This module (3 units) helps high school students build critical thinking, media literacy, and awareness of how language is used to influence people. Its goal is to teach students to spot fake news, understand its features, and practice fact-checking while also exploring how language can mislead or inform.
The units are highly relevant in today’s world, where misinformation spreads quickly and impacts society. By learning to analyze the language used in news critically, students can make better decisions and become more responsible digital citizens, while avoiding being misled.
This suite of lessons gives students practical tools to evaluate the information they encounter every day. It also encourages creativity, as students write their own fake news articles. This hands-on approach makes learning engaging and meaningful, helping students develop essential skills to navigate an increasingly complex and connected world.
Skills: English language used online
Lessons required: 3 lessons of 45’
Level: 2nd or 3rd year
Further Reading
Molina, Maria D., S. Shyam Sundar, Thai Le, and Dongwon Lee. 2021. « “Fake News” Is Not Simply False Information: A Concept Explication and Taxonomy of Online Content. » American Behavioral Scientist 65 (2): 180-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219878224.
Comment: The article argues that fake news includes more than just false facts. It provides a detailed classification of misleading online content, such as satire, propaganda, and deliberate falsehoods. The authors explain that these different types of content are spread with varying intentions and effects. This helps to understand the complexity of fake news.
Lewandowsky, Stephan, John Cook, Ullrich Ecker, Dolores Albarracín, Panayiota Kendeou, Eryn J Newman, Gordon Pennycook, Ethan Porter, David G Rand, and David N Rapp. 2020. « The debunking handbook 2020. »
Comment: The handbook provides strategies for countering misinformation effectively. It outlines psychological principles for debunking false claims, such as emphasizing facts, explaining fallacies, and providing alternative narratives. The handbook also discusses the importance of repetition, avoiding exposure to myths without correction, and tailoring debunking efforts to audiences. It is designed to help communicators, educators, and the public combat misinformation in various contexts.
Sperber, Dan, Fabrice Clément, Christophe Heintz, Olivier Mascaro, Hugo Mercier, Gloria Origgi, and Deirdre Wilson. 2010. « Epistemic vigilance. » Mind & language 25 (4): 359-393.
Comment: The article « Epistemic Vigilance » explores how humans evaluate information by scrutinizing its source and content. Sperber and colleagues discuss mechanisms of epistemic vigilance, such as assessing communicator trustworthiness, which help individuals navigate misinformation and deception.
