This lesson plan is designed to help journalists recognise the different types of ‘fake news’ and discover how to use ‘trust chains’ to deal with them.
It’s based on the article ‘Fake news and trust chains‘ which we recommend trainers read before adapting this material for your own purposes.
Introduction
This training day is designed to help journalists and media professionals understand disinformation and misinformation and the importance of establishing robust trust chains. In an era where digital content can be easily manipulated, the lesson focuses on practical verification, ethical responsibility, and the preservation of editorial integrity.
Sessions timetable
- 09:00–10:00 – Session 1: Defining fake news and its impact.
- Aims: To establish a shared understanding of what constitutes fake news and why it is a critical threat to journalism.
- Presentation: Explain the different types of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. Discuss the motivation behind creating fake news, such as political gain or financial profit.
- Activity: In small groups, participants list three recent examples of news stories they suspected were false and identify the red flags that caught their attention.
- Discussion: Why is the term fake news often problematic, and how does it affect public trust in legitimate news organisations?
- 10:00–11:00 – Session 2: The concept of the trust chain.
- Aims: To understand the journey of a piece of information from source to audience.
- Presentation: Introduce the trust chain model. Explain that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Identify the links: the source, the reporter, the editor, the platform, and the audience.
- Activity: Map out a hypothetical news story’s journey. Identify potential weak points where misinformation could be introduced.
- Discussion: Who holds the primary responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the trust chain in a digital-first newsroom?
- 11:00–11:15 – Break
- 11:15–12:45 – Session 3: Verification techniques and tools.
- Aims: To provide practical skills for verifying digital content and sources.
- Presentation: Demonstrate tools for reverse image searching, metadata analysis, and geolocation. Discuss the importance of fake news – checking what other sites say about a source.
- Activity: Provide participants with a set of three leaked images or social media posts. They must use digital tools to determine which are authentic and which are manipulated.
- Discussion: When digital tools fail or provide inconclusive results, what traditional reporting methods should be used to verify a story?
- 12:45–13:45 – Lunch
- 13:45–15:00 – Session 4: Social media and the viral nature of falsehoods.
- Aims: To analyse how algorithms and social sharing accelerate the spread of misinformation.
- Presentation: Discuss the role of echo chambers, filter bubbles, and emotional triggers in making content go viral. Explain how bots and troll farms can manipulate perceived public opinion.
- Activity: Analyse a viral outrage story. Trace its origin and see how the headline changed as it was shared across different platforms.
- Discussion: Should news organisations engage with fake news to debunk it, or does this simply give the falsehood more oxygen?
- 15:00–15:15 – Break
- 15:15–16:15 – Session 5: Ethics and the responsibility of the journalist.
- Aims: To examine the ethical dilemmas faced when reporting in a high-speed news environment.
- Presentation: Cover the pressure of being first versus being right. Discuss the ethical implications of using user-generated content (UGC) without full verification.
- Activity: Role-play a newsroom scenario where a major breaking story is trending on social media but cannot be verified. One group argues for immediate publication; the other for waiting.
- Discussion: How can a newsroom balance the need for speed with the absolute necessity of accuracy?
- 16:15–17:00 – Session 6: Building and repairing trust.
- Aims: To develop strategies for fostering long-term trust with the audience.
- Presentation: Discuss transparency in the reporting process. Explain how admitting mistakes and publishing corrections can actually strengthen a trust chain.
- Activity: Draft a trust manifesto for a local news outlet, outlining the steps the organisation will take to ensure every story is verified.
- Discussion: How can journalists better educate their audiences to become more critical consumers of information?
Assignment
Participants are required to select a current trending story from social media that has not yet been picked up by major news outlets. They must produce a 500-word verification report detailing the steps they took to verify the source, the content, and the context, concluding with a recommendation on whether the story should be published.
Materials needed
- Laptops or tablets with internet access.
- Handouts of the trust chain diagram.
- Access to digital verification tools (e.g., Google Lens, InVID, WayBack Machine).
- Projector and screen for presentations.
- Notepads and pens.
Assessment
- Participation: Active involvement in group activities and contributions to discussions.
- Performance: Ability to successfully identify manipulated media during the Session 3 activity.
- Assignment: Quality and rigour of the verification report, demonstrating an understanding of the trust chain.
Summary
This lesson plan provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the complexities of the modern information ecosystem. By focusing on the trust chain, trainers can empower journalists to be the definitive gatekeepers of truth.
