Be Internet Citizens

ISD works to build young people’s digital citizenship skills across the UK, enabling them to critically evaluate information and forge safer and more accountable online spaces.

Young people are often early adopters of new and alternative media, and are therefore increasingly exposed to risk, be it targeted harassment and ‘doxxing’ or radicalisation and conspiracy theories. Now is a critical moment to increase their awareness of these harms, but more importantly to help them build a more inclusive and well-informed internet community going forward. We believe this is the time to redouble our efforts and provide educators with the support they so desperately need.

Be Internet Citizens is a programme for teenagers aged 13+, created and delivered in partnership with YouTube and a team of expert facilitators. The programme bolsters young people’s resilience to a range of online harms including hate and disinformation, while empowering them to become well-informed and engaged citizens in the digital era.

Since 2017, the programme has reached an estimated 70,000+ students and 750+ teachers across the UK. It has been formally accredited by the UK’s PSHE Association and celebrated by experts at the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Ofcom. The programme has also received direct engagement from over 20 cross-party MPs, including current Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, former DCMS Parliamentary Chair Damian Collins, and Home Secretary Priti Patel.

In 2020, ISD launched a brand-new curriculum for schools and youth centres, reflecting the real lived experiences and challenges young people face online. The resources are free to download and include a series of action-oriented sessions, unpacking key topics such as:

  • How to identify mis- and disinformation (e.g. conspiracy theories, clickbait, manipulated media);
  • Exploring fact versus opinion, including how sensational content can be used to drive user engagement;
  • The benefits and pitfalls of a ‘personalised web’, including algorithms and filter bubbles;
  • Understanding unconscious bias and how it influences our worldview;
  • Analysing ‘us vs them’ narratives, and how online echo chambers may widen social divides;
  • Responding effectively to hate speech and forging more inclusive digital communities;
  • Creating inspiring digital content to champion causes, promote positive messages and support peers

As our impact reporting shows, students who engage with the Be Internet Citizens curriculum are better able to critically analyse information, build empathy towards others and effectively respond to harmful content.

The programme is delivered via:

  • Interactive school workshops to entire year groups of 150-200 students. Our latest evaluation shows that 71% of young people felt they would behave differently online as a result of participating in a workshop;
  • Train the Trainer sessions delivered both in-person and remotely to teachers and youth workers, who are then equipped to lead the curriculum independently with their students;
  • Larger, community-focused events in major cities across the UK, bringing together policymakers, teachers, students and youth workers to learn about and share their experiences of the programme.

See what others have said about Be Internet Citizens below:

Priti Patel visits workshop on internet citizenship at local school

‘Alex Norris MP discusses Be Internet Citizens in the House of Commons’

‘Gavin Williamson visits Wombourne High School’

For more information and resources see the Be Internet Citizens website.

Be Internet Citizens resources

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ISD’s Education team

Jennie King
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Jennie King

Director of Climate Disinformation Research and Policy

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Jennie King
Jennie King

Director of Climate Disinformation Research and Policy

Jennie King is the Director of Climate Disinformation Research and Policy, leading efforts to translate ISD's digital research into frontline programming and response. Through ISD, she helped found Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), a coalition of over 50 organisations working to identify, analyse and counter climate disinformation worldwide. She has spearheaded investigations on climate denialism and ‘discourses of delay’ in the contexts of Australia, Canada, Central Europe, Germany, South Africa, the US and UK, as well as co-authored a number of ISD’s flagship reports on this issue. Jennie also helped design, and currently manages, the COP Intelligence Units on behalf of CAAD, leading over 15 partners to produce real-time monitoring of mis- and disinformation around climate summits.
Sina Laubenstein
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Sina Laubenstein

Director of Programs, ISD Germany

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Sina Laubenstein
Sina Laubenstein

Director of Programs, ISD Germany

Sina Laubenstein is the Director of Programs for ISD Germany, designing and implementing the regional strategy of the Berlin-based entity and driving the strategic expansion of ISD’s portfolio in Europe. She is responsible for the inter-entity collaboration, connecting ISD Germany’s outputs and objectives to the global organisation and the wider team. At ISD, Sina is also leading a project on monitoring online gender-based violence around the 2024 European election and is co-leading the Coalition to Counter Online-Antisemitism (CCOA). She additionally was the co-developer behind the curriculum of the Business Council for Democracy (BC4D). Sina previously consulted on a law against digital violence, advising policymakers and the German government, and up until 2021, as a recognised expert in the field, she led an international project focusing on hate speech online.
Nathalie Rücker
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Nathalie Rücker

Senior Manager, Capacity Building & Civic Action, ISD Germany

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Nathalie Rücker
Nathalie Rücker

Senior Manager, Capacity Building & Civic Action, ISD Germany

Nathalie Rücker is Senior Manager, Capacity Building and Civic Action for ISD Germany. She manages the Business Council for Democracy (BC4D) project and also co-leads the project "Pan European Coalition against Online Antisemitism" (CCOA). Previously, Nathalie worked at the intersection of peacebuilding research, conflict prevention and human rights education, in Germany and abroad, focusing on global citizenship education and the capacity building of civil society actors. She holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Public International Law and International Relations and is a trained conflict mediator.
Hanna Börgmann
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Hanna Börgmann

Educator at the Business Council for Democracy, ISD Germany

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Hanna Börgmann
Hanna Börgmann

Educator at the Business Council for Democracy, ISD Germany

Hanna Börgmann is leading the research project "Countering Radicalization in Right-Wing Extremist Online Subcultures” at ISD Germany. She also works as an Educator for the Business Council for Democracy (BC4D), where she empowers employees to deal with hate speech, disinformation and conspiracy ideology online. Prior to joining ISD Germany, Hanna worked as a public sector consultant on digital transformation projects for PwC Germany and as a project coordinator for German-Israeli exchange in the field of innovation, including artificial intelligence, at ELNET Germany. Previously, Hanna earned her Master's degree in International Affairs at the Hertie School in Berlin, where she conducted research on antisemitic radicalization and mobilization in the image board subcultures of the so-called Chans, using the terrorist attack on the synagogue in Halle, Germany, as a case study.