Unit: Fake News Unit: Animal Farm Lesson: 1 of 2 Grade 10-12

Materials: projector, Gogomo handout, white board, Animal Farm by George Orwell. This lesson is
easily adaptable to Orwells 1984 and to other units in English, Socials, or Digital Citizenship curricula.

1. Opening. Students should have read through part 1 of Animal Farm for homework. Open class
with selected quotes from the novel. Squealer is described on page 9 as someone who could
turn black into white. Ask students what they imagine this means? What do they expect
Squealer to be like? You may also read a selection from page 23 where Squealer tries to
explain why pigs are allowed to eat better than the other animals. How could the animals verify
these claims?
2. Meme example #1. Abraham Lincoln meme: http://bit.ly/2nFw3Zz
Ask students to make observations about this quote. Older students will laugh. If
younger students are stumped, ask how they could verify whether this is a real quote?
3. Meme example #2. Dumbledore meme: http://bit.ly/2ondpEj
Ask students for observations about this meme. Students may notice that the words
actually belong to Yoda, not Dumbledore. They may also notice that the picture is
Gandalf of Lord of the Rings, not Dumbledore from Harry Potter. Use this to open a
discussion on the need to verify memes, videos, articles, etc.
4. Discussion. Ask students, when you hear about world eventswars, natural disasters,
electionswhere do you hear it from? Answers may include friends, newspapers, TV, radio
and the internet. Inquire about specific platforms online: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit? Collect
student responses/sources on the white board.
5. Photo example #3. Explain to students that, according to the Wall Street Journal, US press
Secretary Sean Spicer claimed that Donald Trump had the largest audience both in person
and around the globe for his inauguration. Ask students, how might we verify this claim?
Collect ideas.
Share photo from The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/2kdtJnG
When presented with these images, Kellyanne Conway, counsellor to President Trump,
called Mr. Spicers words alternative facts. Identify this language as a euphemism:
words that make an idea sound more pleasant or truthful than it really is.
6. Gogomo handout. Pass out Gogomo handout. Explain that we will be learning 12 strategies
for avoiding fake news. Ask students to record only 2-3 ideas that they could actually use from
this presentation.
7. Infographic. Begin with steps 1-3. http://bit.ly/2o02FPd
8. Examples #4-9. Go through several examples, as time permitssome, but not all, are political
examples. Ask students, how can we verify whether this is trustworthy? Continue to move
through the infographic and alternate with examples, trying the strategies as you go.
Nazi Submarine Found in Great Lakes http://bit.ly/2oU1P39 (hoax)
Baby being lifted by bird http://bit.ly/1SNpkSQ (hoax)
USA Supreme video http://bit.ly/2op2JXk (satire)
Beaver accidentally herds 150 cattle http://bit.ly/2opC5dw (true!)
Tin foil cell phone http://bit.ly/2onl713 (satire)
Obama bans pledge http://bit.ly/2mskzpf (fake news)
9. Homework: identify one media item that you could make observations about using the criteria
on propaganda and fake news. Dont pick something that you know to be either true or false.
Choose something you need to verify. Demonstrate to students how to shorten the link using
bitly.com in order to record the URL and bring it to class. You may ask students to paste their
URL selection into a Google doc that you have prepared in advance.
Unit: Fake News Unit: Animal Farm Lesson: 2 of 2 Grade 10-12

Materials: iPads, projector

1. Quick Review. Review the difference between satire and fake news, using this video from the
Onion, The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling: http://bit.ly/2o9RSh6
2. Finish Gogomo activity. Yesterday, you record 2-3 ideas from our infographic presentation
on strategies to spot fake news. We are now going to share our ideas with each other in an
activity called Give One, Get One, Move On! At the end, you should end up with a completed
handout. Do this: rotate around the room and swap handouts with another student. You should
each read the ideas on your partners handout and add something new. Alternatively, you
might add more detail to an existing idea.
3. Research media source (20 minutes). Pass out iPads. Pass out Verify It handout. Ask
students to move through the handout to record observations about their media item,
according to the Infographic steps. After completing the 12 steps, students should assess the
trustworthiness of their media.
4. Small groups. Put students in groups of 3-4. Ask them to share their observations about their
media selection and to select on student to share with the class. In order to successfully share,
students should shorten the URL of their media item at bitly.
5. Share. One student from each group should project their media item, discuss their
observations, and make an assessment of the source.

Digital resources noted

bitly.com
https://images.google.ca
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com
snopes.com
factcheck.org
Give one, Get One, Move On (GoGoMo) Name _______________________ block _____

Directions: The library infographic on propaganda and fake news offered tips for evaluating news,
photos and memes. Identify one key idea you could use to evaluate things you see and read on your
own Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Write it down in Box 1. Wait for further instructions

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12
VERIFY IT Name _________________________ Block ____

For use with the infographic http://bit.ly/2osQIjP

Use bitly.com to shorten your meme, video, or article URL. Write it here _______________________

As you evaluate your media item, move through each of the 12 steps below. As you collect observations to help
you make your decision, record them below. Give your final analysis of your media item at the end. Good luck!

1. Explore the source: Do you recognize the site name? Click around and investigate. What is this
organizations purpose? If the URL ends with .com.co or lo, be suspicious. These are often fake versions of
real news sources.If the URL begins with https it means the site is secured & trustworthy.
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2. Check the author: Most fake news is anonymous. Look for an About the author page. Do a quick search
on the person--have they written or created other things? Are they qualified to be writing about this topic? Is
this person a real reporter, professional, a real person? Facebook, will verify celebrities with a check mark.
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3. Double check claims: Compare the headline to the story--is it accurate? Now, look at the claims in the
story. Can you find the same information from at least two other sources?
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4. Pictures & quotes. If there is a quote, Google to see who really said it. If there's a photo, is there also a
credit--who took the photo? Do an image search to find out where it came from https://images.google.ca/
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5. Word choice: Look for provocative or emotional language, words that create strong emotions, positive or
negative. Look for name-calling--mean words used to make another person, idea, or product look bad.
Simple chants & slogans. Also watch out for glittering generalities, like... it's gonna be phenomenal!
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6. Propaganda techniques. (check the box of any techniques that apply)

euphemisms--calling a bad thing by a nice name to make it sound good

hopping on a bandwagon--because everyone else is doing it!

scapegoating--putting all the blame on another person

having a famous person give a testimonial

trying to cause fear
7. Advertising: Also look at the pages advertisingare the ads consistent with a credible news organization
or do they seem like click-bait? (e.g. Try this one weird tip!!)
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8. Layout. Is the article (or page) layout done in a professional way (clear, attractive, not too many fonts) If a
page says sponsored content, this is an advertisement, not real news coverage.
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9. Bias. Does the article show two sides or perspectives to an issue? Does it seem balanced? If you're
unsure, try https://mediabiasfactcheck.com
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10. Satire or hoax. Some websites make fun of current events for a laugh. Research the site and author to be
sure. Look for clues: exaggerations, a mocking tone, silliness. Also check the comments section. A hoax is a
fake story or video. If it says "this is NOT a hoax", it probably is.
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11. Proofread. Does it make sense? Is it full of spelling mistakes? Does the author use too many exclamation
marks and all caps? Does the article read smoothly? (e.g. grammar, spelling, sentence structure, language)
Check that dates line up accurately!
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12. Ask an expert. Ask a teacher, librarian, or expert in the subject. Install a browser extension like
http://bsdetector.tech. Try a fact-checking site like Snopes.com or factcheck.org
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Evaluation of your meme, video, or article: How trustworthy is the meme, video, or article you found? Give
your evaluation and a summary of your reasons below.

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Works Cited

N.p., n.d. Web. <http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/810/473/63b.jpg>.Dumbledore meme

Borowitz, Andy. "Trump Orders All White House Phones Covered in Tin Foil."The New Yorker. The New
Yorker, 04 Mar. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-
report/trump-orders-all-white-house-phones-covered-in-tin-foil?mbid=social_facebook>.

Boult, Adam. "Beaver accidentally herds 150 cattle."The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 18 Apr. 2017.
Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

D., Alex. "WATCH:Muslim Supporting Liberals Are Trying to Get This Video SILENCED! Spread This
Everywhere!"USA SUPREME. N.p., 08 Apr. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
<http://www.usasupreme.com/anti-migrant-open-gates-video-going-viral/>.

DoseDailyMedia.YouTube. N.p., 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfsjxwTR2sM>.

"Don't Believe Everything You Read On The Internet..."WeKnowMemes. N.p., 20 July 2012. Web. 18 Apr.
2017.

Orwell, George.Animal Farm. Essex: Pearson, 2014. Print.

"Pros And Cons Of Homeschooling."The Onion. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
<http://www.theonion.com/video/pros-and-cons-homeschooling-55462>.

Rustling, Jimmy.Cnn.com.de. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://cnn.com.de/news/obama-signs-

executive-order-banning-pledge-allegiance-schools-nationwide/>.

WSJVideo. "Sean Spicer on Crowd Size for Trump Inaugural."The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones &
Company, 23 Jan. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://www.wsj.com/video/sean-spicer-on-crowd-
size-for-trump-inaugural/7475F8F1-F24C-446A-9DDA-A34AA45199F5.html>.

Tim Wallace, Karen Yourish and Troy Griggs. "Trump's Inauguration vs. Obama's: Comparing the
Crowds."The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/20/us/politics/trump-inauguration-crowd.html?_r=0>.

"USA: Mysterious Nazi submarine from WWII discovered in Great Lakes."World News Daily Report. N.p.,
19 Feb. 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <https://worldnewsdailyreport.com/usa-mysterious-nazi-
submarine-from-wwii-discovered-in-great-lakes/>.

Vande Kraats, Stephanie. "Spot Propaganda copy."12 Steps to Spot Fake News. Piktochart, n.d. Web. 18
Apr. 2017. <https://magic.piktochart.com/output/21690390-spot-propaganda-copy>.