Mediawijsheid

• Engels
• Burgerschap
• ISK
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Lesson goals

By the end of this lesson you can

 

explain what misinformation is

use critical questioning skills for evaluating information

The news on social media is correct and true

1. yes
2. no

The news in the newspaper is correct and true

1. yes
2. no

What is misinformation?

Misinformation

Misinformation refers to false or incomplete information, which the distributor of considers correct or which they share by mistake. A person who disseminates misinformation does not do so in order to trick or mislead anyone. Misinformation is shared due to lack of knowledge or sometimes inadvertently.

Question

Do journalists sometimes share misinformation?

What is disinformation?

Disinformation

Misinformation is not the same thing as disinformation, which refers to intentional lying and malicious spreading of false information. The terms fake news and disinformation are often heard in public discourse, but on social media misinformation is a more common problem than conscious lying.

What spreads faster on social media, misinformation or correct information?

1. misinformation
2. correct information
3. they spread equally fast

6x more quickly

Question

Why does misinformation spread so fast?

Answer part 1

On social media, misinformation spreads six times more quickly than correct information. Social media services accelerate the spreading of unreliable knowledge and rumours since the algorithms that track the users’ activity highlight sensational and appealing content. Misinformation makes sharing appealing, because the false claims are surprising and appeal to our emotions.

Answer part 2

Many people on social media share content quickly, almost as a knee-jerk reaction. They do not check other sources to see whether the information they share is true. People also crave acceptance: people on social media often share content that their followers like. Social media thrives on competition over attention and not everyone cares about the veracity of the content they share as long as the post gets lots of likes.

Answer part 3

Social media is quick to give us an illusion of superiority: finding information is so easy that people overestimate their own ability to evaluate its reliability. After reading a couple of articles, some people may think that they know as much about a topic as an expert who has studied and educated themselves in the topic for several years.

Answer summary

- social media algorithms

- false claims are surprising and appeal to our emotions

- people share social media content quickly

- people crave acceptance

- it's all about the likes

- social media gives us the illusion of superiority

How to become more mediawise?

Hone your critical questioning skills

Ask questions like:

    Who is the author?  
    What is the intent behind the source?  
    Is there evidence supporting the information?  
    Is there bias in the presentation of the news?  

Discussion

Assignment

Examine the picture and answer the questions in groups

Review lesson goals

By the end of this lesson you can

 

explain what misinformation is

use critical questioning skills for evaluating information

What have you learnt this lesson? Jot down 3 things.

Thank you for your attention!