Think Before You Share

You hear a lot about fake news these days. Some even talk about “real” fake news and “fake” fake news. Wrap your head around that!

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• double check - to check once and then once more in order to be certain
• fishy - likely to be bad or untrue
• dodgy - false, untrue, dishonest

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. Everything online is true. True or false?


2. Name one reason why people make up fake news.


3. Name at least 3 questions you should ask yourself before believing (and sharing) a story.


4. What do you learn about sites with a .com web address, a .co.uk web address or a .com.co web address?

Fake News

Some say, fake news reports had a big influence on the presidential elections in the US. True or not, these days fake news is all over the news. Though actually, it has been around forever.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• snippet - a small piece of information or news
• dodgy - false or dishonest
• suss - suspicious; causing a feeling that something is wrong

Before you watch the video

1. Discuss or write down what fake news is according to you.

Read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. Name 2 or more reasons why people create fake news stories.


2. In the video you can hear a lot of fake headlines. Name 3 of them.


3. What actions are Facebook and Google planning against fake news postings?


4. Repeat the three things you can do to spot fake news.

Extra writing excercise
1. Write three catchy fake news headlines.

Extra extra writing excercise
1. Pick a fake news headline from the video or one of your own.
2. Write a fake news report to the headline.