In the spring, I was fortunate to be teaching a Garfield’s Cyber Safety Adventures lesson to a group of inquisitive 3rd graders. We had thoughtful conversations about online privacy and safety. One of my students raised her had and asked about the Momo Challenge, which was a hot topic at the time. “Is the Momo Challenge real?” After explaining that it was a hoax, I explained what a hoax is and why we need to watch out for them. The student replied, “But it was on the news, it must be real.” It was a valid point, I supposed. If it’s reported on the news, it should be real right?
Enter FAKE NEWS. Most of us get the concept. We probably think that we are pretty good at distinguishing fake news from real news. We all know that you can’t believe everything you read or see on the internet. I think I understand why kids can easily get it wrong. They’re trusting – they believe what they see and what they learn from adults – from their parents to the TV news anchor to their favorite YouTube or internet influencer. We need to teach our children how to question what they see, how to identify reputable sources of information, how to think critically and develop their own educated opinions. And more importantly, to feel comfortable talking about it with you and asking questions about topics that sometimes we wish our children didn’t have to ponder. It’s the world we live in, where it’s almost impossible to tune out negativity in the media and distinguish real from fake.
I wouldn’t recommend that our children watch too much of the news (I wouldn’t recommend it for adults either – it’s often too depressing and negative for me, but I understand that’s how the media gets ratings, likes, shares and ultimately profits.) By now, you might have realized that this post isn’t just about protecting our kids. It’s an issue that we all deal with. Adults, teens, grand parents – we’re all challenged on a daily basis to distinguish fact from fiction. Real news from fake news. It’s not easy and we get it wrong all the time.
Adults are often quick to align our opinions with media outlets that we trust because we think they accurately represent our values and beliefs. They are like us. So why is fake news even a thing? It exists for a variety of reasons – to perpetuate a hoax, enable a scam, or influence an election – just to name a few. Facebook has been in hot water because it was thought that fake news on its platform allowed bad actors to influence and manipulate voters in the US presidential elections. Facebook is even trying to do something about it – hiring thousands of people to tackle the issue and developing its algorithms to guide us in distinguishing fact from fiction.
I don’t believe this is a problem that can be solved by technology. Here’s a few things we can do:
- Pause before we willingly accept what is presented to us in the media, ask questions, and think before we share.
- Be aware of our influence on others before unintentionally or intentionally spreading misinformation. Our kids and loved ones are tuned in.
- Realize that our online actions can influence your network of friends, family, and even complete strangers across the internet. When we share fake news, we are feeding the monster.
- Have an ongoing, real-world conversation with your family about what they are seeing in the media, what’s worth learning more about, what to tune out, and encourage them to challenge first impressions and form their own educated opinions.
Let’s get each other thinking critically, and equipped to respond, post and share thoughtfully online. And remember, knowing when not to share is just as important!
Fake or Real? It’s not always easy, but I hope that awareness of the issue and how to approach it will aid us all in avoiding the pitfalls of fake news.
