Lesson 20. Fake News
Learning Objectives
2
1. Define what fake news means.
2. Explain what constitutes as fake news.
3. Explore how dangerous the implication of fake news could be.
4. Infer relevant information from the provided text.
5. Employ discourse markers correctly and properly to explain how
fake news is spread.
6. Discuss relevant issues on fake news based on daily basis
observation.
Warm Up
a.
Spot the fallacy/error of the quote above. Explain the error.
b.
Would you say that the quote above is also a form of fake news? Provide reasons.
c.
What comes to mind when you hear the word fake news?
d.
What kind of danger does fake news impose on those who read it?
WARM UP
Introduction
4
Fake news
is a false or misleading information presented as news. It often has the aim of damaging
the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. Media scholar
Nolan Higdon has offered a more broad definition of fake news as “false or misleading content
presented as news and communicated in formats spanning spoken, written, printed, electronic, and
digital communication.”
Generally, there are 3 types of fake news, which are:
• Misinformation, defective information or mistakes
• Disinformation, such as hoaxes
• Malinformation and stories intended to damage institutions and individuals
In A Nutshell
Vocabulary Exercise
a)
bombard
b)
validated
c)
confirmation bias
d)
reaffirm
e)
discredit
f)
algorithm
g)
dubious
h)
scrutiny
i)
infiltrate
j)
disinformation
k)
echo chamber
l)
(be) prone to
m)
manipulative
n)
vulnerable
1. To become a part of something gradually, without anyone noticing.
2. Not sure about the truth or quality of something.
3. Share so much of something that it is difficult to deal with.
4. The fact that we tend to believe something that supports our own views.
5. Easily damaged or affected by something negative or harmful.
6. Likely to do something, especially something bad.
7. A situation in which people only listen to or read others with the same views, and
so are not receptive to or aware of different views.
8. A set of rules that a computer uses for solving problems or calculations.
9. Careful examination of someone or something.
10. Officially proven to be true or correct.
11. Causing people to stop respecting someone or believing in an idea or person.
12. False information spread in order to deceive people.
13. Making people do what you want by influencing them in a sly or dishonest way.
14. Confirming.
Match each terminology on the right with its correct definition on the left
Vocabulary Exercise
6
Lesson 20. Fake News
Reading Exercise
In December 2016 Edgar M. Welch drove six hours from his home to Washington DC, where he opened fire in a pizzeria with an assault rifle. He had previously read an online news story about the restaurant being the headquarters of a group of child abusers run by Hillary Clinton. He decided to investigate for himself; fortunately, no one was hurt.
The story about Hillary Clinton is one of the most famous examples of the growing phenomenon dubbed‘fake news’. The conspiracy theory about the pizzeria began to appear on websites and social networks in late October, before the US election. This was quickly denouncedby publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. However, many people thought that these papers were themselves lying for political ends
and instead of disappearing, the fake storysnowballed. Tweets from ‘Representative Steven Smith of the 15th District of Georgia’ claimed that the mainstream media were telling falsehoods. Even though both this name and district were invented, the message was re-tweeted many times. A YouTube refutation of the New York Times article got 250,000 hits. Fake news stories can be hard to control for several reasons. Many people
mistrust established news sources and others just don’t read them, so the debunking of a fake story by a serious newspaper or TV channel has limited effect. In addition, the internet is very hard to police. When users are caught misusingone media platform, they simply go to another one or start up a website themselves. There are also various reasons why people create fake news. Some have political motives, to belittle or
incriminate their opponents. Other websites, like The Onion, deliberately publish fake news as satire – humorous comment on society and current affairs. Another group is in it for the profit: many people clicking on entertaining fake news stories can bring in a lot of advertising revenue. One man running fake news sites from Los Angeles said he was making up to US$ 30,000 a month in this way. There are also those, like the small-town teenagers in Macedonia who wrote fake news stories about Donald Trump, who seem to be motivated partly by money andpartly
by boredom. So, what can we do to stop fake news spreading? First, make sure that the websites you read arelegitimate, for example by looking carefully at the domain name and the About Us section. Check the sources of any quotes or figures given in the story. Remember that amazing stories about famous people will be covered by the mainstream media if they are true. Only share stories you know are true and let your friends know,tactfully, when theyunknowingly share fake news. Together we can turn around thepost-truth world!
Source:https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/advanced-c1-reading/rise-fake-news
Lesson 20. Fake News
Reading Comprehension
8
1. Why did Edgar Welch go to the pizzeria?
a. He was trying to commit robbery.
b. He had become concerned after reading an untrue news story.
2. Why did many people not believe 'The Washington Post' and 'The New York Times' when they denounced the pizzeria story?
a. They thought the newspapers had a political agenda.
b. They checked the facts and found that the articles were incorrect.
3. Who is Steven Smith?
a. a member of the US House of Representatives. b. a fictitious person, created to attack the media.
4. Which reason for the difficulty of controlling fake news stories is not given in the article?
a. Online media platforms don't check stories before publishing them. b. People are skeptical of the mainstream media.
5. Which type of motivation for the creation of fake news is NOT given?
b. It’s a way of attacking your political opponents.
c. It’s a way of making money from people who pay to read the stories.
6. How does the author feel about stopping fake news spreading?
a. Doubtful b. Positive
• How do you find Edgar M. Welch’s outrageous
offense?
• What do you think motivated him to do so?
• Where do you usually get your news from?
• Do you follow mainstream news media?
• How much of a problem has fake news been in your
life?
Reading Comprehension
Free Responses
Compare And Contrast
Complete the table below with the correct comparison.
Place each option in the corresponding column.
Examples have been provided.
Real News VS Fake News
Real News
Fake News
Comes from a respected news
outlet
Comes from an unfamiliar
website
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
• URL matches the news source
• May have an old date or there’s no other coverage
• Name of author is not listed
• Has a current date
• Headline is outrageous or doesn’t match article
• Headline matches the rest of the article
• Author is named
• Backs up claims with links to credible sources
• URL is strange or doesn’t match the news outlet
• Fails to provide any proof of claims
OPTIONS
Listening Activity
10
Deepfake
A new online technique called deepfake (
1
) ___________________ to be worried about more fake news and other things that
can mislead people. The word "deepfake" (
2
) ___________________ of "deep learning" (which is an important part of artificial
intelligence) and "fake" (which means not real). Deepfake software allows people (
3
) ___________________ of a picture or
video with another picture or video image. The (
4
) ___________________ fake video. The software means you can put your
face over the face of a talking president or movie star. This (
5
) ___________________ your face speak in the voice of that
president or movie star. Many people are worried the technology will be (
6
) ___________________ elections. Deepfake videos
could be used to trick voters.
A new deepfake app (
7
) ___________________ in China. It lets users of the app put their face over the top
(
8
) ___________________ scenes from movies or TV shows. The app is called Zao. It went to number one on the Chinese iOS
App Store chart in just a few days (
9
) ___________________. A Twitter user has achieved a little fame by posting the Zao
videos of himself in famous TV and movie scenes. His videos show that (
10
) ___________________ like the main actor in the
movies The Hulk, Titanic, and in the TV fantasy drama Game of Thrones. It (
11
) ___________________ seconds to do this. The
Zao app is currently only available for people with a Chinese phone number. It cannot be downloaded (
12
)
___________________ in the USA or Europe.
Lesson 20. Fake News
Listening 20.1
Grammar Bits: Discourse Markers
11
Discourse markers
also known as
fillers
or
linking words
are words that link, manage and help to
organize sentences. They connect what is written or said with something else. They are important
as they make your speech or text flow and avoid a series of short unconnected statements.
Examples:
• Actually : (Used to give some surprising information or to correct some information)
⮚
Actually
, that news has been debunked. It’s fictitious.
• Mind you : (Used when one has an afterthought and it contrasts what has just been said)
⮚ I never said the source is legit,
mind you
. I can’t verify the truth yet.
• As I was saying… : (Used when returning to a topic that was being talked about previously)
⮚
As I was saying
, it’s imperative to pay attention to the name of the publisher.
• Come to think of it : (Used when adding something that you’ve just remembered/thought of at
the moment of speaking)
⮚
Come to think of it
, there has been plenty of fake news lately.
• Basically : (Used when summarizing your thoughts/points)
⮚ So
basically
, don’t just forward messages. We could be spreading hoax for all we know.
• In comparison : (Used when discussing the ways in which two things are different)
⮚ The number of hoax has spiked
in comparison to
last year.
• On top of that :
(Used when indicating something unpleasant in addition to what has just been said)⮚ The news has been proven to be a hoax and
on top of that
it’s caused many fights among
people.
• Furthermore : (Used when introducing an additional fact or argument)
⮚
The headline seems dubious.
Furthermore
, the rest of the article doesn’t match the headline either.
Grammar Exercise
12
How is fake news spread?
Social media is rife with fake news, but what causes fake news to spread? There are lots of factors that contribute to the spread of disinformation. Here are just some of them.
1. Bots
• It is estimated that between 5–10% of all social media accounts are actually robots (bots for short). • Are able to share content, follow other users, comment and join in debates.
• Programmed to share information that’s not validated nor reliable.
• Able to bombard social media with disinformation, post trending hashtags to gain more exposure.
2. People
• Confirmation bias trap.
• Resharing without questioning the legitimacy of the news/information.
• Information being reshared again by our followers who have the same views (echo chamber). • Prone to skim read without proper amount of scrutiny.
3. Trolls
• Social media users whose mission is to argue, attack, intimidate and discredit those that they don’t agree with. • Both trolls and those being trolled seek to justify their opinion with evidence.
• Evidence often shared uncritically, in the heat of the moment.
• Trolling generates interest, exposing trolls to a wider audience who unwittingly fuel certain questionable ideas.
4. Microtargeting
• Social media sites gather data on their users.
• Gathered data is used to filter/determine which audience will be more accepting to a certain information/news. • A post shared with a specific audience is more likely to be read, shared, or be engaged with.
• Targeted content may seem harmless, but user data can be passed on to third parties which have a manipulative motive.
Instruction:
Transform given points into a complete description. Employ
discourse markers in your description. Example:
First, fake news can be spread
out/circulated through the use of bots which is short for robot.
For a start, it’s estimated that robots make up for 5-10% of existing social media account.
Not only it’s able to share content, but it’s also able to follow other users, comment, and join in debates. What’s more, bots are also programmed to share information. However, the validity of the news is not reliable. Furthermore, bots are also responsible for the bombardment of disinformation and the trending hashtags happening on the internet.
