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Teaching Media Quarterly

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Published

2018-02-16

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Lesson Plan

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Copyright of all lesson plans remains with the author(s).

Discerning Fake Information

Melissa Villa-Nicholas

Keywords: Media Production, Media Technologies

Abstract

‘Fake news’ has recently received a large amount of media and public attention in the United States. This exercise has students search out fake news stories, identify some of the common practices and visual tells of fake news and false information, and search reliable sources for correct information. The purpose of this exercise is to teach Media Studies students how to discern false information and news, and to understand the political and social context of the life cycle of false information. This exercise was developed within the context of Library and Information Science/Studies (LIS), however the research skills are applicable more broadly to all students of Media Studies and can help students of Media Studies understand the information context in which fake news circulates.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to the editors and reviewers at Teaching Media Quarterly for their time and commentary on this article.

Keywords: Fake information, information, media studies

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