Leave 9/11 out of schools and risk social media filling the void with misinformation and extremism

Just as it was in New York, it was a sunny, end-of-summer day. I was heavily pregnant, and the heat and exhaustion meant I decided to take a nap in front of the TV.

I awoke soon after to find normal programming suspended and live pictures being broadcast from New York. The North Tower of the World Trade Center had been hit by a passenger plane. Within minutes, I watched as a second plane hit the South Tower. At that moment, it became clear that what I was witnessing was not some tragic accident, but a deliberate act of terrorism. Within 102 minutes, both towers had collapsed. In total, 2,977 people were killed that day.

My son was born a few weeks later, into a world that suddenly felt very different. This week, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks, he is nearly 25 himself. For him, and for all the students in school today, 9/11 isn't a memory – it's history. Many of those now teaching them were either not yet born or were too young to remember it.

So why should 9/11 matter to them?

Because it helps explain the world they live in. Twenty-five years later, 9/11 continues to shape international politics, conflict, security and attitudes towards terrorism and extremism, affecting communities in Britain as well as America.

But the way young people learn about events such as 9/11 has also changed beyond recognition. In 2001, most of us heard about world events through television, radio and newspapers. Today's young people encounter them through TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, algorithms, influencers and group chats. A hugely complex event can be reduced to short-form video, memes and claims presented without context.

We know from our work that young people are curious. When we recently asked students what they valued most about a 9/11 workshop, they talked about hearing other people's opinions, analysing social media, considering evidence and hearing a survivor's story.

Their teachers see the need too. They tell us that 9/11 provides important context for understanding today's world, but also talk about the conspiracy theories their students encounter, and sometimes believe, and the need to help them understand extremism, radicalisation and online risks.

That is why our work at SINCE 9/11 has evolved. Young people should know what happened on September 11th and understand the human stories behind the 2,977 people who were killed. But teaching 9/11 today has to go further. It means giving young people space to ask difficult questions, discuss different perspectives, distinguish between evidence and assertion and recognise misinformation. It doesn't mean telling them what to think. Education should give them the knowledge and confidence to reach informed conclusions for themselves.

Watching 9/11 unfold twenty-five years ago, I was thinking about the child I was about to have and the world he would grow up in. I couldn't have imagined that, a quarter of a century later, my work would involve helping another generation understand what I had watched happen live.

We cannot expect today's children to share our memories of 9/11. But we can make sure they understand what happened and why it still matters. By helping them question misinformation, challenge hatred and extremism and listen to perspectives other than their own, perhaps we can better equip them to navigate the world they have inherited.

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Yvonne Richards is the director of the charity Since 9/11.

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