Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Willow, and I'm going to be guiding you through today's learning.

Today's lesson is called Critical Evaluation of the Media, and it fits into our unit called Media Influence: How Can I Evaluate the Truth Online? I am really looking forward to teaching you today, so let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe motivations for creating online content and explain ways to decide what might be fake or untrustworthy news.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules that help to make sure that everyone stays safe and comfortable throughout today's lesson.

Laura says that we need to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When we disagree with someone, we should challenge the statement, not the person.

Andeep says that we should respect each other's privacy.

We can discuss examples, but we shouldn't use names or descriptions that could identify anyone, including ourselves.

Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join a discussion.

We should never put anyone on the spot, as this can make some people feel uncomfortable.

Jacob says we need to not have any judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a certain topic without fear of being judged by someone else.

We are now going to go through the keywords for today's lesson.

These are gonna pop up multiple times throughout the lesson, so it's important that we have a good understanding of what each word means.

First of all, we've got the word motivation.

This is the reason why someone does something.

Media.

This is the ways in which information or entertainment is consumed.

For example, through newspapers, film, television, or social media.

Source.

This is the place in which something comes from.

Content creator.

This is a person who makes something to share online.

And finally, bias.

This is an assumption that influences how you act.

Today's lesson is split into three learning cycles.

The first learning cycle is called, why do people create online content? The second learning cycle is called, is all content equally trustworthy? The final learning cycle is called, who can be fooled by fake and untrustworthy news? Let's make a start on our first learning cycle, why do people create online content? The internet connects people from all over the world and allows them to share information.

Here we've got a website called iLoveCats with some pictures of some cats.

This is being shared all across the internet, so people can see them on lots of digital devices, so phones, computers, laptops.

Websites have been set up by various communities that allow them to share and access content that interests or matters to them.

There are many different motivations behind why people create content online.

By understanding people's motivations behind the content that they post, it can help us to better identify fake news.

Izzy says that fake news is a term used to describe stories that mislead or confuse people.

These stories can either be spread by mistake, and this is called misinformation, or can be created and spread on purpose to cause harm, this is called disinformation.

One motivation for creating online content is to connect with others and to share memories or experiences.

Here, Laura has gone online and she can see images and photos from Andeep's holiday.

She says, "I love seeing Andeep's holiday pictures." Another motivation is for entertainment.

Many content creators post humorous or interesting pictures, videos, and articles that appeal to lots of people.

This content is not intended to be taken seriously and exists purely to make others happy.

For example, here, Jun is posting online because he is telling a joke.

He is posting this because he wants to entertain other people.

Another motivation behind creating content is to keep people informed about the world around them by sharing important information and news.

Many news outlets have dedicated websites to sharing news.

Many will also have social media profiles which allow them to reach more people and to post the news in an easy and quick way.

Izzy tells us that in 2023, 47% of adults and 71% of young adults, age 16 to 24, got their news from social media, rather than traditional sources like TV and newspapers.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're getting on.

Is what Alex is saying true or false? Alex says that everyone has the same motivation for creating content.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell your learning partner or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you say that this is false, but why? You might have said that everyone has different motivations for creating content.

For example, some people do it to connect or to entertain, whereas others do it to share important news and information.

Well done if you said this or something similar.

Some people are professional content creators and they're motivated to post content which others are more likely to engage or interact with.

These content creators often make money through posts that act as advertisements for products or services.

Here we've got someone who is promoting some glasses.

We can tell that she's promoting some glasses because at the bottom of the screen it says, #ad Paid Promotion by Glasses 4 U.

These posts should always be clearly labelled saying that they're an advert or a paid promotion.

Others may be motivated to post content by the desire to express an opinion or to change other people's opinions.

Some content online is written as an opinion piece.

These are articles, videos, or reports that analyse the news and express thoughts and feelings about situations.

In this circumstance, someone has posted online to explain why they think that pizza is the best food.

This would be an example of an opinion piece because it's someone who was sharing their opinion.

The information shared in these pieces often contain bias towards a particular opinion, and remember that this was one of our keywords from earlier.

Another motivation is to influence others by spreading disinformation through fake news, people may write articles, alter images, or create video that express misleading or false information as facts.

Here, someone has posted online saying that cyclists are causing climate change.

This would be an example of spreading disinformation because this isn't true.

This can lead to people believing fake news and spreading it to others.

This would then be an example of misinformation because they are sharing the fake news without knowing that it isn't true.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Every content creator has positive motivations.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell your learning partner or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said false, but why? You might have said that some content creators are motivated by the desire to change opinions or other people's ideas through the spread of disinformation and knowingly create misleading content to confuse others.

Well done If you got this right or if you had something similar.

We're now going to put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

With your learning partner, I'd like you to discuss the question, why do content creators create online content? In your discussion, I'd like you to consider motivations, connect with others, entertain, professional content creators, and disinformation.

Pause the video and I'll see you in a couple of minutes where we can go through some of the answers you might have had.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you may have discussed.

You may have said that there are lots of different motivations for creating content online and not all of these motivations are positive.

Many people post content in order to connect with others on shared interests.

A lot of people create content to entertain other people by posting humorous or interesting articles, photos or videos.

Some people are professional content creators and so they create content that appeals to lots of people in order to make money through paid adverts.

You may have said that some people make purposefully misleading content and spread disinformation.

Well done if you discussed any of these or if you had something similar.

We're now going to move on to our second learning cycle, is all content equally trustworthy? The internet contains different types of media, such as social media, blogs, news sites, magazine sites, opinion pieces, books, and video streaming platforms, but Sophia helpfully reminds us that not all of these media sources are equally trustworthy.

There are several things to consider when we evaluate the trustworthiness of a type of media.

First we need to consider the credibility of the source.

Some types of media, like academic journals, established news outlets, or government websites have rigorous fact-checking in place.

This means they do it really thoroughly and carefully.

These types of media will often provide statistics and information to validate the information, and before anything is posted or published, they're looked at by several people to check that it's the truth.

Untrustworthy content might rely on rumours, personal stories, or unchecked assumptions, which therefore makes it less reliable.

Secondly, we need to consider the credibility of the content creator themselves.

If the content creator is an established author with lots of experience and they work for a reliable news company, the information is likely to be more trustworthy.

The information is likely to be more trustworthy.

If the author is unknown, has limited experience on the topic, or is posting only on social media, the information is likely to be less trustworthy.

This doesn't always mean that it's completely false, but it means that we should consider how trustworthy it is, and in this case, we should maybe think at looking at other more reputable news sources to check that this information is true.

We are now going to do another check for understanding.

I'd like you to consider, does this sound like a trustworthy source and why? Lucas says, "I found a news website that posted an article about the health benefits of sweets.

The article claimed that sweets make you healthier, but there weren't any statistics or facts in the article.

I also looked up the content creator and they hadn't written any other articles." What do you think? Does this sound like a trustworthy source and why? I'd like you to tell your learning partner or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this information is untrustworthy as the content creator doesn't have a history of writing trustworthy articles and the article doesn't contain information to validate its claims. Another consideration is the content creator's motivation.

Some content is made to inform, while other content is made to influence.

For example, content creators selling a product may have a bias towards the product as they are motivated to influence others and make money.

Similarly, some media is run by authors with a particular point of view and therefore they're only going to publish biassed content which supports their view.

In this example, skate_boardz.

com have posted an article saying, "Top five reasons why skateboarding is the best sport." We can make an assumption that they are likely to be biassed.

They have a particular opinion about skateboarding being the best sport, but this is likely to only be an opinion.

We can also assume that maybe they also sell skateboards, so they might be posting this article because they're hoping to sell more skateboards and make more money.

The platform that the content is found on can also help people to evaluate its trustworthiness.

Laura says that "Social media platforms are filled with user-created content, which is often unchecked and can spread misinformation quickly." And Sam says that "Traditional websites and news outlets typically moderate and have teams that manage and fact-check the content, making it more trustworthy." Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Social media is typically less trustworthy than traditional media.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell your learning partner or have a think.

Well done if you said that this statement is true.

It is true that social media is typically less trustworthy than traditional media.

Traditional media often has people fact-checking the resources that they post.

This makes it more trustworthy than social media where most content is user-generated and usually, therefore, unchecked to make sure that it's the truth.

Websites that summarise content from other sources also may not always accurately represent the original information.

Primary sources, like original research studies or firsthand accounts, tend to be more trustworthy.

For example, here we have some primary news.

That means it's some original research.

The original research says that 70% of people dislike broccoli, but if this information was summarised by a different website, it could inaccurately say that the majority of people in the UK do not eat any vegetables.

This would be an example of some information that isn't true.

The summary news websites has falsely summarised the original primary news, meaning that it's now sharing information that isn't true.

Content designed to attract clicks or go viral often sacrifices accuracy.

Titles and descriptions may exaggerate or distort the actual content to attract more views.

Andeep says that "Content created to generate engagement and clicks is often known as clickbait." Finally, when consuming media, it's really important to look at how it is written or presented.

Short, overly simplified articles or videos may lack the depth that is needed to provide a full understanding of complex issues and they therefore may be less trustworthy.

In-depth content from specialised sources generally provides a more accurate perspective and may then be more trustworthy.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Which of the following is a sign of trustworthy content? A, an in-depth article written by an established author, B, a short article that summarises another longer article, or C, an opinion posted on a social media site? Which of those is a sign of trustworthy content? Pause the video.

Tell your learning partner or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that A is correct.

An in-depth article written by an established author is more likely to be trustworthy than a short article that summarises a longer article or an opinion posted on a social media site.

Well done if you got this correct.

We're now moving on to our second practise task.

Well done on your hard work so far.

Here, Sam is worried about identifying trustworthy content online.

Sam says, "I want to read more news, but I'm worried about how to identify trustworthy content.

I get a lot of my news from social media, but I'm not sure if that is the most trustworthy type of media to get news from." I'd like you to give Sam three pieces of advice for identifying trustworthy online news sources.

Pause the video, and I look forward to seeing your answers in a couple of minutes.

Okay, let's have a look at some of the advice that you may have given Sam.

You may have said that often social media can be a source of misinformation as content is user-created and not always fact-checked.

You might have said to check if the content creator has other content published on reputable news sites.

You may have said to consider the motivations of the content creator.

Is the content explaining a situation and providing facts and statistics, or is the content providing an opinion on a situation? You also may have said to consider how the content is written or presented.

Long, well explained content may be more trustworthy as it provides more context, information, and support for any claims made.

Shorter content, on the other hand, may not include important context and it may oversimplify complex information.

Well done if you said any of these pieces of advice or if you had something similar.

We're now moving on to our final learning cycle, who can be fooled by fake and untrustworthy news? Anyone can be fooled by fake news, misinformation, or biassed content online.

Fake news often contains information that appeals to people's biases and their emotions.

Sofia tells us that more than a third of internet users in the UK are unaware that online content might be false or biassed.

People who aren't skilled in evaluating sources may struggle to tell the difference between credible and misleading information, especially if the fake news is well presented.

Without an understanding of how to spot biases, individuals are more likely to accept content at face value.

People are also more likely to believe information that aligns with their existing beliefs or opinions.

Andeep tells us that this is known as confirmation bias.

Fake news often takes advantage of this by repeating popular opinions or controversial topics to spread the fake news more rapidly.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you are doing with this learning cycle so far.

Can you remember the missing statistic? More than blank of internet users in the UK are unaware of when content may be false or biassed.

Is it A, 1/4, B, 1/2, or C, 1/3? What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell your learning partner or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that the missing statistic was 1/3.

More than 1/3 of internet users in the UK are unaware of when content may be false or biassed.

Well done if you got this right.

Furthermore, information that fits a familiar or comforting narrative is often thought of less critically.

For example, someone who distrusts a particular group may believe negative news relating to them more readily, regardless of how accurate it is.

Here, Alex has seen something online that says people who like broccoli are more antisocial.

This has been posted by the anti-broccoli group.

Alex himself says, "I hate broccoli.

This must be true." Because he also hates broccoli, he is more readily accepting this false information that people who like broccoli are more antisocial.

Even though it isn't accurate, because Alex has a bias against something, he's more likely to believe this information that's false.

Fake news often triggers strong emotions like anger, fear, or surprise, and this can affect a person's ability to think rationally.

Sam says that when people feel an emotional response, they're more likely to share misinformation or believe disinformation without double-checking to make sure that it's true.

Algorithms on social media can also reinforce the same types of stories, creating what we call echo chambers, and this is where users only see content that supports their own views.

Repeated exposure to similar stories can make even fake news feel trustworthy.

Izzy tells us that algorithms are rules that determine how a computer system works.

On social media, algorithms determine which content is shown or recommended to users based on their habits online.

The volume of content online can also make it hard for people to assess each piece of content carefully.

People may accept or share misinformation that they haven't fully evaluated or thought about.

Constant access to new content means that people may lack the motivation to fact-check or think about every piece of content they encounter.

This is particularly true if the information aligns with their existing biases.

Similarly, people don't always have time to verify each piece of content that they consume due to the volume of content online.

There's so much different content online that many people would struggle to find the time to accurately evaluate each piece of information that they consume.

Let's do another check for understanding.

We're going to do a true or false question.

Is this statement true or false? Smart people cannot be fooled by fake news, misinformation, or biassed news.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell your learning partner or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is false, but why? You may have said that anyone can be fooled by fake news, misinformation, or biassed news, unless they properly check the information that they see.

Well done if you said this or if you had something similar.

Let's put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

We are now moving on to our final practise task.

Well done for your hard work so far and keep it up.

For this task, I'd like you to fill in the blanks about who can be fooled by fake news using the word bank below.

Pause the video, and I look forward to seeing your answers in a couple of minutes.

Okay.

Let's have a look and see what you should have included in the gaps.

Your full paragraph should look like, anyone can be fooled by fake news.

People can often believe things that they read online if it supports their biases.

Fake news often tries to appeal to people's emotions, as an emotional response to a story can make people believe it more readily.

Social media can create echo chambers where people are repeatedly exposed to similar information, which can also mean that content is not critically evaluated.

Finally, due to the volume of content that people consume, they do not always have time to verify it.

Well done if you put the missing words in the right places.

We are now going to summarise the key learning from today's lesson.

In this lesson, you've learned that the internet is filled with various types of media.

No matter which type of media you are consuming, there is always some element of bias and this is why critically evaluating what you consume is so important.

However, some types of media are more biassed than others.

By understanding a content creator's motivations, it can make it easier to critically evaluate the trustworthiness of the information.

It's also important to check the credibility of a source by looking at its author, the information provided in the content, and the site on which it is posted.

If you have any questions or concerns about anything in today's lesson, it's really important that you speak to a trusted adult first.

There are also some organisations on the screen who are there to help you if you need any support.

Well done for your hard work in today's lesson.

You've done a fantastic job and I've really enjoyed teaching you.

I hope to see you again soon.