Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: A lot of wind about wind farms

15 minutes

Find Out: The fact checker’s checklist

25 minutes

Take Action: Polarised perspectives

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

analyse the motivations behind misinformation.

Success criteria

Students can:

develop a checklist for evaluating credibility in media
assess the motivations behind different viewpoints.

Tune In: A lot of wind about wind farms

Step 1

Guide students through the Visual Explainer which details the FLICC model:

Fake experts
Logical fallacies
Impossible expectations
Cherry picking
Conspiracy theories

This presentation will break down the model with some examples that students might encounter daily. These examples will help students connect and understand misinformation and disinformation through engaging and familiar contexts, before setting them up to recognise and analyse similar patterns in real-world scenarios about clean energy.

Explain to students that this model is a helpful way to spot tricks that people sometimes use to spread false information. Following each technique is a slide that provides 3 pro tips on how to spot if a specific trick has been used in the delivery of information. Guide students through these tips.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will investigate a false statement (disinformation) made by President Donald Trump in 2019. Display the Visual Explainer to the class and read through slide 2.

Learning extension: As a class, watch the video of Donald Trump’s speech. Viewing the speech makes it harder for students to decode the language that shapes the false statement. The delivery and pace of the false statement are classic humour techniques.

Step 3

As a class, examine the statement and discuss what language and features of this statement might make someone believe the statement on slide 3. Next, refer to slide 4 and read through the annotations to supplement student discussion.

Step 4

As a class, explore what fact-checkers say about this specific speech and its claims via the Fact Check website (factcheck.org/2019/04/trumps-faulty-wind-power-claims). Optional alternative fact checks of this speech can be found at the following websites:

New York Times (free account needed)
Mother Jones

Step 5

Examine 1 of the articles and create a class list on the whiteboard of each step the fact-checkers went through:

Claims: List each claim. The short extract from this speech contains 2 claims: a) wind turbines cause cancer and b) wind farms significantly reduce the value of a house. If you used it, further claims about bird deaths and unreliable service are made in the longer clip.
Evidence: Check each claim for scientific, independent, or authoritative sources about this topic. Stick to findings based on repeatable evidence. All of the claims were untrue.
Motive: Explore possible motives for promoting misinformation.

Find Out: The fact checker’s checklist

Step 1

As a class, create a fact-checkers checklist for evaluating credibility in media statements. Use the experience of the fact-checking activities above to assist.

Items for your class checklist may include:

Does the original statement or post cite sources?
What claim/s does it make?
Can any of these claims be verified (in whole or in part) with evidence from reliable sources? Emphasise the reliability of sources.
Is the language it uses emotional? Does it seek to invoke fear or self-protection, greed or personal gain?
What is the longer-term pattern of the author’s claims and actions on this topic?
Is a motive apparent, such as personal gain for the speaker or organisation?
Is reporting on the topic balanced, with different perspectives from equally reputable sources?

You may do this on a digital whiteboard or platform on a display for all students to work from. Ensure the complete class checklist remains visible for the next activity.

Step 2 (optional)

Allow students to use their devices to play the Cranky Uncle (crankyuncle.com) game, which examines tactics used to create denial arguments of the FLICC model. Students can add anything they’ve learnt from the game to their fact-checkers checklist and revise the list as needed.

Take Action: Polarised perspectives

Step 1

Divide the class into 2 groups and allocate the source they will investigate to each group. Please note that groups will be examining different sources of information.

Explain to students that Group 1 will investigate an opinion piece, ‘The case for a nuclear-powered Australia’, written by the opposition leader of The Australian Liberal Party, Peter Dutton. Outline to students that Group 2 will investigate The Australian Greens Party’s policy on nuclear power, ‘Nuclear and Uranium’, which advocates for a nuclear-free future and opposes nuclear power.

Step 2

Using online sources, instruct students to investigate the education and background of the source's author and determine the source's reliability by responding to the questions on the Student Worksheet.

Step 3

Instruct students find a partner in their group and give them 2 minutes to discuss their findings and add to their knowledge. Next, instruct each pair to match with a pair from the opposite group to discuss their learning and add to their understanding. Invite each group of 4 to report back to the class.

Reflection

Initiate a class discussion by asking students the question:

What role should politicians and political parties play in the spread of misinformation and disinformation?

Unpacking the Motivations Behind Misinformation

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Summary

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