CMLE Members: this sounds like a very valuable webinar! Fake news is dominating the real news lately; and you want to be able to show your patrons the difference. Sign up to get the webinar emailed to you after it’s over!
Note: Due to high demand, this webinar is now full. The session will be recorded, and the recording will be available on this page after Feb. 22. Click “Get the Recording” (red button at left) to receive an email link to the recording.
A recent Stanford Graduate School of Education study found that most students, middle school through college, struggled to distinguish between credible and unreliable news articles. Many adults have the same challenge.
Can you spot fake news? Do you know how to help others differentiate between truth and fiction? Join us to learn how you can be a better ambassador for information literacy.
Description A recent Stanford Graduate School of Education study found that most students, middle school through college, struggled to distinguish between credible and unreliable news articles. Many adults have the same challenge.
Who hasn’t been tempted to click on a story on Facebook about Chipotle planning to close all of its restaurants across the U.S.? What??? How can they??? Or how about the “World’s 1st Successful Head Transplant”? I mean after all, there is a photo to prove it, right? It must be true.
Most of us know of the availability of Snopes.com to check on the accuracy of many so-called “stories”. But here is a very valuable resource: Snopes’ Field Guide to Fake News Sites and Hoax Purveyors. You will likely be surprised to find out some of the news sources that are fabricating their “reporting”. Here is a partial list that the field guide mentions:
National Report: This is the most prominent and popular example of false news reporting on the internet. Facebook has tried to establish algorithms to prevent the spreading of this type of vicious false news. In response, sites like National Report now use the domain names of legitimate news outlets such as the Washington Post and USA Today which mirror the National Report‘s content.
World News Daily Report: This one often mixes together incorrectly attributed and stolen photographs to spread long-held misinformation.
Huzlers: Uses the names of popular brands and restaurants to spread vicious rumors.
News Examiner:Gets around Facebook’s new algorithms by combining real news and listed items in with its fabricated news stories.
How do your students fact check a claim on social media? Or do they even bother? Shockingly, we can’t always believe what we see or hear on social media. Journalist’s Resource to the rescue! Their Tools for verifying and assessing the validity of social media and user-generated content is a list full of sources for students to make sure that what they are seeing or reading about on social media is true. The list isn’t just reference type materials. The social media landscape demands tools that go beyond facts. For example, the image tool list allows students to analyze images to see if they are real or modified. There are even tools for research and case studies that can be discussed in class or used for instruction.
TRAILS (Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) provides free assessments on information literacy based on 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th grade standards! TRAILS was designed with librarians and teachers in mind – the multiple-choice assessment helps identify students’ strengths and weaknesses regarding information literacy. The program is free, all you have to do is set up an account. For more information, visit the site.
