Fake news and scams

Explain what fake news is and state two different reasons why someone might create and spread it.

Explain the difference between a hoax (a lie intentionally fabricated) and a journalistic error, and what you expect a reputable media outlet to do when it makes a mistake.

Compare three motivations of someone who creates misinformation (making money from clicks, defending an ideology, having fun causing chaos) and explain how the best way to combat each one changes.

A headline announces: "SCANDAL! Doctors hide the miracle cure of this plant". Point out at least three features of the headline typical of misinformation and explain what you would do before believing it.

A headline claims: "A study proves that chocolate cures memory loss". Formulate four questions you would ask about this "study" (who conducted it, with how many people, where it was published, who funded it) and explain why "a study says so" is not enough.

A video shows a celebrity saying something unbelievable, but the lip movements do not quite match the audio. Explain what a deepfake is, what other signs it might have and what you would do with that video before sharing it.

A striking image of a flood is shared claiming to be from your town, when in reality it belongs to a disaster from ten years ago in another country. Explain how you would verify the real origin of the image and reason why a genuine image can also misinform if taken out of context.

An edited video of a teacher "saying" something they never said is circulating in the class group chat. Explain what damage it causes even if meant "as a joke", how you would check its authenticity and what someone receiving it should do.

A WhatsApp chain message claims that a common supermarket product causes cancer and asks users to forward it "just in case". Analyse the psychological mechanisms that make these chain messages go viral and what harm forwarding them can cause, even without bad intentions.

A WhatsApp voice note, allegedly recorded by a nurse, gives alarming advice about a disease. Nobody knows where it came from. Analyse why the relatable voice in an audio message gives false credibility, how you would try to verify its content and what to do with that audio file.

A digital media outlet publishes the following headline: "FACT-CHECK: It is completely false that 5G telephone antennas transmit respiratory diseases". Justify, relying on the functioning of memory and the "illusory truth effect", why this poorly framed headline can reinforce the hoax instead of debunking it. Next, redesign the headline and write a two-line lead paragraph that effectively corrects the misinformation without falling into the trap of repeating the falsehood.

Explain what fact-checkers are (such as Maldita.es or Newtral in Spain), how they work, and what step-by-step process you would follow with a doubtful news story using one of them.

Design a "fact-checking unit" for your class group: four roles (source checker, image checker, date checker and spokesperson) and a five-step protocol to follow when someone brings a "breaking news story" to the group.

Two users search on the same social network for information about an environmental bill: one of them only sees alarmist posts denouncing an alleged conspiracy, while the other only gets news praising the measure without any criticism. Justify which algorithmic mechanisms have caused this information isolation, predict what impact it will have on their ability to engage in dialogue, and design a protocol of four specific technical actions (in account settings, history, and search habits) to break their "filter bubble".

Evaluate this statement: "if a fake news story doesn't affect me, sharing it is harmless". Build an argument against it by considering collective consequences (health, social harmony, people's reputations) and the responsibility of the person sharing it.

Creating fake news costs very little; fact-checking it takes time and money. Analyse this asymmetry between lying and fact-checking, and propose what platforms, media outlets and readers can do to tip the scales back into balance.