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New
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Year 8

Does the media create more harm than good?

I can explain if the media helps or harms public opinion and can describe ways to evaluate the effects of the media.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 8

Does the media create more harm than good?

I can explain if the media helps or harms public opinion and can describe ways to evaluate the effects of the media.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The media can both positively and negatively influence public opinion, depending on how it is used.
  2. Tools like the EVALUATE acronym help us critically assess arguments for and against various perspectives.
  3. Carefully reviewing evidence and reasoning on both sides of an issue is essential for forming well-rounded opinions.
  4. Media plays a vital informing role, but evaluating sources is crucial to identifying and avoiding disinformation.
  5. Ensuring the media we consume is reliable and accurate helps maximise its benefits while minimising potential harm.

Keywords

  • Media - forms of communication like radio, television, newspapers, magazines and the internet, that reach or influence people

  • Evaluate - to judge or determine the significance, worth or quality of someone or something

Common misconception

The media always helps the public learn information.

Sometimes we are given misinformation, disinformation or malinformation. It is important to learn to spot this and realise that some of the media we are presented with is not always designed to help the public learn the true facts.

You could facilitate the main evaluation task as a deliberative debate or a class discussion rather than a written piece of work if this is more suitable for your class.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
__________ journalism is in-depth and it can be more trustworthy.
reportive
secretive
Correct answer: investigative
explorative
Q2.
What is information called that is true but is shared or used in a way intended to cause harm?
disinformation
misinformation
Correct answer: malinformation
Q3.
Match the term with its meaning.
Correct Answer:fact-checking,many media outlets have teams to verify things before publishing
tick

many media outlets have teams to verify things before publishing

Correct Answer:bias and agendas,outlets might favour specific political or social viewpoints
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outlets might favour specific political or social viewpoints

Correct Answer:mistakes and corrections,trustworthy media will issue corrections when they are wrong
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trustworthy media will issue corrections when they are wrong

Correct Answer:misinformation risks,pressure to publish quickly can lead to spreading false stories
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pressure to publish quickly can lead to spreading false stories

Q4.
What is the second step in the REVIEW model?
evaluate
Correct answer: evidence
verify
valuable
Q5.
Who created the REVIEW model? Order the words that make up the title of the citizenship charity.
1 - Association
2 - for
3 - Citizenship
4 - Teaching
Q6.
Knowledge communicated about a particular fact or subject, often presented to us in the media, that can be trusted, believed and verified with external sources is known as information.
Correct Answer: reliable, accurate

6 Questions

Q1.
The media can both positively and influence public opinion, depending on how it is used.
humanly
Correct answer: negatively
equally
Q2.
The EVALUATE tool to spot misinformation is called an acronym. What does the letter 'T' stand for in this acronym?
totality
thriving
Correct answer: trustworthiness
truthfulness
Q3.
To form a well-rounded opinion, what do you need to look at?
one side
Correct answer: both sides
no sides
Q4.
Match the start of the sentence with its ending.
Correct Answer:Evaluating sources is crucial,to identify disinformation, misinformation and malinformation.
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to identify disinformation, misinformation and malinformation.

Correct Answer:The media plays an important role,in informing and educating the public about important issues.
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in informing and educating the public about important issues.

Correct Answer:We should try to maximise how,much the media helps and minimise how much it harms.
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much the media helps and minimise how much it harms.

Q5.
The media holds people in to account for their actions which makes it a valuable tool in a democracy.
Correct Answer: power, leadership
Q6.
If something makes something worse or creates problems instead of solving them, it could be said to be ...
Correct answer: harmful
helpful
hopeful