Fact or Fiction: “Fake News”

Before you click away, check out the games and sites below which can guide students about how to spot “fake news” online and in social media. Students and adults often have trouble discerning and untangling the truths from fiction. 

Although there are no hard and fast rules, we can guide students to question what they read online, to read laterally and to be aware that media is easily manipulated in 2020. 

I hope you will use the sites and games listed below to help guide students when misinformation obscures the truth. Consider using the games in @ZOOM #breakoutrooms or as “Due Now!”

Facticious: This game is played to determine whether news articles are fiction or nonfiction. The game is differentiated with three different reading levels. Game play is simple; Read the article, Swipe to the right if you think it’s a real story, Swipe to the left if you think it’s fake. Create an account and save your scores! Try the Pandemic Edition ito reveal if the Corona Virus articles are fake or real. 

Another game created by Clemson University Media Forensics Hub is Spot the Troll. For this game, a troll is a fake social media account, often created to spread misleading information.

There are 8 profiles include with a brief selection of posts from a single social media account. The students must decide if each is an authentic account or a professional troll. After each profile, they will  review the signs that can help  determine if it’s a troll or not. Read more about Spot the Troll HERE.

Below is a list of ten fact checking and bias checking resources from International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE):

Fact Check. This nonpartisan, nonprofit project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by U.S. political players, including politicians, TV ads, debates, interviews and news releases.

Media Matters. This nonprofit and self-described liberal-leaning research center monitors and corrects conservative misinformation in the media.

NewsBusters. A project of the conservative Media Research Center with a right-wing bias, NewsBusters is focused on “documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.”

Open Secrets. This nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit website run by the Center for Responsive Politics tracks how much and where candidates get their money.

Politifact. This Pulitzer Prize winning website rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials. Run by editors and reporters from the independent newspaper Tampa Bay Times, Politicfact features the Truth-O-Meter that rates statements as “True,” “Mostly True,” “Half True,” “False,” and “Pants on Fire.”

ProPublica. This independent, nonprofit newsroom has won several Pulitzer Prizes, including the 2016 Prize for Explanatory Reporting. ProPublica produces investigative journalism in the public interest.

Snopes. This independent, nonpartisan website run by professional researcher and writer David Mikkelson researches urban legends and other rumors. It is often the first to set the facts straight on wild fake news claims.

The Sunlight Foundation. This nonpartisan, nonprofit organization uses public policy data-based journalism to make politics more transparent and accountable.

Washington Post Fact Checker. Although the Washington Post has a left-center bias, its checks are excellent and sourced. The bias shows up because they fact check conservative claims more than liberal ones.