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An interactive quiz to determine if information is from a legitimate source

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Learn the signs of online disinformation and internet trolls. The Spot the Troll quiz asks you to examine real social media profiles and posts and decide whether they are legitimate.

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He can be reached at fbaker1346@gmail.com
Twitter: @fbaker

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Newseum ED is provided as a free educational resource and contains copyrighted material. Registration is required for full access. Signing up is simple and free.

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From the Annenberg Center

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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

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BROOKE GLADSTONE: The beauty of social media is that it gives instant commentary and reaction to the press coverage.

There was, to me, just a stunningly brilliant hashtag campaign that followed the posting of menacing pictures of Michael Brown called #IfTheyGunnedMeDown. In other words, which picture of me would they use? Would they use the one of me in my marine uniform or the one of me in my hoodie? You know, would they use the picture of me in my business suit or in my disco dress? And so on and so forth.

LARRY MORRIS: This is an issue that African Americans have had with the media for a very long time. It is nothing new. Its not exclusive to St. Louis, Baltimore, Watts, any place theres been riots. When you see pictures of African Americans or black Americans, whatever you may choose, its always in a light thats negative. So #IfTheyGunnedMeDown was just to highlight [that].

Like me, I have my Bachelors degree and Im working on my Masters degree. Now, I dont really post a lot of pictures of me doing anything unsavory, but I have friends that will catch me in the moment. What are you going to put up of me? Because image is everything. A picture is a thousand words. If the first thing you see is me with a red cup in my hand and a bottle of vodka, youre going to automatically make the assumption, Well, he likes to party it up. Hes crazy. But you know, you wouldnt know that Ive been trained in certain things, that Im involved in my community, and thats what that whole movement was about.

How would they depict me? What would they pick and it was just very, very strong, it was a very strong sentiment that the way that they did it was wrong. But, like you said, some people would be like, They were showing him from what he really is. Well, nobodys perfect.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: #IfTheyGunnedMeDown was a great hashtag, because I think it allowed people in the media to really understand what people were thinking when they see these photos and make kind of understand the complexity that goes into kind of choosing photos and choosing how you define someone and choosing how you really tell the world about someone.

As reporters, were up against deadlines, were up against word limits, were up against all this stuff thats kind of making me try to simplify a story. And I think the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown made me think, even as we simplify, even as we try to tell people stories in 500 words, try to get more of who that person was.

JEAN BUCHANAN: We had one of Michael Brown in his cap and gown that we used a few times. There is a certain segment of the population that was furious every time we used it, cause, you know, Michael Browns a thug and here we are showing him in a cap and gown.

You know, people are many things. Kids pose, they do stupid things. I think you have to be really careful when youre using photos of children and, you know, are you presenting this 13-year-old as a thug? I mean, hes a kid, so I just think you have to be really careful with what you do.

I think its really important that news organizations just be fair and try to be neutral when they choose photos of people, particularly victims in crimes. And perpetrators in crimes.

DAVID CARSON: We had a situation here in St. Louis where a gentleman hadVonDerrit Myershad a run-in with police and it ended up being a fatal shooting by the police officer who shot him.

The family contends VonDerrit did not have a gun. The police investigation showedand I think accurately showedthat VonDerrit did have a gun and was firing back at the police officer that was chasing him.

I think its credible in this case that VonDerrit had a gun and one of the reasons why I say its credible is that if you looked on social media, there were pictures of VonDerrit holding the stolen gun that was recovered at the scene days before thatthat were posted to social media days before thatand we ran with that picture.

We ran that picture in the paper because I think that picture with VonDerrit holding a gun, and it was the stolen gun that was recovered at the scene, was an important piece of the story that was going on here. It sort of backed up and provided validity to what the police saidthat they recovered this gun. It would be very hard to reproduce and fake ahead of time.

People got mad about us choosing the picture with VonDerrit with the gun, but it had been circulated on social media even before we chose it. Its not the only representation of him that we put out. We also have used a mug shot of him. But it is part of this story now. Now there are people saying youre slandering his name. I dont think were slandering his name. This really happened, this was a picture that he and his friends had posted on social media. This is how they were portraying themselves at that particular time.

KENYA VAUGHN: As an African American person, we have this certain way that we intentionally or organically idealize a person that theyve passed away. Its just kind of what we do as people. We want to showcase the best part of them.

But people always say, Well, if it bleeds it leads or the more sensational, the more hits. But we kind of incorporate a sense of social responsibility in our reporting and that goes into selecting photos as well. This is my personal policy: as a human being, what would I want the last photo of my child or my nephew or my niece or something to be? I have the fortunate liberty to be part of an aspirational, advocacy-type news organization where I have that liberty to do that. Not everyone does, but at the same time its like, as a human being what would I want somebody to have as a last picture of me?

BROOKE GLADSTONE: In the day, when a reporter was on the bummer beat, and they were going to get a picture of the victim, generally they let the family choose. That was almost always the case. You know if somebody was gunned down by, you know, some crazy gunman, or even was caught in a crossfire, or for whatever reason, out of respect for the family, they would let the family choose the picture.

DAVID CARSON: With social media, things are different because people are publishing photos of themselves online that are accessible and people can find and sometimes digital organizations are finding the photographs on their own without going through the family.

Theres always a debate there about what photo youre going to use to represent people and I think thats also important for people to remember that these things they post on social media can be seen by many people and images are a powerful thing and they can change how youre perceived.

I dont know what the answer to that is.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The solution, as you said, is youre kind of open to bias no matter what picture you choose. Likely youre probably going to have one picture in the paperI work for a newspaper. In broadcast or online you might have multiple pictures. So I think that for one, as news organizations, we should probably strive for multiple pictures of somebody instead of one picture. Weve seen multiple pictures of Trayvon Martin, weve seen multiple pictures of Michael Brown. Its best, I think, to use multiple pictures of someone.

But I think if you have one picture to deal with, I think, one, it should probably come from the family if its something thats relevant and something thats kind of recent. But I also think that it should also be relevant to what was going on at the time. So, if you were a veteran five years ago, but only last year this picture was taken of you kind of hanging out at the beach, I might use the five-year picture, but the most relevant picture and the most recent picture is you on the beach.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Everything conveyed by a picture, and the picture selected via an unconscious bias, a bias that will confirm what it is you think you really understand about a situation that you really dont understand at all.

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BROOKE GLADSTONE: The beauty of social media is that it gives instant commentary and reaction to the press coverage. There was, to me, just a stunningly brilliant hashtag campaign that followed the posting of menacing pictures of Michael Brown called #IfTheyGunnedMeDown. In other words, which picture of me would they use?

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(for use as a HANDOUT, print as LANDSCAPE or HORIZONTAL ) Political Ad Analysis Worksheet
by Frank Baker, revised 2015
Teachers: Have your students view a campaign commercial first with no instruction. Next, distribute this page as a handout.
Assign different students one of the columns; play the ad again. Have each student report and share their observations.

Types of Political ads :
Negative - One candidate portrays the other in an unfavorable ligh
Warm and Fuzzy - Candidates make the viewer feel good about the country or his/her campaign.
Biography & Vision: emphasize the candidate's life or "vision" for America
Humorous - Candidates elicit a laugh or smile from the viewer.
Scary - Candidates evoke images of fear (usually combined with a Negative ad)
Advocacy- advocates for/against a certain position(s) on an issue/person
Trust: seek to convince voters that the candidate is someone they can trust to lead them during challenging times

* Things to pay attention to:
Colors
Superimposed Words
Props Code Words
People Music
Symbols Clothing

Techniques: Appeals to fear/prejudice; bandwagon; card stacking; fancy figures; flattery/insincerity;
glittering generality; image transfer; loaded words; name calling; negativity; inferences as facts; quotes out of context; repetition; rumor mongering; warm and fuzzy image; catchy words/phrases

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Political Ad Analyzing Worksheet - Media Literacy Clearinghouse

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Political Ad Analysis Worksheet ©2004 by Frank Baker, revised 2015 (for use as a HANDOUT, print as LANDSCAPE or HORIZONTAL ) Teachers: Have your students view a campaign commercial first with no instruction. Next, distribute this page as a handout. Assign different students one of the columns; play the ad again.

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HANDOUT #2 - Media Literacy Analysis Worksheet Created by Karen Zill & Frank Baker
Print this out and distribute to your students. It is not designed to be a scorecard of who won or who lost but is meant to assist students in their analysis of both the rhetoric as well as the images during the debates. Individual students, or groups of students can be assigned one of the rows or candidates. Students should use the blank spaces under each candidate's name to denote what they've seen or heard.

Rhetoric: Argument/Evidence
What specific argument(s) and evidence does the candidate use to bolster his/her case on a specific topic?

Rhetoric: Content
What new ideas/proposals did
the candidate propose, if any?

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Debate: Media Literacy Analysis Worksheet - Media Literacy Clearinghouse

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HANDOUT #2 - Media Literacy Analysis Worksheet Created by Karen Zill & Frank Baker Teachers: Print this out and distribute to your students. It is not designed to be a scorecard of who won or who lost but is meant to assist students in their analysis of both...

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Essential Google Search Tricks for Research

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Public Policy:  A Crash Course in Real Time

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Project Citizen Task 1 Assignment Cohort 2

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Assignment 2: Examine Alternative Policies

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Assignment 2: Examine Alternative Policies

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Project Citizen Task 2: Examine Alternative Policies Cohort 2

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Free lessons and assessments that help you teach students to evaluate online information that affects them, their communities, and the world.

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Assignment 3: Policy Proposal and Action Plan

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Assignment 3: Policy Proposal and Action Plan

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The News Literacy Project works with educators and journalists to give students the skills they need to discern fact from fiction and to know what to trust.

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Assignment 4: Group Speech and Portfolio

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Assignment 4: Group Speech and Portfolio

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MiddleWeb is all about middle school & the middle grades - with a sharp focus on teaching and learning in grades 4-8. Join us, learn about our 5 streams of content, and find out how to get involved.

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MiddleWeb is all about middle school & the middle grades - with a sharp focus on teaching and learning in grades 4-8. Join us, learn about our 5 streams of content, and find out how to get involved.

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media literacy fake news tv television cablle digital teachers resource

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Assignment 5: Project Citizen Reflection

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Assignment 5: Project Citizen Reflection

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Project Citizen Reflection Assignment Cohort 2

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crash course media literacy - Bing video

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Top suggestions for crash course media literacy

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how to spot misinformation online - Bing video

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Top suggestions for how to spot misinformation online

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VERIFY's mission is to stop the spread of false information.

What is VERIFY?

VERIFY is dedicated to helping the public distinguish between true and false information. The VERIFY team, with help from questions submitted by the audience, tracks the spread of stories or claims that need clarification or correction. We provide trustworthy, transparent information to prove or disprove them. VERIFY's sources are always provided, allowing the audience to see exactly how the team determines the veracity of any claims.

VERIFY is owned by TEGNA, one of the country's largest owners of local television stations. We work with 49 newsrooms across the country so that VERIFY covers a wide-range of topics that impact diverse communities.

Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter and text alerts. You can also follow VERIFY on YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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A VERIFY story consists of four key elements: the claim, the sources, the explanation and the answer.

The Claim

We gather claims or questions from our audience via text, email and social media.

The Sources

Our sources are listed at the beginning of every VERIFY story. We only use primary sources to determine the answer. Primary sources include original media like photos and videos, original documents, peer-reviewed studies and vetted experts.

The Explanation

The VERIFY story provides background information about the claim or question and a thorough explanation of the topic so the audience can grasp the full context of the story.

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We strive to label each claim as true or false based on the information we gather in the reporting process.

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To submit a question or claim to be VERIFIED, or to sign up for our newsletter, fill out this form.

To contact VERIFY, text us at 202-410-8808 or email questions@verifythis.com.

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VERIFY is committed to the highest ethical standards and dedicated to the principles of truth, independence, public interest, fair play and integrity. See our full ethics policy here.

Corrections Policy

If a correction is warranted, the VERIFY team will quickly and transparently address the error. We will update the existing story across all platforms and include the correction or clarification note in the story text, explaining to our audience what changed and why. Sometimes information changes that requires an update to a previous story. Those instances will be handled in a similar fashion. If you notice an error or want to request a correction, please contact us.

Meet the Team

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VERIFY Fact Check - About the Team - VERIFYThis.com

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VERIFY is dedicated to helping the public distinguish between true and false information. The VERIFY team, with help from questions submitted by the audience, tracks the spread of stories or claims that need clarification or correction. We provide trustworthy, transparent information to prove or disprove them.

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Online Verification Skills — Video 2: Investigate the Source

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Research Guides: Evaluating Sources: The CRAAP Test

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Use the resources in this guide to help you develop the critical evaluation skills to select the best books, journal ariticles, and web sites to support your research projects.

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Fake News: Recommendations - Media Literacy Clearinghouse

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If you read any news story about "fake news" in the past four years, you no doubt came across the phrase "media literacy." From the various news stories and blog posts, I have compiled the following recommendations and advice. (NOTE: lesson plans, handouts and related videos are posted near the...

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Don’t believe what you see – digging deeper for the truth – Linking Learning

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How can students get better at sorting truth from fiction from everything in between? At applying their attention to the things that matter? At amplifying better treatments of issues, and avoiding …

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Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)

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This edition of Keeping Up With… was written by Nicole E. Brown, Kaila Bussert, Denise Hattwig, and Ann Medaille. Nicole E. Brown is Multidisciplinary Instruction Librarian at New York University, email: neb1@nyu.edu; Kaila Bussert is Visual Resources Outreach Librarian at Cornell University, email:…

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Webinars on images used in recent events

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The Media Education Lab founded in 2003 by Professor Renee Hobbs to improve the practice of media literacy education through scholarship and community service. We offer professional development and curriculum resources on all aspects of media literacy education, as it is practiced in and out of schools.

The Media Education Lab also researches the best practices of media literacy education and conducts program evaluation to measure the impact of teaching media literacy using a multidisciplinary research agenda.

Since the Media Education Lab is not a place but a community of learners, many educators and college teachers (as well as graduate students and scholars) join our global network to increase their knowledge and practice.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION THAT HELPS THE MEDIA EDUCATION LAB TO GROW

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The Media Education Lab founded in 2003 by Professor Renee Hobbs to improve the practice of media literacy education through scholarship and community service. We offer professional development and curriculum resources on all aspects of media literacy education, as it is practiced in and out of schools.

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There are 15 titles in this set.

Through stunning photographs and vivid narrative nonfiction, Captured History makes readers feel that they are present at the events depicted in these award-winning titles.

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There are 15 titles in this set. Through stunning photographs and vivid narrative nonfiction, Captured History makes readers feel that they are present at the events depicted in these award-winning titles.

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Protecting Mental Health in Our Digital World Digital media and mental health are linked. That's why Media Literacy Now is launching a new advocacy campaign, "Prepare & Prevent: Addressing Mental Health & Child Safety through Large-Scale Digital Wellness Education."