Oppgave

Tasks: The Infodemic: A Mishmash of Truths, Fake News, and Conspiracy Theories

Vocabulary:

In the table below, you will find words and expressions that are related to fact-checking, truths, and lies. However, the words and expressions and their suggested definitions do not match.

Work together two and two and find the right definitions of the words and expressions. You will find the correct answers in the box below.

Word/expression	Meaning
to raise a red flag	check that something is true
to buy (into) something	a falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as truth
double-sourcing	to believe something to be true
debunk	to tell a small or trivial lie
verify	to make you think that something may not be true
disinformation	you take the truth and change it very slightly
hoax	to leave out certain parts of the truth
to be economical with the truth	checking whether a story is correct by finding two independent sources
to tell fibs	false news spread accidentally
pants on fire	show that something is false, not true
bend the truth	when someone is caught in the act of lying
misinformation	false news spread deliberately

Correct answer

raise a red flag = to make you think that something may not be true

to buy (into) something = to believe something to be true

double sourcing = checking whether a story is correct by finding two independent sources

debunk = show that something is false, not true

verify = check that something is true

disinformation = false news spread deliberately

hoax = a falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as truth

to be economical with the truth = to leave out certain parts of the truth

to tell fibs = to tell a small or trivial lie

pants on fire = when someone is caught in the act of lying

bend the truth = you take the truth and change it very slightly

misinformation = false news spread accidentally

Discuss:

Let us take a look at some of the conspiracy theories that have been circulating in the media for a while. Read through the list, - and be amazed ... Then move on to the tasks below.

Barack Obama could control the weather. Right-leaning broadcasters and internet 'truthers' claimed that Obama deliberately manipulated the weather to deflect attention from the White House whenever there was a scandal. Also, he was not born in the United States, and he was therefore constitutionally ineligible to occupy the Office of President.

The Earth is flat. It has at times been difficult to explain away scientific proofs, such as manned missions to the moon and satellite photos of the planet, but there are still plenty of people around the world(!!) who genuinely believe the Earth is flat. Others believe the Earth is hollow and that there are people or aliens - or some other creatures - living there. The inner parts are accessible via portals at the North and South Pole.

Hitler is still alive. Some also think he was responsible for various world disasters, such as 9/11 and the 2010 Gulf oil spill. He was born in 1889, so he must be fit for his age.

9/11 was an inside job. The United States government either helped the attackers succeed or orchestrated the entire thing themselves.

There is a cure for cancer, but medical professionals, led by major pharmaceutical companies, have not made it available to the wider public.

Elvis is still alive. And so is Michael Jackson, by the way. But Paul McCartney is dead …

Aliens helped build Stonehenge. This explains how they managed to transport the stones, some weighing 50 tons.

Finland doesn't exist, it is actually a part of the Baltic sea. Russia and Japan made up this fictional country in 1918 so they could fish in the sea that truly exists there without any environmental complaints or repercussions. The fish would be shipped via the Trans-Siberian railway to Japan under the disguise of Nokia products.

Holocaust is a hoax or at best an exaggeration. (Some countries, including Austria and Germany, have made Holocaust denial a criminal offence.)

The 1969 moon landing never took place. This was faked by NASA, and no man has ever set foot on the moon.

Donald Trump won the 2020 US election by a landslide. Joe Biden and the Democrats stole the election from him by destroying Republican votes and adding to the number of Democrat votes.

Hillary Clinton, together with other high-ranking Democrats, were involved in child trafficking and child abuse. This took place in the basement of a Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong.

Choose some of the conspiracy theories presented above and try to explain why anyone would make up stories like these. Are they doing it for economic gain, to gain power, to undermine someone else, or just for fun?
Some conspiracy theories are more serious than others. What are the consequences of these conspiracies? In the short run and in the long run? Which of the claims above do you think have had negative repercussions on societies or people?
The last two conspiracy theories had serious consequences. Do a bit of research and find out what happened.
Why are conspiracy theories a democratic problem?

Watch and discuss:

What is fact checking, and why is it so important? Watch the following video before you move on to the tasks below.

Is it possible or necessary to fact check all claims and statements? If you were a fact checker, how would you decide which claims or statements to check?
When looking for the right information in historical articles, Joseph Hogan, the fact checker in the video, mentions that he often consults peer-reviewed articles. What is a peer-reviewed article? In what way is this type of article different from other articles, and is it more reliable?
Hogan talks about a McDonald's lawsuit. What is a lie of omission? Explain how a lie of omission affected the narratives around the McDonald's lawsuit.
Hogan also mentions a false media narrative from the 1990s about super-predators. What was the problem with the theory presented by the scientist, and what were the consequences of the narrative created by the media?
Studies have shown that false news travel faster on social media than true stories. Why do you think this happens? And how has the rise of digital media and the internet made it easier to spread false information?
The video states that it is important to look at who is making a claim in a story, and why they might be claiming this. Can you think of any news stories where the source of the story, or the motives of that source, have affected the reliability of the information in the story?
If you see a story on social media that you know or suspect is wrong, what do you do?

Game:

Harmony Square is a game about fake news. The game takes place in the idyllic Harmony Square, a small, peaceful neighbourhood mildly obsessed with democracy. You have been hired as Chief Disinformation Officer, and your job is to disturb the square's peace and quiet by stirring up trouble, fomenting internal division and pitting its residents against each other.

The goal of the game is to expose the tactics and manipulation techniques that are used to mislead people, build a following, or exploit societal tensions for political purposes.

You can find the game here: Breaking Harmony Square

Fact-checking:

False or misleading information affects us all: it can promote hate, damage people’s health, and hurt our democracy. As social media has been taking over more and more of the information flow, fact-checking organisations have become increasingly important in order to sift out as much fake news as possible.

In the box below, you will find a list of different fact-checking organisations from the United Kingdom and the United States. Use one or several of the websites and do the activities below.

Fact Checking Organisations

Find one debunked article that you immediately would suspect is fake news and one article that would probably have fooled you if you had seen it on social media or in the news. What is the difference between the two articles? What makes one of them more credible than the other?
What do the fact checkers do to verify the information in the two stories? Find out who made the original false statement and what agenda this person or group may have.
Find a partner. Present your articles and explain in your own words what the claim was and what the fact checkers found out.

Write:

Write a text where you discuss the role of social media in fact-checking. Should social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accept more responsibility for the information shared on their platforms by fact-checking their stories? What are the potential costs and benefits of giving these companies more of a responsibility for the validity of the stories they share?
Former President Donald Trump repeated many times during his presidency that the press was 'the enemy of the people' and that they spread fake news. Write a text where you discuss the reasons he may have had for this strategy and what the consequences were.