## Step 2 - Reading and writing

You’re going to read an article. The headline has been jumbled.
Put the words into the correct order. The last two words have been placed correctly.
Choose the topics that you think will appear in the article.

- teachers frustration
- research findings
- pupils refuse to believe real news
- a royal opinion
- laws imposed by a country

Read the full article and check your ideas. Then do the exercise.

[TITLE] Teachers express frustration at pupils refusing to accept some stories found on social networks are false, as experts call for better education on online dangers Rachael Pells Education Correspondent @rachaelpells Wednesday 12 April 2017 14:30 BST 'Pupils often mistake spoof news sites for real news, or presume anything President Trump has said must be fact,' one teacher said. Pupils are quoting fake news as fact in lessons and written work, teachers have warned. More than a third of teachers say their students have cited false information found online, according to a poll by the NASUWT teaching union. Union General Secretary Chris Keates said the finding was “worrying” and shows the power that internet firms have in shaping public opinion, especially among young people. The figures come amid growing concerns from international education experts, who say children should be taught in schools how to recognize fake news. In one case, a union member said that “some students did not attend school and hysteria ensued because they thought there were killer clowns roaming the streets with weapons”. Another said pupils “often mistake spoof news sites for real news”. Others expressed frustration over students refusing to believe news they had seen on Facebook and other social sites was not true, even when the problem was explained to them. “Pupils often mistake spoof news sites for real news, or presume anything President Trump has said must be fact,” one teacher added. Last week, German officials announced they would issue fines of up 50m euros to social networks for not taking down illegal fake news posts. The new law would give social networks 24 hours to delete or block the content and seven days to address less clear-cut cases. Commenting on the survey findings, Ms Keates said: “It is worrying that over a third of teachers had experienced pupils citing fake news or inaccurate information they had found online as fact in their work or during classroom discussions. “This demonstrates the great power that companies such as Facebook and Google now have in shaping public opinion, particularly among young people who have never known a world without internet and who are less equipped to analyse the information they see presented to them online and assess its plausibility. “It is important for children and young people to be made aware that not everything they see and read online is real.” She said that teachers are trying to help educate pupils when they cite false information, but added that, as with other forms of technology misuse, it is important for online providers to “take responsibility for the material hosted on their platforms and to take steps to tackle those who seek to misuse these sites”. Last month, Andreas Schleicher, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) director of education and skills, said that in the modern digital age, schools should teach pupils how to think critically and analyse what they read on social media and news sites. “In the past, when you needed information, you went to an encyclopaedia, you looked it up, and you could trust that information to be true,” Mr Schleicher said. “Distinguishing what is true from what is not true is a critical skill today,” he added. “Exposing fake news, even being aware that there is something like fake news, that there is something that is written that is not necessarily true, that you have to question, think critically, that is very important. “This is something that we believe schools can do something about.”

## Writing

Read the text again and answer the questions in your own words.

1. To what extent do you agree with the points made in the article? Give two reasons.
2. Have your teachers taught you to critically evaluate information found on the internet?
3. What actions can you take to verify news stories, photographs and other sources of online information?

Did you hear that Pope in 2016 endorsed Donald Trump for president? Or that Hillary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS? Crazy, right? Of course 100% false! But a lot of people shared this news and so it was ranked high in the Google search. Fake news. There is growing evidence that fake news has the power to shape public opinion and even sway elections.

4. Have you ever cited fake information from the internet (either for school or not)? What was the story about? Why did you believe it? What happened?
5. What do you think can be the consequences of fake news?

Write your story (about 150 words).