fake news. “Everyone can open up photoshop and change an image a little bit or download a video and upload it again saying it’s of a fire in Melbourne, when actually it’s a fire that happened three years ago somewhere else,” Donahoo said. “The problem with fake news is that it is done so well,” Mr Donahoo said. Actually, fake news looks like real news. People who produce false information have become really good at designing content that looks like it comes from a big newspaper or TV station. This content is then shared and pushed across all kinds of social platforms like TikTok or Instagram. Mr Donahoo said it could be difficult to spot fake news because it is so well made. “It’s really difficult for children and for adults as well, because of the nature of how some of these things have been designed,” he said. He added children aged under eight simply cannot understand that people might post something just to trick them, while younger teens could be easily influenced by celebrities used in fake posts. “As kids begin to consume content, they need to be aware of that because it can impact on what they think about the world and how they see it,” he said. Children needed to learn to be “skeptical and curious” when reading, watching or listening to news. He added asking questions was the key: where did this information come from; why are they saying that; does it really make sense; could it really be true; is this a trusted website or source? Doing your own research to check facts was also important, Mr Donahoo said. “Fake news is often created by adults and so children and teens enjoy being able to say, ‘Hang on, you’re trying to fool me here and I am not fooled!’,” he explained. Writing: An interview a) Imagine Mr Donahoo, who is mentioned in the article, gives an interview on fake news. Complete the answers below with words from the article. Q: Mr Donahoo, what exactly is fake news? A: We call something fake news if people pass on 1 false information 2 . Maybe you know the popular children’s game 3 . In this case, names or places might get wrong by accident. If we don’t actually want to 4 people, this is not fake news. Q: But why do people create fake news in the first place? A: Fake news is nothing new. People spread fake news to 5 money or 6 people to support their opinion. Q: Why is fake news such a problem nowadays? A: On the one hand, fake news are spread over the internet really quickly. We call this that something 7 , like an illness. And apart from that, it has become easy to create fake news and post it 8 . b) Write your own answers to the rest of the questions. Take a look at the article for information. Q: Why is it so difficult to find out if something is fake news? Q: What do you think children should learn nowadays to fight fake news? 3 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 61 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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