Apple today announced the launch of a new media literacy initiative that's designed to encourage critical thinking and empower students to be better informed.

Apple is teaming up with several nonprofit nonprofit organizations in the United States and Europe that offer nonpartisan, independent media literacy programs, including the News Literacy Project (NLP) and Common Sense in the U.S. and the Osservatorio Permanente Giovani-Editori in Italy.



Each of these nonprofits will receive support from Apple to help them further their media literacy goals. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that news literacy is "vital" to maintaining free press.

"News literacy is vital to sustaining a free press and thriving democracy, and we are proud to be collaborating with organizations on the front lines of this effort," said ‌Tim Cook‌, Apple's CEO. "We've been impressed by the important work being done by the News Literacy Project, Common Sense and Osservatorio, empowering young people to be active and engaged citizens."

Alan C. Miller, founder and CEO of NLP, said that the organization is grateful for Apple's commitment to fighting misinformation.

"We are grateful for Apple's commitment to fighting misinformation and sustaining quality journalism," said Alan C. Miller, founder and CEO of NLP. "NLP is committed to equipping the next generation with the critical thinking skills to discern what news and other information to trust and the tools to become informed and engaged participants in our country's democracy. We welcome this timely initiative to help achieve our vision of seeing news literacy embedded in the American educational experience."

The News Literacy Project and Common Sense are both aimed at teaching students skills to become "smart, active consumers of news" and other information.

These media literacy programs are designed to teach students to identify different types of media and understand the messages that are being sent. The skills taught in these programs allow students to take a look at why something was created, who created it, and whether it's credible or not, evaluating viewpoints, hidden messages, and persuasive intent.