Fake News
Fact and fiction can be difficult to distinguish and fake news can spread very quickly and do some serious harm. Fake news is meant to trick people into believing a lie or unfairly discrediting a person or political movement.
In order for students to learn how to identify misleading sources, teachers need to ensure that their students develop the skills to decode sources of information available online.
The National Council of Teachers of English have developed statements on a variety of education issues vital to the teaching and learning of English language arts.
Definition of Literacy in a Digital Age highlights the importance of continued evolution of curriculum, assessment, and teaching practice.
“As society and technology change, so does literacy. The world demands that a literate person possess and intentionally apply a wide range of skills, competencies, and dispositions” (NCTE, 2019).
In a global society, students must be able to:
- Participate effectively in the network world
- Explore and engage critically, utilizing inclusive texts and tools
- Promote culturally sustaining communication
- Examine the rights, responsibilities, and ethical implication of the use of information
- Recognize and honor identities and cultural experiences
Developing critical literacies on what we need to know in a fake news world came up with new strategies and techniques for dealing with fake news:
- Develop and employ investigative techniques:
It is important to know and use available web tools that help deal with false information. Students can learn about professional fact checking strategies such as reading laterally that involves cross- referencing.
Here are some helpful resources that assess news stories, claims, and rate each one for accuracy:
- Snopes
- Politifact
- Factcheck.org.
Helpful resources to search a picture to determine where the image originally appeared and if it has been altered:
- Google’s reverse image search
- VerificationHandBook.com
- Use rich examples:
It is important to use rich, real-life examples of falsified stories or images to help students understand the complexities of fake news.
“Ultimately, in a world where it is increasingly dangerous to simply trust what we read and see, it is critical that students are taught to approach the world around them with a healthy sense of skepticism to avoid being misled, duped, or scammed” (2017, Hildebrandt & Couros).
The new Netflix Tinder Swindler documentary tells the story based on real-life events on a notorious conman who used the Tinder dating app to trick multiple women, scamming a total of 10 million dollars.
References
National Council of Teachers of English. (2019). Definition of Literacy in a Digital Age. NCTE.
https://ncte.org/statement/nctes-definition-literacy-digital-age/
Couros & Hildebrandt. (2018). Developing Critical Literacies: What We Need to Know in a “Fake News” World.
Couros & Hildebrandt. (2018). How do we teach students to identify fake news? Ed Can Network.
https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teach-students-identify-fake-news/