Fake news

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Fake news is being cited by pupils 
as fact in their studies, warn 
teachers 
Teachers express frustration at pupils refusing to accept 
some stories found on social networks are false, as 
experts call for better education on online dangers 
Pupils are quoting fake news as fact in lessons and 
written work, teachers have warned. More than a 
third of teachers say their students have cited false 
information found online, according to a poll by the 
NASUWT teaching union. Union general secretary 
Chris Keates said the finding was “worrying” and 
shows the power that internet firms have in shaping 
public opinion, especially among young people. 
The figures come amid growing concerns from 
international education experts, who say children 
should be taught in schools how to recognise fake 
news. In one case, a union member said that “some 
students did not attend school and hysteria ensued 
because they thought there were killer clowns 
roaming the streets with weapons”. 
Another said pupils “often mistake spoof news sites 
for real news”. 
Others expressed frustration over students refusing 
to believe news they had seen on Facebook and 
other social sites was not true, even when the 
problem was explained to them. 
“Pupils often mistake spoof news sites for real news, 
or presume anything President Trump has said must 
be fact,” one teacher added. 
Last week, German officials announced they would 
issue fines of up 50m euros to social networks for not 
taking down illegal fake news posts. The new law 
would give social networks 24 hours to delete or 
block the content and seven days to address less 
clear-cut cases. 
Commenting on the survey findings, Ms Keates said: 
“It is worrying that over a third of teachers had 
experienced pupils citing fake news or inaccurate 
information they had found online as fact in their work 
or during classroom discussions. 
”This demonstrates the great power that companies 
such as Facebook and Google now have in shaping 
public opinion, particularly among young people who 
have never known a world without internet and who 
are less equipped to analyse the information they see 
presented to them online and assess its plausibility. 
 “It is important for children and young people to be 
made aware that not everything they see and read 
online is real.” 
She said that teachers are trying to help educate 
pupils when they cite false information, but added 
that, as with other forms of technology misuse, it is 
important for online providers to “take responsibility 
for the material hosted on their platforms and to take 
steps to tackle those who seek to misuse these 
sites”. 
Last month, Andreas Schleicher, the Organisation for 
Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) 
director of education and skills, said that in the 
modern digital age, schools should teach pupils how 
to think critically and analyse what they read on 
social media and news sites. 
 “In the past, when you needed information, you went 
to an encyclopaedia, you looked it up, and you could 
trust that information to be true,” Mr Schleicher said. 
“Distinguishing what is true from what is not true is a 
critical skill today,” he added. 
“Exposing fake news, even being aware that there is 
something like fake news, that there is something 
that is written that is not necessarily true, that you 
have to question, think critically, that is very 
important. 
“This is something that we believe schools can do 
something about.” 
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Discussion corner 
1. Do you think that most people are able to spot if news is real or fake? Why/why not? 
2. Do you think that experts are right to be worried about the power of fake news? Why/why 
not? 
3. How do you think that we can deal with the problem on the internet? 
iSLCollective.com
Match the words with their definition 
 
1. a poll ______ an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by 
 irrationality, laughter, weeping 
2. hysteria ______ unambiguously clear; completely evident; definite: 
3. spoof ______ having knowledge; conscious; 
4. clear-cut ______ having an appearance of truth or reason; 
5. plausibility ______ a sampling or collection of opinions on a subject, 
6. aware ______ to undertake to handle, master, solve,. 
7. to tackle ______ a hoax; prank 
 
 
Find a word or phrase in the text which means ... 
1. as shown by (preposition,): ____________________ 
2. see or notice something (verb,): ____________________ 
3. remove (phrasal verb,): ____________________ 
4. stop something being seen (verb,): ____________________ 
5. use your time to do something (phrasal verb,): ____________________ 
6. use something for the wrong purpose (verb,): ____________________ 
7. take action to solve a problem (phrasal verb,): ____________________ 
8. very important (adj.): ____________________ 
 
 
Choose the correct words to complete each of the sentences below. 
content internet providers online posts social media websites 
1. Messaging on ________________ is a typical way for young people to communicate. 
2. If you don't know the answer, find it _______________. 
3. He wrote several ___________________ that day about his trip to Mexico. 
4. Many __________________ can also sell you a TV and phone package. 
5. There are a lot of _________________ which offer cheap holiday accommodation. 
6. Social networks will have 24hrs to remove ______________ that is illegal. 
 
 
Answer the following questions 
 
What do the statistics show: why are the results so worrying? 
 
What examples did teachers discuss during the survey? 
 
How do students react to President Trump's tweets? 
 
What did the German official announce? 
Why, do you think, have they made this move? 
How does Ms Keates interpret the findings of the survey? 
According to Ms Keates and Andreas Schleicher, how can society combat fake news? 
 
 
 
iSLCollective.com