BBC Bitesize campaign shows how misinformation is harming students

With a quirky set of shorts, the learning platform is warning students not to use unverified user-generated content when revising

Still image from a BBC Bitesize campaign showing a person dressed in a unicorn costume doing a presentation

BBC Bitesize’s new campaign is drawing attention to how misinformation online is causing problems for students and can ultimately hamper their grades.

The campaign, titled Don’t Learn Off Randoms, has been launched ahead of exam season, when students are likely to be using the internet to help with their revision.

However, many are unknowingly consuming unreliable resources due to the rise of platforms that rely on user-generated content, in which individuals often pass off unverified claims as facts. BBC Bitesize meanwhile is approved by exam boards.

Devised by the broadcaster’s in-house agency, BBC Creative, the campaign features three quirky shorts directed by Bine Bach, which will be rolled out on social platforms including TikTok and YouTube.

“At the BBC we have a duty to protect kids from misinformation online,” said BBC Creative ECD Rasmus Smith Bech. “Don’t Learn Off Randoms explores the crazy world of randomness on the internet, from unicorn-believers to Flat Earthers, offering up the trustworthy services of Bitesize as an antidote to the wild west of the wider internet.”

There seems to be an appetite for weirdness within ad land at the moment, and while some of it comes off as needlessly strange, here the irreverent approach makes sense as a send up of the ridiculous claims and theories that gain traction online.

Credits:
Agency: BBC Creative
ECD: Rasmus Smith Bech
Creative Director: Mark Williams
Creatives: Aron Sidhu, Steve Lownes
Director: Bine Bach
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks