New York Times offers free subscriptions to all students

Posted February 2021

By Eva Wu

Staff Reporter

The New York Times is offering a free subscription to students and teachers across the United States from now through Sept. 1, 2021.

With the pandemic resulting in online school for countless students and teachers, the acquisition of information is a necessity. The Times partnered with Version to provide unlimited access to articles, photos, podcasts, and other available materials. Participants must be over the age of 13, with consent delivered by school administrators, and must not be in a certain homeschool program. Individuals that meet the criteria are eligible to receive The New York Times’ digital subscription. Any schools outside of the U.S. are not able to participate. High school employees in the U.S. can only be verified of their status by The Times.

For students to retrieve access, it is vital that their administrator and teacher be registered. Once verified, they will log into The Times’ secure portal. Students will receive an email invitation granting permission for the online subscription. Contributing students that have not yet received their invitation should contact their school administrator about the problem. Those that wish to end their subscription early have to contact a school teacher or administrator. Using an account directly on The New York Times or outside the invitation will not grant students the offer. More guidance and directions are at www.nytimes.com.

On social media, much information is spread for a diverse audience to witness. According to NPR, Stanford researchers tested students from middle school through college for their skill in evaluating online sources. They presented a variety of sources for the students, materials like articles to even tweets. Over 7,800 student responses were garnered and the results “shocked” researchers. Over 80% of middle school students processed “sponsored content” as real news stories. While many high school students accepted pictures without verification, labeling photographs as truth without asking where they came from. Whereas college students failed to differentiate a “mainstream and fringe source.” For more details on the research, visit www.npr.org.

In these recent years, fake news has become more and more omnipresent. Young individuals are still struggling to distinguish fictional and real news. Providing an accessible, reliable source may benefit students.