How we perceive events like the war in Ukraine depends on our news sources. While never perfect, news media perform invaluable services. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears on a television screen at the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany, 25 February 2022....
The world is awash in misinformation. But can we rein it in without eroding free speech? Our podcast explores this thorny issue facing our societies. News Decoder · Let's Talk About It We are all flooded with misinformation. But what can we do about it? We turned...
Many young people find it difficult to write. They can struggle to convey their thoughts and can get bogged down in convoluted sentences. Our recommendation is to write as though you are explaining an issue to your family over dinner – to keep it simple. That’s one reason a podcast can offer a more natural way to examine an issue, even one as thorny as free speech. In their engaging podcast, Chloe Patricof and Anabella Paige of The Hewitt School speak naturally about a tough topic – misinformation – and turn to the managing editor of a U.S. media company to explore whether government regulation is an answer. Such a conversation can be an alluring way to delve into a knotty issue.
Exercise: Have your students pair up and record a conversation about a polarizing issue in their community, making sure to try to convey the views of all legitimate sides.
While around the world misinformation and lies abound, in Africa, stories transmit morals, acceptable behavior and universal truths. “Anansi the Spider” by Annie Wong (Headexplodie), courtesy of Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. In a time of widespread...
Thirty years after a landmark declaration of press freedom principles, journalists face threats that jeopardize democratic institutions around the world. Committee to Protect Journalists The international community salutes World Press Freedom Day on May 3 with...
Fake news is already eroding our shared sense of reality. Now, deepfakes and AI stand to fuel disinformation and imperil democracy. An image of a deepfake video of former U.S. President Barack Obama (AP Photo) The unprecedented mob assault on the U.S. Capitol on...
Technology permeates students’ lives and has contributed many economic benefits to the world while bringing far-flung communities closer together. But what of the downsides? The polarization of society? The dangers of spending too much time on social media? Citizens being hoodwinked into believing the unreal? One of the biggest questions facing policymakers around the world today is how to protect democracy without infringing on free speech. It’s a question that is not going to go away and which students would do well to start considering today. In this article, Stuart Grudgings introduces us to some of the disturbing possibilities of deep fake technology and begs the question of what to do about it.
Propaganda, advertising, political spin, storytelling — fake news can take many shapes. It got its start a long time ago, and there’s no quick fix. The U.S. Declaration of Independence (Wikipedia) This article is adapted from keynote remarks that were to...
Dorothy’s adventures in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ offer more than fantasy for children. Like the wizard behind his curtain, politicians world-wide deal in deceit. A film poster for the 1955 re-release of The Wizard of Oz (1939) (Wikimedia Commons) Can a...
Two global prizes supported by News Decoder recognize projects in the UK and U.S. that fight fake news and gun violence. (Photo courtesy of The Student View) A UK not-for-profit promoting media literacy and a U.S. team reporting on gun violence have won global prizes,...
A standoff in Washington involving high school students, a Native American and Hebrew Israelites offers many lessons — not all of them gloomy. Student Nick Sandmann (L) and Native American Nathan Phillips on the U.S. National Mall (photo taken from YouTube) An...
Threatened by populists and “fake news,” democracy is in crisis. But it remains better than alternatives — and a holy grail for states ditching dictators. Britain’s Big Ben clock tower, a symbol of parliamentary democracy, with a nearby statue...