Many Parents Feel Uncertain About Misinformation and AI Content

High Need for Education

Against this backdrop, 65 percent of parents expressed a desire for more education. They want concrete guidance and materials that help them assess questionable content and, where necessary, discuss it with their children. The Körber Foundation sees this as a clear appeal to policymakers, schools, and media providers to make low-threshold information services available.

The study makes clear that many parents want a kind of everyday guide: How can I tell whether an image is real? What traces do AI tools leave in files? Who can I turn to if I suspect something? Such practical questions are, according to the respondents, coming up more and more often because the spread of AI content on social networks has increased sharply.

Uncertainty Around Social Media and AI

The survey also highlights the great importance of social media use. Parents see that their children are increasingly confronted with content whose origin cannot be easily verified. This reinforces the desire for clear information and age-appropriate explanations that families can use directly.

The Körber Foundation emphasizes that the results should be understood as a mandate for action. Among other things, it calls for educational institutions to teach digital media literacy more strongly and for public authorities to provide easily accessible explanatory formats on AI. Families themselves could also benefit if they had reliable sources to turn to in case of doubt.

Call for Greater Media Literacy

From the perspective of those responsible for the study, the survey highlights a gap between the rapid pace of technological change and the existing level of public education. While AI tools such as text or image generators have long been part of everyday life for many families, there is still a lack of comprehensive information services. The Körber Foundation announced that, based on the results, it would develop further materials and events.

The survey is part of a growing number of studies pointing to a large need for information among the population on the topic of artificial intelligence. Observers expect that the political debate about regulation, media education, and the protection of children and young people in the digital sphere will receive further impetus from such surveys.