Fake news examples for students: Teaching Children How to Spot it

Editor: Draco Cooper | Tactical Investor

Fake news examples for students:

Two California lawmakers have proposed bills to fight “fake news” by teaching high school students how to detect misleading, fabricated or inaccurate reports in the waves of information flooding into their daily lives.

In northern California, state senator Bill Dodd proposed a measure that would ask the state education board to create a “media literacy” curriculum. His proposal would incorporate training in social science courses from first through 12th grade and try to teach students critical thinking, independent research and “digital citizenship”.

“The rise of fake and misleading news is deeply concerning,” Dodd said in a statement. “Even more concerning is the lack of education provided to ensure people can distinguish what is fact and what’s not.”

Fake news examples for students: Will Legislation Help

“By giving students the proper tools to analyze the media they consume, we can empower them to make informed decisions,” he added.

In Los Angeles, assemblyman Jimmy Gomez introduced a separate but similar bill that would bring “civic online reasoning” into student curriculums. His bill would incorporate critical thinking skills into a range of courses, including English, science, math and history, for grades seven through 12.

Gomez warned that the 2016 election showed “the corrupting effects of a deliberate propaganda campaign driven by fake news”.

“When fake news is repeated, it becomes difficult for the public to discern what’s real,” he said in a statement. Full Story

Fake news examples for students: It used to be called Gossip in the old days

Helping students figure out the difference between fact and fiction is a big part of Senate Bill 947, which aims to come up with statewide school standards on the internet safety and digital citizenship, including cyberbullying and privacy.

“The recent proliferation of fake news online is extremely concerning. As we witnessed in the 2016 election, fake news can serve as an intentional tool to manipulate the public and undermine our basic values,” Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Santa Barbara Democrat and the bill’s author, said in a statement.

The bill, which passed the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, would require the state superintendent of public instruction to come up with recommendations by Dec. 1, 2019.

So if all works out, Russian troll farms will have a tougher time fooling Californians leading up to the next presidential election in 2020. The groups were indicted last month and sanctioned last week for running a sophisticated disinformation campaign, pretending to be Americans on social media and goading people to attend real events. Their messages often backed Trump or echoed his attacks on Hillary Clinton. Full Story