You already know that misinformation is false information shared by mistake, and disinformation is false information shared on purpose to trick people. Today you will look at why both matter to you when you read and share things online. You will follow an invented scare step by step to see where one person's choice could change what happens next. Then you will write three questions to ask yourself before you share a post that makes you angry or excited.
You will follow a false story that SuperFizz drinks are being taken off the shelves. It spreads through chats and a website where anyone can post. You decide what each character could do, and the class talks about what that changes.
Your class will work through the activity below together. It tells one invented story in four parts. The false claim is posted, it is shared more widely, lots of people start talking about it in public, and finally a correction arrives, which is a message telling people the story was false.
For each card, read the story, talk about what the character could do, and be ready to say what that choice would change for the next person. There is no score.
As you go, look for moments where stopping to check, or choosing not to join in, would have slowed the scare down.
Interactive activity
On your own, write three questions to ask yourself before you share a post that makes you angry, scared or very excited. This is your pause-before-you-share check. Use what you learned from the SuperFizz case about what slowed the scare down or sped it up.
- You have three short questions that you could ask yourself in under a minute.
- They are for posts that stir up strong feelings. "Is this true?" is fine as one question, but it should not be the only one.
- One question asks where the post came from or what proof there is, and one asks what would happen if you shared it.
Misinformation and disinformation matter because they can spread faster than anyone can check them, because strong feelings make people share quickly. They cause real harm, like panic, unfair blame and wasted time. A correction often reaches fewer people than the false story did.
A false claim harms people whether or not the poster meant to trick anyone. The choices that helped most were stopping to think, asking where a claim came from, not passing it on, and sharing the correction. Your three questions help you make those choices.
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