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Teach students to make effective arguments.

When students learn to debate, they gain valuable life skills. Debates teach kids to research their topic, make informed choices, and argue effectively using facts instead of emotion. This list of middle school debate topics encompasses both serious and lighthearted ideas for kids ages 10 to 14. Each topic includes a link to an article from a reliable source that provides pros and/or cons to help kids make their arguments.

Choose from one of these middle school debate topics categories to get started:

School and Education Debate Topics

Technology and Entertainment Debate Topics

Life and Ethics Debate Topics

Fun and Funny Debate Topics

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100 Winning Debate Topics for Middle School Students

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Teach students to make effective arguments. When students learn to debate, they gain valuable life skills. Debates teach kids to research their topic, make informed choices, and argue effectively using facts instead of emotion. This list of middle school debate topics encompasses both serious and lighthearted ideas for kids ages 10 to 14.

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"Fake news" is... ?

"Fake news" is a term used to refer to fabricated news. Fake news is an invention - a lie created out of nothing - that takes the appearance of real news with the aim of deceiving people. This is what is important to remember: the information is false, but it seems true.

That's logical! If it is too obvious that it is a lie, it won't have any impact. Fake news is a little like a false rumour, but on a large scale...

Just as true information has many faces, fake news can also come in many forms. Here are a few of them.

Political fake news

This is the main reason there has been so much talk about fake news in the past few years: because of the number of items during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

For example, the ETF News site published the following fake news item: "Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President". This article received over 960,000 Likes, comments or shares.But this was a lie! And of all the news - true and false - published during the American presidential election, this fake news item was shared the most.

Spectacular fake news

Sometimes fake news is shared because it is sensational. Like this item about an automobile accident supposedly caused by playing Pokemon Go. In this case, the authors used a real photo, but they gave it a title that had nothing to do with reality.

This is a trick often used by those who invent fake news. This item was shared 60,000 times on Facebook and received 150,000 Likes. Thanks to this fake news, somebody made money in ad revenue.

Fake news that stages a celebrity

Celebrities attract attention. One example was this item invented in 2017 by a website, The Mackenzie Post, claiming that Leonardo DiCaprio had told People (a real American magazine) that he wanted to move to Baie-Saint-Paul, QC, to live on a farm. This news item was shared hundreds of times, but it was totally false.

And that's not all: this item was republished with exactly the same text, but featuring other celebrities.

Fake news that tries to sell something

It would seem that eating bananas for 12 days is a good detox cure to lose weight! It would also prevent headaches, help you sleep better, etc. In short, it's a real miracle... and obviously 100% false.

News of this kind floods the Internet, and young people are often the preferred targets: miracle diet to lose 10 kilos in one week, to become a better athlete, to do well on your exams, etc. You must remember that obviously, just because this was shared by a friend doesn't make it true, and just because it's promoted by your favourite celebrity doesn't make it any truer! Everyone suspects that there are plenty of hidden ads on the web, especially on Instagram, but we tend to forget that when it's said by a person we like. For example, a blogger who pitches a special tea to lose weight and have a flat belly... But if this product sells for $60 a month, it's a good idea to think twice before committing to such an expense.

The blogger herself may believe it. But it's also possible she's being paid to sell this product- and nothing obliges her to tell us.

Fake news that creates fear

According to a post that circulated on Facebook at one time, evil clowns were circulating in Saint-Jérôme, QC. This post was shared over 63,000 times.

Maybe some people saw it as a joke, but many believed it, because the fear of evil clowns - which is a false rumour - is fairly widespread and has raised fears all over the world ever since.

Fake news that promotes racist ideas

In 2017, this photo was published on the web by an anti-immigration group. People were angry to see a bus full of veiled women.

But these aren't veiled women. If you take a few seconds to look at the picture carefully, you'll see that in reality, they are empty bus seats!

This is an example of a publication that contributes to sustaining fear of others. It is also an example of a publication that primarily reaches people who already have some fear when they think of a group different from theirs. Instead of launching a discussion or a dialogue, this type of publication instead serves to whip up fear or intolerance. Although it was completely false, you should know this publication generated plenty of Likes, comments and Shares on social media.

Fake news that sustains sexist ideas

According to the same logic, it is very easy to launch rumours or information tailor-made to sustain erroneous ideas about women.

Several memes like these are published on the Web. This post, circulating on Facebook and Instagram, maintains the idea that girls are superficial, while boys accomplish great things! Under the cover of a joke, this post is overtly sexist.

Fake news that sustains myths and conspiracies

There are also myths and urban legends on the Web. For example, the Illuminati who "control the world", the UFOs the US military is "hiding from us", people who affirm the Earth is flat...

Obviously, this is nonsense, but it circulates extensively on the Web and social media. There are an enormous number of conspiracy videos on YouTube as well.

Pranks

The main purpose of a hoax is to draw us into a trap. Like an April Fool's joke.

A golden eagle flies away with a child in a park. This prank was created by 3D animation students. The video was viewed 8 million times, according to the newspaper La Presse. Many people believed it was true. This was a joke deliberately constructed to fool people. Fortunately, the students quickly revealed how they had arranged to deceive us.

Satires

Things are a little different with satire. The goal is to make people laugh, like this publication from The Onion. However, satires can lead to confusion. In Québec, Le Journal de Mourréal and La Pravda are satirical sites. Their publications are funny, but if you only see the headlines on social media, they can fool people. Among the 65,000 people who shared this information on Facebook that the Hells Angels demonstrated against the legalization of cannabis, some believed it was a real news item.

In interviews they granted, the authors behind the Journal de Mourréal confided that they knew some readers would be fooled, but they believe it's up to them to exercise their critical abilities.

Opinions and allegations presented as facts

An opinion is not a fabricated lie. The person may believe it in good faith. But if the opinion or the allegation is presented as the truth, this can lead to confusion. That's because an opinion is not a fact and an allegation is not a proven fact either.

Certain types of messages received by private messaging

Some fake news circulates in private messages. This may be by text, by email or by Messenger. For example, fraud attempts by text are common.

You must never send money or click on a link texted by an unknown person. Banks, governments and the police do not communicate by text. Clicking on a link may allow a fraudster to hack your phone. Rumours can also circulate on messaging applications like Whatsapp or Snapchat. Often people are asked to alert their friends about a threat. Participating in these rumours can be dangerous.

In India, thirty people died after rumours circulated on Whatsapp. The same thing happened in Nigeria, where 11 people died because of fake photos that were circulating. There were also similar incidents in Mexico.

You should realize that if there is really a danger, the police will alert the public through other channels, such as TV or their own social media accounts. You must not spread rumours or warnings when you do not know the source.

Certain types of YouTube videos

YouTube is for amusement, but it is also an information source. Even funny videos can attempt to influence you.

https://youtu.be/_BO3q6JloPg

In this case, Mouton lucide (Lucid Sheep) makes a comical video to explain why the fluoride added to toothpaste is dangerous. But he is wrong in the first few seconds when he affirms that fluoride is toxic. This is true, but only in large doses. This is the case for all substances. As chemists say, "it's the dose that makes the poison".

There are only three cases in history of people who were poisoned by fluoride...including a woman who ate a whole tube of toothpaste every day! In small doses, as in toothpaste, fluoride protects the teeth.

There are hundreds of videos like this one on YouTube in English. You must always ask yourself if a YouTuber has the necessary qualifications to talk about a given subject. Especially if this is a subject concerning health!

Manipulated videos featuring celebrities...

Fake videos have existed for a long time. But until recently, this only happened in Hollywood. It took talent and plenty of time to fake a video.

Deepfake is a new technology that uses artificial intelligence to fake videos. With an application that can be downloaded, images are used to "teach" artificial intelligence to imitate a face. When this is done, the software can insert the face in any video.
https://youtu.be/gLoI9hAX9dw
The results are not always convincing, but this is just the beginning. The technology will surely improve. And this allows anyone to fake a video, even with no talent.

This may seem funny, but it's worrying. Imagine if someone created a fake video of the President of the United States declaring war... In any case, this type of technology worries a lot of people!

Just because you disagree with an opinion doesn't mean it's fake news

Be careful not to consider an opinion to be fake news just because you disagree with it. A politician, whenever he is criticized, might be tempted to say it's fake news, but that would be dishonest. First you must ask yourself whether the criticism is based on facts or opinions.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion: people who say they don't like a specific politician or a specific film therefore cannot be accused of publishing fake news. On the other hand, people who attribute completely invented statements or dialogue to a politician or a film they don't like have published fake news in an attempt to present their opinion as the truth.

Let's emphasize once again: an opinion is not a fact.

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What is "fake news" ? - 30sec to check it out

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"Fake news" is... ? "Fake news" is a term used to refer to fabricated news. Fake news is an invention - a lie created out of nothing - that takes the appearance of real news with the aim of deceiving people. This is what is important to remember: the information is false, but it seems true.

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Great News Websites for Students | Common Sense Education

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Which news sites can students trust? These great, classroom-friendly news apps and sites can give students different perspectives on key current events. Find options for students of all grade levels -- all un-biased, well-researched, and guaranteed to pique students' interest.

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"I think the classroom teacher has a unique opportunity to introduce media literacy concepts and critical thinking questions every time they teach with images, film, video, news, advertising and the Internet." Frank Baker, Media Literacy Clearinghouse

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"I think the classroom teacher has a unique opportunity to introduce media literacy concepts and critical thinking questions every time they teach with images, film, video, news, advertising and the Internet." Frank Baker, Media Literacy Clearinghouse

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It's okay, but a bit wordy, with articles that are fairly lengthy and involved. I'm not sure that just looking at the name of a source would help you truly figure out if something's fake or not-you'd probably also have to do some Googling as well.

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Writing Tips for "for" and "against" essay

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Writing Tips for "for" and "against" essay

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You want to reveal the truth about different cases. However, you need to prove you are right. You managed to enter the NY Times office but you have only 40 minutes to collect the evidence. If you don't fulfill your mission, you will be arrested for betraying your country. Ready ? Steady ... Go !

0

100
Look for pieces of evidence in each room.
You escaped the New York Times and completed the three missions.

40

Look for the hidden file on the screen. Click on it and follow the instructions.

Listen to the audio file and fill in the blanks.

It was reported that there were three on .

A huge flaming object, probably a ,

0

100

This file contains the proof that this piece of news was fake. Open it and read it.

Then, choose the correct answer(s).

This event took place in . People believed it was true because . People and they tried to . They thought it was . In fact, it was only . After this episode, Welles .

it was realistic

something similar happened the year before

they witnessed the scene

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50

You found the first piece of evidence. "3" is the first cipher you will have to enter to go out.

[On Oct. 30th 1938, Orson] Welles introduced his radio play with a spoken introduction, followed by an announcer reading a weather report. [...]

An announcer broke in to report that "Professor Farrell of the Mount Jenning Observatory" had detected explosions on the planet Mars. Then the dance music came back on, followed by another interruption in which listeners were informed that a large meteor had crashed into a farmer's field in Grovers Mills, New Jersey.

Soon, an announcer was at the crash site describing a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder. "Good heavens," he declared, "something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here's another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me... I can see the thing's body now. It's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it... it... ladies and gentlemen, it's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it's so awful. [...]

Soon "Martian cylinders" landed in Chicago and St. Louis. The radio play was extremely realistic, with Welles employing sophisticated sound effects and his actors doing an excellent job portraying terrified announcers and other characters. An announcer reported that widespread panic had broken out in the vicinity of the landing sites, with thousands desperately trying to flee. In fact, that was not far from the truth.

Perhaps as many as a million radio listeners believed that a real Martian invasion was underway. Panic broke out across the country. In New Jersey, terrified civilians jammed highways seeking to escape the alien marauders. People begged police for gas masks to save them from the toxic gas and asked electric companies to turn off the power so that the Martians wouldn't see their lights. One woman ran into an Indianapolis church where evening services were being held and yelled, "New York has been destroyed! It's the end of the world! Go home and prepare to die!"

When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio, Welles went on the air as himself to remind listeners that it was just fiction. There were rumors that the show caused suicides, but none were ever confirmed. The Federal Communications Commission investigated the program but found no law was broken. Networks did agree to be more cautious in their programming in the future. Orson Welles feared that the controversy generated by War of the Worlds would ruin his career. In fact, the publicity helped land him a contract with a Hollywood studio, and in 1941 he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in Citizen Kane-a movie that many have called the greatest American film ever made.

"Welles Scares Nation", History.com, 2009.

Look for the hidden document. Observe it carefully. Then, click on it.

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100

1. Which event is presented on this picture?

This event is the 1969 first moon landing by the Apollo 11 mission.

This event is the 1971 moon landing by the Apollo 15 mission.

This event is the 1957 Sputnik launching.

2. Why is this picture fake news?

Because the moon landing was only a legend.

Because the astronaut did not raise the American flag.

Because the photographers could not be with the astronaut on the moon.

Read the questions and tick the correct answer(s). You can do some researches if necessary.

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50

You have a penalty of 10 seconds. Wait and think before answering.

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100

You passed the second level. It unlocked the drawer hidden behind the long desk and you managed to take the original picture of the 1971 moon landing. In this drawer, you also found the second cipher of the password: 5.

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50

OJ Simpson is a footballer who was accused of a double murder (his wife and her lover) and who was finally acquitted. Watch the beginning of "The People v. OJ Simpson" and find the elements showing that the final verdict might be debatable.

0

200

0

100

2

0

50

The last cipher is 9.

He did not ask how the victim died.

Click on the elements that might question OJ Simpson's innocence. Only two mistakes are accepted. Then, the game freezes.

12345

OPEN

359

TRY AGAIN

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You want to reveal the truth about different cases. However, you need to prove you are right. You managed to enter the NY Times office but you have only 40 minutes to collect the evidence. If you don't fulfill your mission, you will be arrested for betraying your country. Ready ?

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