Fake News Assignment
Death by Vaccines
With the growth of social media, fake news websites are appearing with greater frequency. This has begun the rapid spread of misinformation on topics regarding vaccines, food safety, global warming, and many other topics. Students need to be able to evaluate these news sites and soruces.
This assignment will present students with three articles about vaccines: one from the Washington Post, one from Natural News, and the other from a website called "Vaccines.news". Students will be guided through an analysis of the articles, including identifying clickbait, researching the background of the authors, and judging the validity of several statements within the articles.
Essential concepts: Pseudoscience, fake news, news analysis, sources.
Answer Key: Available as part of a environmental science instructor resources subscription.
