In today’s digital age, fake news is more of a problem than ever. It seems as if the truth is becoming more and more difficult to uncover. There are many new AI tools and other things to manipulate and disperse false information. There are many reasons one would believe false information. In the article Why do people fall for fake news the article mentions that people easily fall for many reasons, some being;
- a growing decline in trust in the media and government.
- lower attention spans
- fake news appealing to our emotions
- implicit biases
Those are just some of the things, among others, that make fake news hard to differentiate.
Digital Literacy within our Classrooms
Digital literacy is often mistaken for just knowing how to use and read the internet. That is not the case, it includes the ability to critically think while on the internet. There are some fun “games” such as “Spot the Troll” these games are interactive and allow students to use their critical thinking skills to spot the fake profiles. This will come in handy when they begin to explore social media platforms. There are many predators who are good at disguising themselves on the internet, and these types if teachings will ensure students are using there knowledge to possibly spot fakes.
Critical Thinking is Crucial
Critical thinking is obviously a crucial part of practicing good digital literacy, and the sooner students know how to use this avid tool, it will become easier to spot fake news, internet trolls, and the other dangers of the online world. As mentioned above some of the reasons people fall for fake news. There are also tools out there to help practice ways to ensure that; one resource that can be used is this fact checker for students within this resource it gives advice on how to productively fact check, some examples are “checking your emotions” this advice gives examples of strong emotional facts and how to essentially “check yourself” before allowing your feelings to get int he way of decisions. Along with many other strategies.
In conclusion incorporating digital literacy within our classrooms is inevitable. Teaching students how to critically evaluate the digital information given to us and how to process it with critical thinking skills, is going to be knowledge they take with them when they are adults and have many more complexities added. With this type of knowledge we will ensure to build a lies skeptical world, and strive to have less fake news be present.