Social media platforms make it all too easy for users to ‘Like,’ ‘Share,’ ‘Tweet,’ or otherwise pass along misinformation without intending to become part of the counterknowledge problem. Anyone who has one or more social media accounts needs to take the time to verify that articles, memes, photographs, and anything else they pass along to their friends are based in fact. Studies say that students are actually better at this than some adults, but still they do make mistakes.
In this activity you will work in teams to apply tips you learn for verifying online items which may, or may not, be true prior to sharing them with anyone else.
Before You Share Handout
- Download a copy of this file.
- Rename it using the format provided by your teacher and Save it.
- Close the Download window.
- Record your work in this file.
Example Online Resources
Here is a list of a few of the kinds on online resources that might be helpful in your research.
- Snopes
- FactCheck
- Politifact
- Washington Post Fact Checker
- Hoax Slayer
- Lead Stories
- BBC News Reality Check
- Full Fact
- NewsGuard’s Top Ten Disinformers – and Top Ten Straight Shooters With The Most Online Engagement
- Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Show
- Are These Wellness Trends Legit? (video from MediaWise)
- Reading News Online (video from Common Sense Education)
- How to Quickly Avoid Fake News During an Unfolding Crisis
- Man behind viral Tom Cruise deepfake videos calls the technology ‘morally neutral’
- Types of Bias
- The Relationship between Facts, Debate, and Education
- Choose Your Own Fake News
- Should You Share It? Online quiz from News Literacy Project
- What Questions Should You Ask before You Share Information about an Election? NAMLE
- Is That a Fact? (podcast from News Literacy Project)