5.3 Evaluating the Veracity of Sources
Your search history (the sites you have visited on your digital devices) has an impact on your search results. This is called algorithmic processing.
Who has not shared information that turned out to be fake news or clicked on a fraudulent link? As an adult, it is easy to get lost in the sea of information that is available at your fingertips.
Social media algorithms explained | CBC Kids News (3:01)
This is why it is so essential to develop critical thinking skills as early as Elementary Cycle 3. In fact, the QEP includes a focus on critical thinking.
Unfortunately, the Stanford Graduate School of Education (2016) recently found that “students have trouble judging the credibility of information online.”
As the Quebec Education Program states, “[Students] can only learn to exercise critical judgment if their teachers themselves set an example and if they have many opportunities to express their opinions, discuss them with others, compare them with different viewpoints and analyze their validity (“Chapter 3: Cross-Curricular Competencies,” p. 40).
Important
Here are some concepts that could be discussed in class: fake news, filter bubble, echo chamber, algorithm, deep fake, phishing, conspiracy theory, broadcaster, producer, confirmation bias, etc.
To Go Deeper
The Service national du RÉCIT, Domaine du développement de la personne has developed a self-training about fake news (in French only): À un clic de la fausse nouvelle