Esafety lesson 2: Fake news

• Computing
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)

Do Now
Why do people create fake news?

Discuss some reasons with students. 

For fun

To make money

Political reasons for their chosen candidate

Suppress true information. 

Learning objective

Conquer: Define the terms misinformation and fake news. 

 

Aspire: Analyze techniques to spot fake news. 

Misinformation

Another risk of using the internet is misinformation. This means inaccurate or completely false information that is being spread.

This can also be known as Fake News
 

What is the purpose of fake news?

We can find examples of fake news throughout human history:

• Rulers claiming they have won battles they actually lost
  
• Communities spreading rumors' about people or groups they don’t like
  
• Politicians lying about the behavior of their opponents
  
• Businesses advertising incorrect science to get people to buy their product
  

Examples of fake news

What can misinformation also be known as?

1. Disinformation
2. Fake News
3. Fake Posts
4. False news

Where is fake news mostly spread?

1. Social Media
2. Newspapers
3. Magazines
4. News websites

The majority of fake news/posts are spread via social media, from Tik Tok to twitter. 

How do you identify fake news?

When you are online, how do you tell the difference between real and fake news?

How do you identify fake news?

Play the video from BBC bitesize. 

Fake News Video

Play the video from this page

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4xvn9q

Explain what fake news is.

Extention: Can you name the different types of fake news?

Fake news case study: Anti-vaccine movement 

• What: Fake news stories claiming that vaccinations can be harmful to the health of your child.
  

• Who spreads it: Anti-vaxxers (people who believe the claim)
  

• Why: Some anti-vaxxers really believe that vaccines can cause children to become sick or develop mental illnesses. 

Recommendation, get students to read out each bullet point line, make it student led. Next slide has a question about the impact of this fake news. 

Questions to ask after reading:

• Consider what happens if children are not vaccinated.?
• What prejudices may be developed around vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

What is the impact of this fake news story being spread?

Remind students they can click of the help button. 

Fake news case study: Birthplace propaganda 

• What: When Barack Obama ran for President, some of his opponents claimed he couldn't because he was not born in the US.

• Who spreads it: People who spread this were known as ‘birthers’; they were critics of Obama. Donald Trump was a notable supporter of the lie.
  

• Why: Fake news stories about Obama were created and shared by people who did not want him to become president or win the election.

Recommendation, get students to read out each bullet point line, make it student led. Next slide has a question about the impact of this fake news. 

Questions to ask after reading to prep for next question:

• Did this fake news encourage racism among Obama's critics/opponents.
• Does fake news being spread make the election fair? 

What is the impact of this fake news story being spread?

Remind students they can click of the help button. 

ISL Task

Create a poster to teach people how to spot fake news. 

Click here