Find a book
Donate

Fake News and How to Spot It

by Holly Bathie and Alex Frith, illustrated by Laura Wood and Jack Brougham

Interest age: 7 to 11

Published by Usborne, 2026

  • Non-fiction

About this book

Fake news is when someone presents information about what’s going on in the world as news, but that information is either a deliberate lie (disinformation) or accidentally wrong (misinformation).  

In this upbeat, fun and appealing book, authors Bathie and Frith aim to educate readers as to what fake news is, why we might fall for it, how to analyse what we are being told, consider what the agenda behind fake news might be, look at facts and figures and statistics and recognise scams.  

For instance, did you know that in 2007 the UK Advertising Standards Agency banned a Colgate toothpaste advert that claimed ‘80% of dentists recommend Colgate’ – because the advert implied that Colgate was the preferred toothpaste for dentists, when in fact many of the dentists surveyed recommended more than one toothpaste. 

There’s also a useful glossary, index and references at the back of the book, noting the scientific studies mentioned in the book, as well as a list of books the authors referred to in writing the book. A great introduction to all manner of fake news including deepfakes, voice cloning, financial hacking and much more. 

About the author

Alex Frith has been a children's author for more than a decade, covering every topic on Earth, from prehistoric animals to robots with artificial intelligence, and everything under the Sun, from the origins of the Universe to the adventures of Thor, God of Thunder. At home he reads too many comics and attempts to raise three children with an awful lot of help from his wife, and no help at all from his cat.

About the illustrator

Laura Wood is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children's Writing. She has just completed her PhD at the University of Warwick studying the figure of the reader in 19th-century literature. She is also the author of the Poppy Pym middle-grade series and YA historical romances A Sky Painted Gold (shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag YA and Beautiful Book prizes) and Under a Dancing Star.

More books like this

  • Breaking News

    by Nick Sheridan, illustrated by David O’Connell

    9 to 14 years

  • How the News Works

    by Jane Marlow, illustrated by Terri Po

    7 to 11 years

  • Managing Your Money

    by Jane Bingham and Holly Bathie, illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff and Freya Harrison

    9 to 14 years

  • Politics for Beginners

    by Alex Frith, Rosie Hore and Louie Stowel, illustrated by Kellan Stover

    9 to 14 years

Explore our Bookfinder

Lists of recommended reads

  • Books on fake news and lies

    It is vital that children learn to spot fake news and false information - and schools will soon be teaching classes on this. This selection of titles includes practical non-fiction books and also fiction that takes a broader view of 'fake news', in the sense of gossip and lies.

Discover more booklists
Share this page Twitter Facebook LinkedIn