This worksheet aims to educate students on how to identify and critically evaluate disinformation in media, using a fabricated news article as a case study.
Content and methods: The worksheet starts with a simulated "fake news" article, prompting students to assess its credibility and explain their reasoning. It then defines disinformation and outlines common characteristics, such as emotional language, unverified sources, clickbait headlines, manipulated images, lack of evidence, anonymous authors, and echo chambers. Students are tasked with identifying these characteristics within the initial fake news article. Finally, the worksheet directs students to an external fact-checking website (snopes.com) to research the topic of the newspaper article and verify the claims made, encouraging independent research and critical verification. A class discussion about other examples of disinformation concludes the activity.
Competencies:
- Critical reading and evaluation of media content
- Identification of disinformation characteristics
- Research and fact-checking skills using external resources
- Analytical thinking and drawing conclusions based on evidence
- Collaborative discussion and knowledge sharing
Target group: 7th-10th grade
