Analysis of Fake News for students

1. Fake News: The Impact of Tweets,
Twitter, and Technology
By
Dean Berry, Ed. D.
Teachers’ Choice Library

2. Create a quick write journal for Fake News
As we view this unit on fake news, you will be asked to
complete quick writes on some of the issues and
questions that are discussed. All of your quick writes
need to be organized into a small booklet with a cover page.
You will turn your quick write journal in after we complete the
entire unit.

3. If news sources or social media report news, do
we assume that it is probably accurate? Should
we? Why or why not?

4. Do you believe in mermaids? Why not?
How about a merman?

5. What do you think of this breaking news? Do
people read these stories and pass on their new
knowledge to others?

6. When this kind of news reaches the general public,
most people with intelligence respond like this.

7. About two thousand years ago, the vast majority of people thought
the earth was flat and that if you sailed far enough, you would fall off
the edge of the earth. A few philosophers begin to collect evidence
that supported the view that the earth was actually a sphere.

8. In 1938, Orson Wells was a 23 year old with a great radio voice who was part
of the Mercury Theater Company. The company presented a dramatic
reading of the novel ,“War of the Worlds”. People who missed the first
minute or two of the radio broadcast thought they were hearing a live news
account of the invasion of earth by Martians. Panic spread across the United
States. People went into hiding because they believed what they heard.

9. During the last few years, our idea of news
has changed. Anybody can report information
for fun or fakery and sit back and enjoy the
attention they get. Why might this be a
problem?

10. Sometimes the issue of fake news involves issues that
rely on science to unravel and separate fact from fiction.
Issues like vaccine use and global warming become
struggles between people who use major scientific data
obtained from credible sources and those who do not.

11. Examine these two images. What is their purpose?
What claim is being made? Are they
acceptable forms of evidence? Why or why
not?

12. How is fake news harmful? Examine the two
images below. What might happen if people
choose to skip vaccinations? How would the
vitamin cigarette ad harm public health?

13. The effects of believing everything you see on social media can be very
confusing and potentially damaging. Even people in positions of power and
influence can mislead the public on some issues. Always be skeptical of claims
unless they are presented with solid and reliable supporting evidence.

14. An overview of scientific data has proven without a doubt that
vaccinations are not related to autism. In fact, the introduction of
vaccines has saved millions of children from serious diseases and
death. Nevertheless, there is still a small number of people who refuse
to believe the science and the experts. What might happen if
the vast majority of people denied the science and
refused to give their children vaccinations?

15. Explain the satire that is used in
these cartoons.

16. What is the author’s point in this
cartoon? Explain how satire is used
by the author.

17. What claim is the president making?
Does scientific evidence support his
claim?

18. What is the point presented in this chart?
What percent of scientists did not submit
papers to support global warming?

19. Could you believe a story like this? Why? What
kind of evidence would you need?

20. Examine each of these headlines. What do you
think of tabloids that market these types of
headlines? Why might they do this?

21. Most people would decide quickly that a small bug
could not turn into a huge creature that is bigger
than a lot of dogs.

22. Sometimes we just want to know the basic
facts. What should we do when we are confronted with
contradictory information?

23. Is the National Enquirer a respected and credible
news source? How would you find out? Who is Ted
Cruz? What claim is being made? What was the
Enquirer’s purpose in using these headlines?

24. Every week during the 2016 election, these tabloid
headlines were displayed on store news stands. What are
the claims made in these headlines? Did they turn out to
be true? Why would these publications run inaccurate
information during an election?

25. These types of stories about Hillary Clinton ran
throughout the 2016 campaign for president. Do you
think they could have made a difference in who won
the election?

26. Who benefits by confusing the public
and mixing truth with lies?

27. As it turns out, these are all blatant lies that were
published to sway voters away from voting from a
specific candidate. Who is responsible for
determining what is true and what is false?

28. With social media and tabloids providing many people with news
stories that emphasize sensationalism and attention getting
headlines, our democracy faces serious challenges. It becomes critical
for our reliable news sources to research the facts and evidence and
determine if a claim is adequately supported. What conclusion
can you draw from the fact checking graph below.

29. If we are to survive as a civilized society and a functional
democracy, it is incumbent on every American to accept
responsibility for identifying facts and rejecting the lies
that are created with false news reports.

30. Quick Write
How do people get exposed to
fake news?
Why is fake news a threat to our
democracy?

31. Did President Trump encourage Russia to hack U.S.
politicians? Did Russia hack the U.S. in order to
affect the election? Why might this be a major
problem?

32. Is there a contradiction between the quote on the
left and the one on the right? When clearly
identified facts are denied by someone in authority,
does that create “fake news”?

33. Is this a real picture? Who is the first
rider? What was the photographer’s
point? Explain the use of satire.

34. As we examine all kinds of information sources, we
need to be vigilant about looking for credible
evidence that supports the truth.

35. How do we determine when something is a fact?
How can the source of information shed light on its
credibility?

36. Uncovering good evidence requires hard work and critical thinking skills. We
need to go beyond hearsay and rumor on the internet. We need to avoid
using too much simple anecdotal and testimonial evidence when we make
daily decisions.

37. We need to take a very close look at information before
using it to support a claim. Conclusions need to be drawn
from solid statistical evidence, important physical evidence,
peer reviewed research, eye witness reports, or primary
documents.

38. If a person gives a personal testimonial about
something that they have experienced, where do
you think that kind of evidence would be placed on
this diagram? How valuable would that type of
evidence be in making an important decision?

39. Testimonial evidence may or may not be usable to
find the truth. But looking at what the experts say
can provide significant arguments to support
claims.
Some testimonial evidence is commonly used by people
trying to prove their point. Commercials that use
spokespersons to testify about the quality of a company’s
product, lawyers who rely on eye-witness accounts to win
a case, and students who quote an authority in their essays
are all using testimonial evidence.

40. Is all testimonial evidence of equal value?
• What is the difference between strong
testimonial evidence and weak testimonial
evidence?
• Why should we believe what others say about a
product or event?
• How is eye witness testimony used by our justice
system?
• Are their problems with using eye witness
testimonial evidence?

41. Why are these effective uses of testimonial
evidence? While these two famous men may have
used these products, are they experts with
extensive knowledge about the effectiveness of
the products? Do you think they were paid for their
endorsements? Does this matter?

42. Quick Write
Discuss the use of testimonial evidence. Explain
when it would be weak support for a claim and
when it would provide stronger evidence to
support a claim. Would it matter how the person
providing the testimonial earned their living?

43. In order to arrive at the truth, we need to evaluate the
best available evidence. Examining physical evidence,
research studies, statistical information, and primary
documents offers the most powerful proof that we can
use to separate facts from fiction.

44. Backing up your research with primary documents
provides strong evidence. Historians utilize original
sources as much as possible as they seek to
establish true accounts of historical events.

45. In the day and age of electronic media, every person needs to become
a myth buster. We need to confront those who make claims with the
phrase, “Show me the evidence!”.

46. The very best evidence is usually produced in a
scientifically designed environment where variables can
be easily identified and controlled. As a result, the results
can be assessed for their validity and significance.

47. Most of the time, we can access the results of scientific studies when
they are converted into readable charts and graphs. Their significance
is provided in statistical form so they can be reviewed and compared
with other scientifically produced data.

48. Conducting research in order to support claims with specific evidence is how
our society establishes facts and determines truth. Claims that affect health
decisions, child rearing, safety procedures, and political decision making must
be based on correct science if our society is to continue progressing and
providing a bright future for our younger generations.

49. Quick Write
Why is it important that fake news be identified
when we are making decisions about health,
nutrition, safety, child rearing, politics, elections,
purchasing decisions, and career choices?

50. In studying natural phenomena or criminal behavior it is
usually possible to collect and evaluate a large amount of
physical evidence to use for drawing conclusions and
making well supported claims. How many kinds of
physical evidence might be important in a homicide case?

51. Sometimes we make decisions too quickly or with very
limited information. How is satire used in the
cartoon below to make this point?

52. How many times have you made a mental decision about
something on the basis of limited information . You see a
post on the internet and hear a few friends mention the
issue. Perhaps you see a news story discussing the issue.
Someone asks your opinion of the issue. You publicly
proclaim your opinion based only on available
information. Time passes and you do not encounter any
new information on the topic.

53. Your opinion of the issue solidifies over a couple of
months. You have formed an opinion based on very
limited information. Since you have discussed it
with others and publicly mentioned your point of
view on the topic, you have become less likely to
accept contradictory information.

54. How might the internet lead to logical fallacies such
as mental short cuts like “availability heuristics”?

55. Too often when things are too mysterious to explain, we fall for
explanations that are not scientifically proven. What are some
examples of how conn artists might trick the
unsuspecting person?

56. Some people believe in mind
over matter or mental
telepathy. Other people are
more skeptical and insist on
more solid evidence before
being convinced of such
things. During the last
twenty five years, over forty
percent of Americans
reported that they believed in
extra sensory perception.
.

57. There are many unusual phenomena that stimulate our
imagination. Have we been visited by aliens from outer space?
Does the Loch Ness Monster really exist? Do some people
actually have the ability to read our minds or predict future
events? Most of these kinds of questions can be answered by
collecting and analyzing evidence from credible sources. Would
citing a report in the National Enquirer be a
credible way to support your claim in a report you
are writing about UFOs?

58. Class Discussion
• Do you believe in mental telepathy?
• Can people communicate through some kind of medium
other than through normal senses? Is mind reading
possible?
• What kind of evidence would you need to support a
psychic’s claim that she can predict your future for a
small fee? What kind of sources would be important to
cite regarding evidence about the existence of ESP?

59. Quick Write
Explain the different kinds of evidence that
would be helpful in proving or disproving
claims about the existence of psychic
powers to predict the future or read
someone’s mind using mental telepathy.

60. One of the requirements of conducting reliable
experiments is ensuring that an adequate number of trials
or repetitions have been done. For example, if you are
measuring the probability of rolling certain numbers with
a pair of dice, your results will be far more reliable if you
roll 25 times rather than 5 times.

61. Class Discussion
• What is probability?
• If you roll one die, what is the probability that
you will roll a six?
• What is the probability that you will roll a six or
a four?

62. Most events in our daily lives occur because of the actions of others and are
beyond our control. We can’t create fewer drunk drivers on Saturday afternoon
near our home. As a result, unforeseen events by a drunk driver on Saturday
afternoon may cause a horrible accident that results in our demise. The drunk
driver was not unlucky, but he was driving under the influence and unable to
stay in his lane. Your accident was caused by the actions of another person. The
fact that you were unhurt may be that the other driver was driving a “smart car”
and you were driving a truck. Was this luck or the choice you made to
drive a larger vehicle?

63. Class Discussion
• Discuss the following positions. Which position is easier
to defend? Why?
A. When two cars collide, resulting in an accident, the collision will have been
caused by bad luck determined by forces beyond the control of both drivers and
natural phenomena(rain, earthquakes, etc.)
B. When two cars collide, resulting in an accident, the collision will have been
caused by the actions of the drivers, the cars, or the road. As a result, the
probability of real forces coming together caused the accident. It was not bad
luck or good luck that made a difference.

64. • When people talk about “luck”, they may have different
ideas about what luck means. Most people think of luck as
being fortunate because things are going their way.
However, being fortunate may be because they made the
right decisions. In other words, people’s behavior
contributes to future events that affect them. If they study
for a class, they will probably be fortunate when grades
are given. Are they lucky to get a “B” in the class? Or did
their prior behavior and the actions of the teacher cause
the grade to be a “B”?

65. Sometimes things happen randomly without a conscious decision.
You decide to go to Mc Donald’s for a burger. While you are waiting
for your order, a friend from school walks in. Five minutes later
another friend enters the restaurant. You are amazed at this
unusual coincidence. There are times in our lives when
independent decisions made by several other people turn out to
have a direct, although accidental, affect on our lives. Since we
have a difficult time trying to figure out how these things can
happen, it may be easier to attribute these very perplexing events
to fate or some forces beyond ourselves. But in reality, these
coincidences have a high probability of occurring at some point in
the future. If you roll the dice enough times you will eventually get
snake eyes.

66. The search for truth can lead us down dead end roads or result in a
tangled mess of confusing information. It is important to persevere as
we sort out the facts from the fiction.

67. When the truth is uncomfortable,
we become receptive to misinformation.
Explain what this means. Can you give an
example?

68. Many people are ready to line up to receive information that supports their
beliefs even when the information is not considered credible. Likewise, they
avoid evidence that may contradict what they want to believe.

69. Do you have an open or closed cognitive system?
People often describe someone as open
minded or closed minded.
Meet in small groups and discuss the difference
between someone who is open minded or closed
minded. Identify a few examples of open or closed
mindedness.

70. Closed minded people prefer not to hear information
that goes against their understanding of the way the
world works. They tend to make up there mind rather
quickly and limit the flow of new information.

71. People who have a closed mind tend to avoid information sources that do not
agree with their currently held beliefs. However, the only way to determine the
accuracy of claims and evidence is to utilize the most credible sources available
on the subject. One has to develop an open mind to new information. How
will a closed mind affect the search for truth?

72. The Bottom Line is…
Readers should accept information as reliable only when it
is supported by many other credible sources. When readers
use logic and the scientific method, they are better able to
arrive at ideas that are supported by solid evidence.

73. Preponderance of Evidence
How do you know whether or
not an idea or theory should
be believed?
• Science tells us that ideas that
are supported by overwhelming
evidence, may be treated as
facts.
• Ideas or theories that have
credible evidence for both sides
of the issue(some pro and some
con) should not be treated as
facts.
73

74. Some of the strongest evidence that can support a claim is based on
scientific studies. For example, a 2008 study by John Hopkins
University Medical Center of four advertised weight loss programs
found that Weight Watchers was the most successful with
participants losing an average of twelve pounds after one year in the
program. If a study such as this can be replicated by other studies, the
results become even more powerful evidence to support a claim.

75. When we say that an event or outcome is supported by
research, that generally means that several independent
research studies have found similar results using proper
experimental methods. This means that a study is
reproducible and that the results can be duplicated by
different scientists. It also means that the method of
testing included identifying and controlling all of the
significant variables so that cause and effect were clear.

76. Discussion
• What should you do when you find conflicting evidence
from two different scientific studies about the same topic?
• Why is it valuable to have a studies’ results replicated?
• Why might research studies come up with different
results?

77. It seems like research findings on topics such as health come out every few days.
One week a study suggests that getting only six hours of sleep at night does not
have any harmful effects. The following week a new study indicates that getting
six hours or less of sleep at night is related to weight gain caused by the body’s
desire to eat more carbohydrate snacks to make up for the energy burned by the
extra two hours of being awake each day. What are we to believe? How do we
sort out the facts and determine which information is reliable?

78. At the bottom of this pyramid is the weakest evidence that can be used to
support an argument or claim. Anecdotal reports are personal cases or
observations of an event that cannot be generalized to a larger population.
However, conducting a review of many research studies, meta-analysis, is the
most powerful way to prove a cause and effect relationship between events.
Why would this type of evidence be at the top of the pyramid?

79. How is a systematic review of the research(meta-
analysis) on a topic different from one study that
examines the effect of exercise on heart disease?
Which approach should be trusted as providing the
most accurate research findings about a topic?
Discussion

80. How many research studies should it take before the
accumulated results should be accepted as proof for a
claim? How many studies would convince you to change
your behavior based on the new evidence?

81. If research studies contradict each other, how do we
determine the truth? How much evidence do we need
to negate one side of the disagreement?

82. Is this enough evidence to prove
the claim on the right side? How
much more proof would you need?

83. Some studies measure relationships between two
events to see if one is significantly related to the other.
Many research studies are designed to see if one action,
such as eating a diet high in sugar and saturated fat, is
directly related to higher illness rates such as heart
disease. If the study shows that people who eat such a
diet have much higher rates of heart disease than people
who eat low sugar and low saturated fat diets, the
researchers may conclude that there is a high
correlation between the two events.

84. While such correlations suggest that one event
may cause the other, scientists cannot
conclude that high sugar and high fat diets
definitely cause heart disease. Correlations are not
direct proof of cause and effect.

85. Is it likely that organic food causes autism?
Are there any other reasons that both events
increased at a similar rate during the last 10 years?

86. Use of correlation as scientific evidence
Much of scientific evidence is based upon a correlation of
variables that are observed to occur together. Scientists
are careful to point out that correlation does not
necessarily mean causation. The assumption that A
causes B simply because A correlates with B is often not
accepted as a legitimate form of argument.

87. Correlation data may be a valid
argument.
However, sometimes people commit the opposite
fallacy – dismissing correlation entirely, as if it
does not suggest causation at all. This would
dismiss a large swath of important scientific
evidence. Since it may be difficult or impossible to
run controlled double-blind studies, correlational
evidence from several different angles may be the
strongest causal evidence available.

88. For example, heart disease may be caused by many
factors including lack of exercise, diabetes, obesity,
stress, cholesterol, and saturated fats. In fact, most
complex events like heart disease are difficult to study
because each possible causal factor has to be considered
a possible variable that can cause heart disease. If all of
the significant variables are considered in a research
study, the correlations of these variables with heart
disease can lead to powerful scientific information. In the
end, correlation can be used as important evidence for a
cause-and-effect relationship between a treatment and
benefit, a risk factor and a disease, or a social or
economic factor and various outcomes.

89. Discussion
• Let’s examine some common correlations that we could make. We could
observe that more traffic accidents occur on rainy days.
• If we find that the number of accidents increases when we have a heavy rain
season, we could say that increased rainy days is correlated with increased
traffic accidents. While there could be a strong correlation, it does not prove
that rain causes more accidents. In fact, research does not support rain as a
cause of more accidents.
• Meet in small groups and see if you can come with two events that you might
predict are correlated with each other. Remember they can seem to be
occurring at the same time and, therefore, be correlated but still have no cause
and effect relationship. More ice cream is sold during the summer and more
people get sunburned during the summer, but that does not mean that eating
ice cream causes sunburns.

90. Groups Report Back to the Class
•Share the possible correlation that you
developed between two events.
•Does this correlation seem plausible or
ridiculous?

91. Quick Write
Explain how two events might be
highly correlated to each other but
not have a cause and effect
relationship. Give an example to
illustrate your point.

92. Class Discussion
• Have you ever experienced an event that made you stop
and wonder if what happened was too strange and
unusual to be caused by normal circumstances?
• Do you think that events in our lives are predetermined by
external forces regardless our decisions and behavior?
• Do you have any evidence to support your position?
• It is very helpful to examine cause and effect
relationships carefully when determining how things
happen.

93. With the wide use of technology and the internet, we can become
overwhelmed with an overload of information. You can close your mind to it
all, wear ear plugs most of your life, or learn how to select reliable sources that
feature experts on the subject. You can become knowledgeable about how to
evaluate information and protect yourself from manipulation by biased authors
and websites. Which one of these approaches will lead to
good decision making and a satisfying life for you?

94. The next step in our search for sanity and truth is
to determine which websites are the most reliable
sources of accurate and less biased information.
If you are using any online source other than a scholarly
university database, you should exercise caution because
anyone can publish their thoughts on the internet,
regardless of the merit of those thoughts. As a general rule,
all .gov websites are credible because they have the weight of
governmental institutions behind them.

95. Which URL’s Can You Trust the Most?

96. • Websites that end in .com and .org are sometimes
credible, but sometimes not. In these cases, you need to look at the
institution or organization that is producing the information. A private
individual does not have the credibility needed for academic work; however, a
large, established organization like the American Medical Association or the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do.

97. Use these questions to determine
the credibility of sources.
Open a Word file and type these questions.
•Is the author a recognized expert on the
topic?
•Is the author’s purpose to persuade us or to
provide unbiased information?
•Is the website a mainstream, well
established site that is recognized by other
experts in the field?

98. Trusting Your Sources: Checklist
•
___Have you checked multiple sources that confirm the information?
___Does the article only present one point of view?
___Does the website or author have a connection to a group or organization that will
benefit by presenting a certain viewpoint?
___Does this website or author have a good track record of presenting reliable
information?
___Does this internet site use sensational headlines to increase viewership and
attention that enhances the value of their advertising?

99. Quick Write
You are getting reading to research a controversial
topic. Explain how you would go about choosing
credible websites and sources. What would help
you select good sources? What questions should
you pose to evaluate the quality of your sources?

100. Selecting a reliable search engine is a critical part of
beginning your research on a topic.
Commercial search engines such as google, bing, or yahoo have
many built-in biases. However, they do operate special news search
engines that are very different from their regular search engines. These
search engines target newspaper articles only and are very reliable.
Discuss These Questions
• Do the best websites come up first when you use one of these well
known search engines?
• What determines which web sites show up first on these commercial
search engines?
• What are the advantages of finding a specialized search engine that is
considered reliable?

101. Accessing Newspaper Articles About a Topic
• Newspapers are expected to report factually correct
information. If they knowingly report false information
they are violating the law.
• This doesn’t mean that newspapers are always correct.
However, you can expect well regarded, mainstream
newspapers to report accurate information in their
stories and articles. The exception is when stories are
labeled as editorials or op-ed articles which represent
opinions. The popular search engines(google, yahoo, and
bing) offer specialized search engines that
list only newspaper articles by respected news agencies.

102. Are you searching for factual
information about a specific topic?
If so, you are in luck! The following frames
include three excellent search engines that
will send you to reliable and trusted
newspaper articles. These search engines
are the best kept secrets on the internet.
Students looking for credible sources of
information should include these search
engines as they conduct research.

103. Use news.yahoo to find
newspaper articles on any topic
http://news.yahoo.com/world/

104. Search news.google for
newspaper articles on any topic.
https://news.google.com/

105. sweetsearch.com is a reliable search
engine that is used by students
Commonsense media.org Rates the Sweet Search Site
• SweetSearch provides middle and high school students with a search engine
that suggests safe, relevant site options. Research experts, librarians, and teachers
have proactively reviewed the 35,000 sites that may appear in search results to
ensure they're a reliable information source. Another option is the search
engine findingDulcinea, which was created with a similar goal; others are
reputable sites from organizations like the University of Colorado, the New York
Times, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Though sites are pre-screened, students can still encounter opinion pieces and less
credible articles. Students should continue to use critical thinking skills while
gathering research with www.Sweetsearch.com .

106. What’s the next step?
Now that you have found your sources, it’s time to
determine if your information is accurate and
reliable. Should you trust what the author is
suggesting? Let’s find out.

107. Is the publisher recognized as reliable
and trustworthy by experts in the field?
Investigate the publisher. The institution housing the information can often tell
you a great deal about how credible that information is. For example, you
should feel more comfortable trusting information found in The New York Times
or The Washington Post — two newspapers with proven track records of
journalistic integrity and public retraction of errors — than that found in a
source like Infowars, which has a wide readership, but often publishes
misleading or blatantly incorrect information.[9]

108. What is the author up to?
• Is the author presenting information that is clearly
supported by credible evidence?
• What does the author want us to believe?
• Does the author have an agenda or motive for
presenting the information?
• Does the author use logical fallacies to convince
readers?
• Does the tone used by the author give us
important clues to all of these questions?

109. Discuss the importance of
these questions.
What is the author’s purpose in writing the selection?
How do you know?
Can you give some examples of the different purposes
authors have when they present information?
How might the tone used in a selection provide clues to
these questions?

110. Identifying how the author establishes the tone of
the selection helps the reader understand the
author’s purpose and if the author is attempting
to persuade the reader using emotion rather than
logical arguments.

111. The tone may stimulate an emotion
or create a specific mood that helps
the author deliver his/her message.

113. When horrible events occur, we want to know about all of the
facts as quickly as possible. After all, we live in a world of cell
phones, television, and the internet where most information is
available at our fingertips within seconds. We expect media
reports of events and witnesses to be accurate and unbiased.
Unfortunately, sometimes we have to be patient and allow extra
time for evidence trails to materialize and crime scenes to be
thoroughly investigated. In addition, different media sites may
report very different details.

114. Since government officials and business leaders are sometimes
dishonest and willing to cover up activities harmful to the public,
most people harbor a fair amount of skepticism regarding the
reporting of major events. To make it worse, major media outlets
tend to focus on selling products and building a large audience
rather than spending time thoroughly investigating facts before
reporting on them. In recent times, the general public seems to be
distrusting both government and the media to be forthright about
emotionally charged events.

115. Even though most government officials and media sources
attempt to be accurate and honest, we hear enough about
those that are not to make us skeptical as discrepancies
and omissions become obvious. When this happens,
conspiracy theories begin to circulate.

116. What would it take to convince you that the
Illuminati really does exist and that it exerts
extreme power over many famous people?

117. With social media the source of information for many Americans,
anyone one can post stories that become re-posted or re-tweeted
thousands of times within minutes. Before anyone has the time to
verify facts, stories circulate around the earth many times.

118. Conspiracy theory threads become one of the easiest and most
stimulating ways of creating controversy and excitement. If it’s a
boring, bad weather day, all you have to do is search for one of the wild
conspiracy theories on the internet, jump aboard, and enjoy the wild
ride. Fake news has never been so easy to create. Is Paul
McCartney a fraud?

119. People who push conspiracy theories carefully select the facts that support
their claim and purposely leave out the facts that would refute their claim.
How could we prove or disprove the Elvis Presley claim?

120. Do you believe that people can become zombies?
Perhaps a good argument could be made that some people behave
like zombies when their brain becomes controlled by fake news and
they refuse to expend the energy to critically evaluate information
that they pass along to others as true.

121. The beauty of conspiracy theories is that social media can be used to
create improbable tales with carefully arranged facts to prove that the
moon landing was a hoax that never really happened or that the
Sandy Hook School shooting was staged in order to frighten people
about guns. Oddly enough, we have plenty of other news events that
can raise gun issues. We don’t need Sandy Hook to be a fraud.

122. Check out this proof that Adam Lanza is a fake person
and could not be the shooter at Sandy Hook School.
Are you convinced?

123. Do these pictures prove that James Holmes is a fraud? Was this
theater shooting in Colorado staged? What kind of evidence should
we look at to prove or disprove conspiracy theories?

125. Is it probable that thousands of different government agencies and thousands
of media investigators would lie about and cover up these kind of events?
What would be their motivation? Are they all evil people who want to
perpetuate lies? Will they take their lies to their death bed without telling
friends and relatives? Is this stuff logical and likely?

126. Quick Write
Select a conspiracy theory such as the moon
landing, Sandy Hook School shooting, or the
Paul McCartney hoax and describe how you
would go about proving it true or false. What
kind of evidence would be the most
convincing? Why?

127. When individuals lie or groups cover up, we depend on public media,
university experts, and various government agencies to investigate and
present the facts to the public for viewing, discussion, and evaluation.
However, it is your responsibility to find and evaluate reliable sources of
information.

128. Examine these two news sources. Are their lead
stories likely to be true? Why do you think they post
such headlines? Where might you to corroborate
their claims?

129. As you evaluate the reliability of a website, you may want to ask these
questions about the stories they post.
• Does the website fairly evaluate and
consider both sides of an issue?
• Does the author cite supportive research
or references?

130. Do you think that social media providers such as Facebook, Snapchat,
Instagram, or Twitter evaluate the veracity or reliability of information before
it can be circulated around the globe? Do major, mainstream newspapers and
news channels check their sources and claims before publishing or presenting
to the public? Does this difference present any problems for the public?

131. More and more Americans are getting their information from social
media rather than newspapers and major news stations. As people
line up and tune in to social media, they become vulnerable to
misinformation. Do you agree with this last statement?
How might it create problems?

132. Quick Write
Explain the different ways that people get their
news. Which method of gathering factual
information is better? Compare the traditional
role of newspapers and major news stations with
the rapidly increasing use of social media for
news and facts. Which one poses a danger to our
way of life? Explain