Resources for Teachers - Authenticating Information

A Day in the Life of the Jos

A Day in the Life of the Jos is a comprehensive digital citizenship tutorial that prepares students in grades six to eight to deal with all of the issues they face when using digital technology – from online privacy, to cyberbullying, to recognizing what’s real and what’s fake online.

Break the Fake Tip #3: Verify the source

Whether you’re looking at a website, photo, video or news story, what really matters is whether or not the people who originally created it are trustworthy. Even when it has been shared with you by someone you trust, like a friend or family member, you can’t know if they checked the facts. So it’s up to you!

Break the Fake: Spotting hate propaganda

What do we mean by propaganda?

  • Propaganda tries to get you to believe in an idea or to feel a certain way.
  • Propaganda convinces you by provoking your emotions instead of making a logical argument.

Not all propaganda is bad! It can inspire positive emotions like love, pride and empathy. It can persuade us to do things like putting on seatbelts or brushing our teeth.

Hate propaganda is different: it tries to make us fear and distrust another group of people.

How to tell fact from fake online: A Reality Check Guide

The internet is like a giant library that catalogues millions of new publications every second. But how do you know if what you’re reading is fiction or non-fiction?

Break the Fake Tip #4: Check other sources

This step may sometimes be the last one you do, but it could also be the first. The News tab is better than the main Google search for this step because it only shows real news sources. While not every source that’s included is perfectly reliable, they are all news outlets that really exist.