Truth or Trickery: Spotting Fake News

Fake news is false information presented as truth, often spread to mislead audiences for political, financial, or social purposes. With the rise of AI, it’s easier than ever to create convincing fake news articles, deepfake videos, or doctored images. For example, AI tools have been used to mimic political figures in false scenarios or fabricate events that never happened. These tools can sway public opinion, spread fear, or amplify conspiracy theories.

How can we protect ourselves from falling for fake news?

Understanding Fake News: Fake news often targets emotions like fear or anger to gain clicks, shares, and attention. It might appear on questionable websites or in manipulated videos, such as deepfake videos mimicking celebrities or politicians.

Being Proactive: You can combat fake news by checking multiple reliable sources, using fact-checking websites, and critically examining headlines and images.

Practice Spotting Fakes: Try the interactive quiz Fact or Fake: Can You Tell the Difference? to see how good your instincts are.

Your Task:
Pair Up: Work with a partner to pick a topic, either from recent news or a common school theme (e.g., a new rule, sports event, or upcoming dance).

Design Your Posts:
-One partner creates a true social media post about the topic.
-The other partner creates a fake social media post about the same topic.
-Use a platform style of your choice (e.g., a TikTok video design, a tweet, or a mock newspaper headline). Both posts should look as believable as possible!

The Challenge:
Submit your posts online. A KnoPro judge will attempt to correctly guess the real post from the fake one! (Sorry, we can't tell you who won)

Reflect & Write:
Make a note of which post was real and which was fake.
What made each post convincing or suspicious?
How can people better identify fake content online?