Hello, welcome to today's lesson.

<v ->My name is Ms. T.

,</v> and today we're going to be talking about fake news, and that's part of our media influence unit on how can I evaluate the truth online.

Today, we're going to be talking about a lot of topics to do with the internet and how we use it.

If any of this makes you feel uncomfortable or worried or uncertain, please speak to a trusted adult about it.

So let's get started with today's lesson.

The outcome for today's lesson is to be able to describe different ways that we can identify fake news online and to be able to explain the effects of that.

Before we get started on today's lesson, it's really important that we think about the ground rules that we follow when we're having discussions in our classrooms. We've got Laura firstly saying, "Listen to others.

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

And when we disagree, we challenge the statement, we don't challenge the person." We've got Jacob saying, "No judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged." Andeep details as to respect privacy.

He says, "We can discuss examples, but we do not use names or descriptions that could identify anyone including ourselves." And finally, Izzy reminds us to choose the level of participation that is right for us, "Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join a discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." So with those in mind, let's get started with today's lesson.

So let's start by thinking about the key words that we're going to be using during today's lesson.

As we go through the lesson, see where you notice these words being used and see if you can also use them in your own discussions and responses.

The first key word is disinformation, which is articles, videos, or images that are untrue and are designed to confuse or mislead us.

This is different to misinformation, which is false or inaccurate information, getting the facts wrong.

Our third key word is prejudice, when someone judges or dislikes others unfairly without knowing them based on things like race, gender, or appearance.

Our fourth key word is influence, which means the effect that somebody or something has on the way a person thinks or behaves.

And finally, the word bias, a feeling that influences how you respond to a situation or person.

See if you can notice where we use these keywords during the lesson.

So looking at our lesson outline on fake news, we've got two outlines for today.

The first one is about whether it's easy to identify fake news or not, and then we're going to look at the harms of believing something that is fake.

So let's start with our first outline: is it easy to identify fake news? We've got Alex here and he says, "I've just read an article online that says aliens are living in the UK1 There are pictures and everything." And Izzy says back to him, "Actually, not everything you read online is true.

That sounds like fake news." So fake news is the term that we use to describe fictional stories that spread disinformation or misinformation.

So the article that Alex read is an example of disinformation because it contains false or misleading information and was written to confuse or mislead people.

If Alex then shares this article to friends online, he is spreading misinformation, because he's not aware that what he's spreading is false.

So fake news is created for various reasons.

This could be to spread an opinion and change viewpoints without the need to back it up with facts.

It could be to make money by encouraging people to click on an article.

And this is known as clickbait.

Fake news is dangerous and can fuel prejudice towards other groups in society by spreading disinformation or misinformation about them.

And we've got Lucas here saying, "56% of people in the UK worry about telling the difference between what is real and fake news on the internet." Fake news can appear as social media posts as videos or photos, or it can appear as a written text, so an article, for example.

People may access or believe disinformation published in fake news articles and then go on to spread misinformation to others online.

People are also more likely to consume or spread fake news if it supports their point of view, and that's known as showing bias.

Andeep here says, "I hate homework.

I'm going to share this with my friends online," because he's been reading an article that says "Government to Ban Homework!" So let's come to our first check for understanding.

True or false? People might consume and spread fake news if it supports their point of view, which is known as bias.

Is that statement true or false? Pause your screen here while you think about your answer.

Well done.

If you put that you thought the answer was true, then you would be correct.

Due to the rise in social media, news is now a major part of our experience online and it's easier for anyone to share this sort of information.

However, not everything published on the internet is fact checked and approved.

It can be hard to identify fake news and everyone can fall victim to believing it.

However, there are some ways to make identifying fake news easier.

First of all, always check the source.

Look at the quality of the article and the site that has published it.

Do you recognise the site as a real news site? Sam also says, "Is the article well written and does it contain reputable sources?" Jun says, "Sometimes fake news sites try to mimic," so to copy, "real news sites.

So if you are unsure, check the about page and read what it says about the site." So that's one of the first ways that we can start to identify whether a source is reputable and whether it might contain fake news.

Next, we check the URL.

Now this is the web address at the top of the browser page.

We can see this here in the example.

So for the article that Andeep was looking at earlier, government to ban homework that comes from www.

totally_true_news.

co.

com.

Hmm.

Does the address have an additional.

co,.

pl or.

com at the end? If so, it's probably a fake news site.

So it looks like Andeep's been looking at fake news there.

Then, we can look at the headline of the article.

In order to generate clicks, the article may have a very dramatic or written all in capitals or a misleading headline.

So ask yourself, does the headline match the article itself? Does the headline line up with the content? We can see here: "The Government to Ban Homework!" Actually, the article says the government have said that schools should give out extra homework to benefit learning, so they don't match at all.

So let's come to our second check for understanding: which of the following URLs could be from a fake news site.

We've got A, www.

realnews.

com.

co.

We've got B, www.

realnews.

com.

io, and we've got C, www.

realnews.

com.

Pause your screen here while you think about which one of these could be from a fake news site.

Well done.

If you identified that A and B could have come from a fake news site, you would be correct.

So let's come back to this article here, "Government to Ban Homework." It says underneath it now that it's written by News_Bot and with a picture of a robot there.

So the next thing we have to do is check the author.

We should then research the author.

Does that author have other articles? Do they appear on other real news websites? Because sometimes bots, which are automated computer systems, can create news stories and often they are old news stories that are being reported as current or completely fabricated, absolutely fictional stories.

The next thing we can do to check if something is fake news is to look at the images.

Sometimes it can be easy to identify an image that's been altered.

However, if you are not sure, you can ask a trusted adult to reverse image search the picture on a search engine.

This can help you identify where the picture came from originally.

Lucas also gives us some additional advice.

He says, "Sometimes photoshopped or altered images can have blurred lines or the background might look warped.

Also, if things in the image have been resized, then they may appear more pixelated than the rest of the image." So some useful extra advice from Lucas there.

Finally, we can decide whether we think the news article appears anywhere else.

So if the story written on the site or posted on social media does not appear anywhere else, then there is a high likelihood that it is fake news and probably contains misinformation.

Sophia says, "My friend posted online that the government is banning homework, but I can't find any other articles about it.

And Aisha responds, "Well, then that probably sounds like fake news." So let's move to our next check for understanding.

We've got four options, and which of those following options is a sign that something is fake news? Is it A, the author has written lots of articles? Is it B, the website ends in.

com.

co.

? Is it C, the headline was written all in capitals? Or D, the article was found on a reputable news site.

Are any of those signs that something is fake news? Pause your screen here while you consider your answer.

Well done.

If you said that the answers were B and C, then you correctly identified signs that something was fake news.

So onto our first task, Andeep has found a news article online.

How can he identify that it is from a fake news site? Can you give me three ways that he can identify that this is fake news.

We've got the headline, "Pupils Banned From Eating Pizza." We've got the content, schools will serve pizza once a week and increase healthier options.

We've got the author, written by News_Bot.

We've got the URL, www.

News_4_U.

co.

com, and we've got the image of the pizza there.

Pause your screen here while you think about the three ways that Andeep could try to identify that this is fake news.

Well done.

I hope you've had some really interesting conversations about fake news there.

But you might have mentioned the URL ends in an additional.

com.

You may have also identified that the title is all in capital letters.

You may have said the content of the article does not match the headline.

You may have said that the author is not a real author.

And finally, you may have said that the image is blurry and could have been retouched.

And they're all really useful ways to identify whether something is fake news or not.

So let's move on to the second lesson outline for today.

What are the harms of believing something fake? The things we read online and believe to be real news can influence the way we think and feel about the world around us.

Some fake news is created with malicious intent.

This means that it's created with the aim to harm others or influence them in a negative way.

And this is called disinformation.

This can have a serious consequence as it could lead to prejudice against people in our society and change the way that people treat others.

Reading disinformation can lead to people believing and spreading misinformation and others believing in its as well.

We've got an example here.

Andeep has read a fake news article online that contains disinformation.

He doesn't realise it's fake news and he shares the misinformation online.

He says, "Look at this I've just read." Sophia reads this post and tells others about it, further spreading misinformation.

So we can see there how quickly that information has been shared across the internet.

Some disinformation is written in an attempt to create a dislike or hatred of certain groups in society.

Stories can be written that put particular groups in a bad light.

For example, here we've got an article that says, "Cyclists are causing climate change." Now we know that's not true, but this article is suggesting that it is, and it's trying to put cyclists in a bad light.

A consequence of reading disinformation is that it can cause prejudice.

For example, people may read a fake news article that speaks poorly of a certain group.

We've got Lucas here.

He shares that information with Jun.

He believes it and spreads it to others.

And then that begins to change the way that people see or treat these groups.

We can see Jun responding by saying, "I would never be friends with a cyclist." So we can see how quickly that started to change the way that they think.

So let's come to our check for understanding.

True or false? Fake news can cause prejudice.

Pause your screen here while you think about your answer.

Well done.

If you identify that the answer was true, then you'd be correct.

Another consequence of fake news is that it can make it harder for people to recognise the truth.

People can become suspicious of even legitimate news sources.

Aisha says here, "Only 13% of people in the UK say they trust news media." Fake news can even be harmful to your health.

Some websites publish misleading or harmful advice regarding health or stories that provide incorrect advice about managing serious illnesses.

It is really that if a person is struggling with their health, that they speak to a medical professional that they can trust and they don't find that information online, because some of it could be fake news.

A lot of fake news articles and posts on social media are written with bias.

We've got an example here.

The post reads, "Broccoli's actually very bad for your health.

You shouldn't eat it or buy it." And we look at who's posted that, and it's written by the anti_broccoli_group, because they are trying to influence people's behaviour in a certain way.

During major events, such as elections, when every adult in the country is asked to vote for who they want to run the country, fake news is very common.

People may post on social media or write fake news articles containing disinformation that tries to influence people to vote in a particular way.

We've got an example here, "Political party 1 is going to make the school day five hours longer." But if we look, it's been written by political party 2 fan.

So they're trying to influence the way that people vote and the responses here, "This is terrible.

I can't possibly vote for them as my grandson Alex already worked so hard in school." So Alex's grandfather there is being influenced in the way that they plan to vote.

So let's come to our next check for understanding.

Fake news articles can, blank, the way people vote in elections.

Which of these key words is the right answer? Encourage, influence, inherit or introduce? Pause your screen here while you think about your answer.

Well done.

If you identified that the answer was influence one of our key words, then you'd be correct.

Fake news articles can influence the way people vote in elections.

So now on to our task for this learning outline.

With your learning partner, can you discuss four ways that believing fake news can cause harm? You might want to consider the following things as part of your conversation: Prejudice, bias, elections, and health.

So can you find four ways that believing fake news can cause harm? Pause your screen here while you think about your answer.

Well done.

I'm sure you've had some really interesting conversations there.

As part of those, you may have mentioned the following points though, fake news can create prejudice by spreading negative disinformation about particular groups of people, which can influence the way that others treat them.

Lots of fake news is written with bias and is therefore created to make people think a particular way.

You may have also said that fake news can influence important events.

When people post fake news about political parties, it can influence the way people vote in elections.

You may have also said that some articles and posts online can negatively influence the way people care for themselves, and sites can tell people the wrong way to manage their health.

Remember, we talked earlier about anything to do with the health, always speak to a medical professional.

Well done for all of your conversations and contributions to today's lesson on fake news.

What we've learned today is that fake news is very common online, and many people interact with fake news every day.

We've also learned that fake news can be seen in the form of social media posts, videos, images, and written articles.

It can be identified by checking the URL, the author, the content of the article, and searching to see if the subject of the article is mentioned anywhere else online.

It is easy to fall victim to fake news and disinformation.

Everyone can be fooled by it, and as a consequence, spread misinformation.

And finally, fake news can influence people negatively.

It can be written to support a biassed opinion, and it can encourage people to see particular groups in a negative light, which can lead to prejudice.

We've talked a lot today about fake news and being online.

If you want to follow up with any further support, please look at the following organisations: Childline, CEOP, and Internet Matters.