For a Google doc version of this lesson, click here.

Overview

Where do you get your news? Whether it’s TikTok, Twitter, Insta or more traditional media like newspapers, TV and magazines, it can be difficult to know whether the information you’re getting is accurate or misleading. Although not new, AI poses a new challenge with misinformation, especially around elections and other times when many are trying to sort fact from fiction.

In this lesson, students discuss a podcast on misinformation. Extension activities ask students to record a podcast of their own or write a narrative essay talking about their experiences with questionable info online.

Essential questions

• How can news consumers sort through accurate information and intentional or unintentional misinformation, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence?
• How does misinformation impact your understanding of current events and mental health?

Subjects

English, ELA, social studies, journalism, civics, ELL

Estimated time

One 45-minute class period, plus extensions

Grade level

6-12

Introduction

With the increasing capabilities of AI, it can be extremely hard to tell what information is real or not these days. In this episode of the teen mental health podcast “On Our Minds” from Student Reporting Labs, students get insights and tips from experts and teen fact-checkers about how misinformation affects this election. What are some memorable AI fakes that have stuck with you? How do you think they impacted your sense of what is real and what isn’t?

WARM-UP ACTIVITY (10 minutes)

1. As a class, discuss — what are some examples of AI that students might have seen online that seemed believable, at least for a moment? Students can consider images, videos or any other content that they found out was made by AI. To facilitate discussion, teachers might want to first break the class into small groups.
2. Students will next listen to a podcast episode that is just over 20 minutes. Let them know that they will be taking notes on a podcast that will be about how to avoid falling for AI fakes.

MAIN ACTIVITY (35 minutes)

1. As a class, listen to this podcast from Student Reporting Labs: How is fake news affecting the election?

1. As students listen, have them take notes and write down answers to the following questions as they come up in the podcast:
   • What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation, as defined in this podcast?
   • What is a “deepfake”?
   • What early American was the victim of a disinformation campaign?
   • What does truemedia.org do?
   • Who is susceptible to AI deepfakes?
   • What are some ways deepfakes could be used to mislead people during the election?
   • Who is Sam Larrael and what work does he do?
   • What are some non-traditional sources of political media that are being targeted with misinformation, according to Larrael?
   • What are some tips or tools for identifying deepfakes? Identify 3.
   • After the podcast, discuss as a class — what are some tools and strategies that came out of the podcast to help ID misinformation?

Class discussion

1. Ask students — how do you think AI disinformation can impact how you process what is real and what isn’t? How might that affect your mental health?
2. Students can visit truemedia.org to test out some possible deepfakes. What are the biggest surprises?

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

1. Make your own podcast as a class! If you aren't sure how, you can learn how to make a podcast using Student Reporting Labs' StoryMaker lessons on podcast production. Create an episode of a podcast that looks at AI deepfakes in-class or as a homework assignment. With each example, address the following questions:
   
   • How did you know this was a fake? What tools did you use?
   • What do you think was the purpose of the deepfake — how do you think the creator wanted the viewer or listener to think or feel?
   • Who do you think was the intended audience for the AI fake?
   
2. Instead of a podcast, you can challenge students to write a short essay about one or more deepfakes they've found on their own. Use the same questions as above in analyzing the fakes.
3. You can check out our collection on media literacy and spotting misinformation that Student Reporting Labs has produced with MediaWise here.

STANDARDS

Common Core

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

This and other 2024 Election lessons and resources were developed with support from Google News Initiative.

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