2 years ago
155
Fighting misinformation tin consciousness similar a losing battle, particularly if you ever walk immoderate clip “doom-scrolling” connected your phone. Everything seems suspect, each portion of news, adjacent from traditionally trusted sources are being twisted to acceptable governmental and ideological means. In my presumption arsenic a schoolhouse librarian, it’s a worrying inclination and tin consciousness similar a never-ending, uphill battle. However, I consciousness the schoolhouse room is uniquely positioned to combat misinformation done dedicated lessons aimed astatine students who, successful my opinion, autumn to misinformation astatine an aboriginal age. My attack has ever been to effort to marque the lessons amusive and engaging portion besides teaching them the seriousness astir the issue.
My eventual extremity is to drawback them astatine an aboriginal property and springiness them tools that volition instrumentality with them arsenic they get older. We’ve written earlier connected how to measure web sites. We are surviving successful an unprecedented clip where, erstwhile these students go voting age, they volition either beryllium truthful apathetic towards authorities oregon they volition beryllium brainwashed into voting a circumstantial mode simply due to the fact that they’ve been surviving successful an accusation vacuum for respective years. Either way, we request to beryllium vigilant successful ensuring they person a mindset geared towards captious reasoning and investigation if they are going to beryllium making informed decisions. Here are immoderate ways I anticipation to execute this.
HAVE CONVERSATIONS
Simply talking to them astir misinformation has been precise oculus opening. In the past year, I’ve spoken to astir a 1000 students astir however they consciousness connected the topic. The bulk of students consciousness they don’t spot what they spot successful the media yet astatine the aforesaid clip they often consciousness that galore of the things that are starring them astray are jokes oregon comic things astir celebrities that are fake. They often consciousness that misinformation doesn’t impact them due to the fact that the things that are being presented to them are memes that are made to marque them laugh. This whitethorn beryllium true, but erstwhile they spot images shared by celebrities that they like, they are besides inclined to judge them based connected my conversations with them. My attack is to inquire them wherefore radical make accusation that is false, and the reply is often “as a joke” oregon “to make a hoax.” When past sermon the interaction of this which tin beryllium enlightening due to the fact that they afloat realise that misinformation has a immense interaction yet they consciousness it won’t impact them.
TEST THEIR KNOWLEDGE
To trial them out, I showed students ages 11-13 a precise fashionable YouTube video depicting a pig redeeming a goat from drowning astatine a tiny petting zoo. I simply asked them however the video made them feel. The bulk of responses were that the video made them consciousness good, it was bosom warming and uplifting. A tiny number were instantly suspicious of the video, assuming it had to beryllium immoderate benignant of prank. When it was revealed that it was so fake, galore students expressed their disappointment. I past showed further videos connected the effect to this staged event, however quality outlets astir the satellite ran the video hailing the pig arsenic a hero, resulting successful the video having millions of hits and further discussion. The students recovered this comic and were amazed to spot however acold it spread. However, I asked them to flip this, what if the video was thing harmful, thing that was not existent but aimed astatine ruining someone’s reputation. They instantly recognised that this would ruin that person’s beingness and beryllium astir intolerable to get distant from. I consciousness conversations similar this are important successful bid to thrust location the thought that though misinformation, erstwhile it doesn’t impact you, tin beryllium funny, it tin besides person superior consequences. I besides inquire them if they’ve heard of web sites similar Snopes oregon FullFact, some precise reliable sites that tin beryllium effectual weapons against misinformation.
MAKE IT FUN
It’s not each doom and gloom, I person to marque the lessons amusive otherwise, successful my opinion, they won’t larn anything. I people disconnected comic stories that could beryllium some fake oregon real, it’s hard to tell. These are usually weird quality stories similar the 1 wherever a feline wins the lottery and decides to person thousands of pounds of cattle manure dumped connected his boss’s beforehand lawn. I enactment the students into groups of 5 and springiness each radical a antithetic story. Their occupation is to work the communicative and enactment unneurotic to find if it is existent oregon not. Before this, I volition person prepped them connected the benignant of connection and grammar to look retired for successful regards to misinformation — sensational words oregon atrocious grammar and truthful on. The drawback is that lone 1 of the stories are true, I get the kids and their English teacher to ballot connected which 1 is true. All of the stories are airy hearted and weird, which makes the league a batch of amusive and creates a bully learning opportunity.
In my experience, utilizing these 2 methods, you tin larn a batch astir what teens are reasoning successful regards to misinformation and however it affects them. Yes, determination is simply a level of apathy yet successful my sentiment determination are besides galore who are hyper-aware of it and who are reasoning critically. It is not an casual conflict but an indispensable 1 and libraries are and should beryllium connected the beforehand line.
English (US) ·