‘An unquestioned assertion is as good as a truth.’ – Steve Shahbazian
‘A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.’ – Winston Churchill
It’s vital now, more than ever, that students are savvy users of media.
Having the tools to spot fake news empowers young people, giving them control over knowledge and opinions so that they make valuable contributions as citizens. Not having these skills can result in anxiety, alienation and mistrust.
Here are some simple ways of teaching students about fake news:
- Invite a journalist in to discuss the topic with students, specifically: possible motivations people may have to produce fake news, the accountabilities of media (i.e. newspapers versus online web content)
- Show students how to check for fake news, including the use of images and deep fakes (for more on this go to A Guide to Greatness p18)
- Explore how social media uses personal information to shape feeds and influence its users
- Ask your students to produce fake news, so they understand the techniques used and appreciate how easy it is to make fake news look credible (for example, by including plausible events, people or institutions)
Young people will – overall – be more tech-savvy than teachers, yet what teachers may lack in technological know-how is compensated for by our broad-knowledge of potential bias, motivations and persuasions…so you could say it’s the perfect combination!
Links to further reading on fake news:
- BBC’s Teach website has resources to help teach students about fake news
- Safer Internet Day, on 11 February 2020, promotes safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones. Free teacher resources are available to download.
- Beautiful Minds Education‘s A Guide to Greatness has a checklist to test the trustworthiness of information.
