…

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Kate Ruder for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service…

Social Issues

play sound

Parents of students killed or injured in school-zone crosswalks are backing a measure in the Ohio General Assembly to increase the penalty from a misd…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021