Run the Presses

• Preparation

  Learning Progression

  In this lesson, learners will:

  1. Explore the long history of fake news and misinformation
  2. Map out a fake news story to explore how it spreads
  3. Work through scenarios where they can make decisions about what news to share, and experience the consequences of those decisions
  4. Reflect on their learning

  Scaffolding and Resources

  In the Legit-O-Meter lesson, learners developed evaluation skills and strategies to identify fake news and misinformation. In Fake Your Own News, learners deconstructed the components of fake news and explored how fake news is created, and how it can be effective.

  In Run the Presses, learners will synthesize their knowledge and skills from the previous lessons as they take on the role of an editor who must decide what news to publish, and how to publish it. Learners will be able to exercise skills and competencies including evaluation and critical thinking skills, communication strategies, and an understanding of the characteristics of fake news and misinformation. Learners will also consider how they act as editors in their daily life and how they can better share credible content on social media.

  The following is an additional activity to help your learners further develop their web and news literacy skills:

  • The Fake it to Make It Game is a way to help learners further explore the consequences and motivations (such as money) that drive fake news

  Preparation Tips

  • Print out the scenario cards and worksheet if you are playing an offline version of the game

  Facilitation Tips

  • This lesson can work well as a group activity that can encourage collaboration, discussion, and teamwork.
  • Try completing the Run the Presses worksheets on your own first.
  • Instructors can customize this activity by determining how to divide learners into groups and how many topic scenarios to use for the Run the Presses activity.

  Vocabulary

  • Editor - a person who is in charge of and determines the final content of a text, particularly a newspaper or magazine.
  • Publisher - a person who controls the operational activities for a newspaper. The publisher oversees the newspaper’s content and advertising.

• Introduction

  20 minutes

  Opening Discussion - 10 minutes

  1. Brief discussion - Fake news and misinformation aren’t new. In fact, news stories have gotten out of control for quite a long time.
  2. Share 1-2 historical fake news examples with your learners and walk through the sequence of events and consequences together
  3. Use the following prompts to guide discussion
  • How is this story different from modern fake news examples we’ve seen?
  • How is this story similar to modern fake news examples we’ve seen?
  • Facilitation tip: You can use some pre-selected historic examples or choose your own historic examples to share and discuss. The pre-selected examples include the USS Main, the Roswell conspiracy, and the War of the Worlds radio broadcast

  Mapping the News Activity - 10 minutes

  1. Have learners select a fake news story.
  • Facilitation tip: Have learners find a fake news story using Snopes and PolitiFact. You can also open this up to let learners use a current or historic example they already know about.
  • Facilitation tip: You can have learners come to class with a chosen fake news story that they can use for this activity
  2. Learners will draw a map of their chosen fake news story, including the origin point, how the story spread, how people countered the fake news story with things like fact checking, and the consequences of the story.
  • Facilitation tip: Encourage learners to be creative with how they draw their maps and represent their chosen fake news story
  3. Wrap-up discussion. Use the following prompts to guide discussion:
  • What are ways that fake news spreads?
  • Why is fake news so complex to follow?

• Online Activity

  30 minutes

  Instructions

  • Have learners remain in their groups
  • See all Mission:Information materials, organized by lesson, in this Mission:Information Google Drive Folder. Please use the links below to make a copy of the online worksheet which is in Google Forms
  • Run the Presses online worksheet. Note that these links will take you to a login screen. Login with a Google account (any Google Education account will work) and then confirm that you wish to make a copy when prompted.
  • Give everyone the link to the Run the Presses online worksheet
  • Assign one group member to be the scorekeeper for the game.
  • Tell each group they will now have a chance to experience how complex publishing news and making decisions can be by sitting in the editor’s chair.
  • Points to highlight:
  • An editor is someone who decides what stories a newspaper publishes.
  • If you share things or post things on social media, you are, in a way, acting like your own editor
  • Tell groups that they’ll use the evaluation skills and their understanding of how fake news is produced to guide their decisions.
  • Each group will act as a team of editors from a News Outlet. The News Outlet is new and is still figuring out what type of publication it will be.
  • Groups will work through scenarios where they have to decide what to publish and will earn points based on their decisions.
  • Groups will start with 5 points in each category, for a total of 20 points. They will gain and lose points based on their decisions.

• Offline Activity

  30 minutes

  Instructions

  • Have learners remain in their groups
  • See all Mission:Information materials, organized by lesson, in this Mission:Information Google Drive Folder.
  • Give everyone print versions of the Run the Presses worksheet and a set of scenario cards to use.
  • Assign one group member to be the scorekeeper for the game.
  • Tell each group they will now have a chance to experience how complex publishing news and making decisions can be by sitting in the editor’s chair.
  • Points to highlight:
  • An editor is someone who decides what stories a newspaper publishes.
  • If you share things or post things on social media, you are, in a way, acting like your own editor
  • Tell groups that they’ll use the evaluation skills they can use their evaluation skills and their understanding of how fake news is produced to guide their decisions.
  • Each group will act as a team of editors from a News Outlet. The News Outlet is new and is still figuring out what type of publication it will be.
  • Groups will work through scenarios where they have to decide what to publish and will earn points based on their decisions.
  • Groups will start with 5 points in each category, for a total of 20 points. They will gain and lose points based on their decisions.

• Reflection and Assessment

  5 minutes

  Closing reflection questions

  • Based on what we’ve learned, what are some ideas you have for ways to combat fake news and misinformation?
  • What are some strategies you’ll use to make sure you’re sharing and producing good information on social media?