Break the Fake: How to tell what's true online
Here are four quick and easy steps to find out the truth and share good information. Sometimes you only have to do one of these things, and most steps take less than a minute.
Using Fact-Checking Tools
Sometimes a single search can break the fake, if a professional fact-checker like Snopes has already done the work for you.
Digital Skills for Democracy: Assessing online information to make civic choices
In this activity, students :
- think about the importance of making sure they have trustworthy information before they make a decision on a political or electoral issue
- explore a series of scenarios designed to teach five strategies for verifying information: find the original, verify the source, check other information, read factchecking articles, and turn to places you trust
- reflect on the impact of false and misleading information in politics
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.
Managing media with tweens (10-13 years old)
Helping Kids Build Safe and Smart Digital Habits
There are four main strategies to help kids become resilient to online risks. We can:
Curate our kids’ media experiences;
Control who can access our kids and their data;
Co-view media with our kids;
and be our kids’ media Coaches.
Authentication and citizenship
Being well-informed – and being careful to only share good information – are essential parts of being an active citizen in a democracy. It’s important to think before you share political information with family and friends – especially during an election.