Sessions 3 & 4 (cont.) Life Hacks
Many companies pay to place ads online—and websites that get a lot of visitors can charge high fees to run those ads. That’s because the more visitors a site has, the more views the ads get. Fake news websites often attract a lot of readers— and thus, a lot of money from ads—by posting stories with outrageous headlines that people are likely to click on and share. “I make like $10,000 a month,” fake-news writer Paul Horner told The Washington Post in 2016. In fact, one recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that, on Twitter, false stories spread six times as fast as factual ones— and reach far more readers. MIT researchers discovered that, on average, a false story can spread to 1,500 Twitter users in just 10 hours. By comparison, a factual story can take 60 hours to reach that many people. Don’t Be Fooled The good news is that a lot is being done to stop the spread of fake news. In recent years, for example, Google and Facebook have banned fake news sites from advertising on their pages. Facebook is also working with fact-checking organizations around the world, including PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org, to help identify and flag made-up articles that are posted on its platform so they can be deleted. In addition, lawmakers in several states, including Connecticut, New Mexico, and Washington, have recently passed or introduced bills requiring public schools to teach media literacy. Such lessons would show students how to analyze information from websites, TV, and other forms of media, and how to detect bias.
In the end, however, it’s up to each of us to be skeptical of what we see online. For starters, if a story doesn’t seem quite right or appears too good to be true, investigate it. Spend a few minutes researching the headline, the author, the sources, and the website it came from. And if you suspect a story might be false, don’t share it on social media. “It’s our responsibility to stop the spread of fake news,” says Jonathan Anzalone, the assistant director of the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University in New York. “We need to be committed to seeking out the truth.” ◆ Write About It! Why is fake news a major problem? What can people do about it? Make sure to cite evidence from the text in your response.
How to Spot a False Story Research shows that many middle schoolers can’t tell the difference between a factual story and a fake one. But don’t worry—we’ll show you how! Just ask yourself these questions.
WHO’S BEHIND THE ARTICLE?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
WHAT DO OTHER SOURCES SAY?
Start by researching the author of the story and the website it came from. Does the writer or site often publish stories making outlandish claims? Also, look at the URL itself. Sites ending in .com.co often can’t be trusted.
Evaluate whether the writer has backed up his or her claims with valid reasons and facts. What sources does the author cite— and are they trustworthy? Does the writer quote experts qualified to comment on the topic?
Conduct research to find out whether respected news outlets have published the same information. Or try to verify the story on a fact-checking website, such as PolitiFact.com or FactCheck.org.
12 Sessions 3 & 4
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