Real or fake Can you tell the difference

Real or fake? Can you tell the difference?

What do all of these news stories have in common?

Answer: They’re all made up Over 2 million engagements! Source: Craig Silverman, Buzzfeed, “Here of 50 of the biggest fake news hits on Facebook from 2015. ”

Our goal: � Learn how we can investigate whether an article or meme shared online is trustworthy � Learn the meaning of bias � Learn why people post fake news � Become smarter news-readers and factcheckers!

After the lesson: � There will be a competition to see who is best at fact-checking claims they see online.

Raise your hand if… � You use Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. � You have seen friends post news stories on social media. � You have posted news stories on social media. � You have seen friends post news stories or memes on social media that you suspected were fake. Killer clowns? ! Is this post for real…?

Why do people post fake news? � Satire – just a joke, not meant to deceive anyone � To promote a cause or candidate they believe in � To make money � Can you think of other reasons?

Why is fake news a problem? � In December, a 28 -year-old man read fake news online that claimed Hillary Clinton was keeping child slaves in a pizza restaurant in Washington, D. C. � He drove to the pizzeria and fired a rifle inside. � No one was hurt and the man was arrested. “The intel on this wasn’t 100%, ” he admitted.

Many kids don’t recognize fake news. �A Stanford study found that 82% of middleschoolers in an experiment could not tell the difference between an advertisement and a real news story. � (Source: Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal, “Most students don’t know when news is fake, Stanford study finds. ”)

But beware…some people label all the news they don’t like “fake” to discredit it!

Bias � Articles and websites can also biased – meaning they have very strong opinions that affects how they present facts, or they have a personal motive for getting you to think a certain way. � Examples of bias: ◦ Advertisements (they want you to buy their stuff) ◦ Very conservative or very liberal websites (example: breitbart. com or occupydemocrats. com) ◦ Websites devoted to a particular cause (example: nra. com is against gun control, everytown. org is pro gun control) � Is it always bad to be biased? Does biased mean untrue?

Brainstorm together (5 minutes): � How can you tell if a source is trustworthy or untrustworthy? � If you think an article might be fake, what can you do to fact-check it? � Take 5 minutes to write down your ideas (you can work with a partner)

Website challenge � You want to find good sources to learn about the environment. With a partner, take ten minutes to investigate these websites. Grade each one on a trustworthiness scale of A to F. Be prepared to justify your grade! � Polluter Watch: www. polluterwatch. com � The Guardian’s environment section: https: //www. theguardian. com/us/environme nt � Energy Tomorrow: www. energytomorrow. org

Now, if you’re ready…it’s time for the Fact-Checking Challenge.

Fact-Checking Challenge! �I will share a news posts with you. � Each person or team will use the internet to factcheck the post. You must write down whether the information is true, fake, or half-true, and what you did to figure that out. � First one to correctly figure out whether the post is real or fake AND give me a reason gets the point. � The team with the most points gets a prize. � If there is a tie, the tie-breaker activity can be “Fool the Teacher. ” Each team finds one real story and makes up two. The teacher has to guess which story is real. If they guess wrong, the team gets a bonus point.

Helpful Resources � Politifact. com � Factcheck. org � Snopes. com � GOOGLE!

Fact Check Challenge 1 Source: Newyorker. com

Fact Check Challenge 2 Source: PBS News. Hour on Facebook

Fact Check Challenge 3 Source: Donald Trump’s Twitter, February 2017

Fact Check Challenge 4 Source: tdtalliance. com

Fact Check Challenge 5 Source: Donald Trump’s twitter, November 2015

Fact Check Challenge 6 Source: Hannity. com

Answers 1. False. Andy Borowitz is a satirical writer. � 2. True. See https: //www. nytimes. com/interactive/2017/01/20/us/pol itics/trump-inauguration-crowd. html � 3. True. See http: //www. politifact. com/truth-ometer/statements/2017/feb/16/donald-trump/trumphints-stock-market-record-high-linked-presid/ � 4. False See http: //www. wbrz. com/news/ap-fact-checkobama-didn-t-ban-christmas-cards-to-military/ � 5. False. See http: //www. politifact. com/truth-ometer/statements/2015/nov/23/donald-trump/trumptweet-blacks-white-homicide-victims/ � 6. False. See http: //www. snopes. com/democrats-standseal-widow/ �