Talk in 20 Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
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This document provides teaching instructions for a 20-minute session on navigating infodemics. The session defines an infodemic as a situation where people are rapidly given lots of conflicting news about the same story, making it difficult to discern truth from misinformation. It includes activities like role-playing news reports and analyzing how headlines and statistics can shape public opinions. The goal is to help students understand infodemics and develop skills for thoughtfully evaluating news during times of information overload.
Talk in 20 Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 1. TALK IN 20 Teacher instructions Welcome to the BNC Talk in 20! We know that with everything that’s going on, finding an hour a week with your club might be hard. That’s why we have condensed our Issue sessions into six 20-minute bursts - designed to give you all the key information you need. Each Talk in 20 consists of an easy-to-follow activity followed by thought-provoking questions. There’s no need to print anything, just have the PowerPoint slides for the session ready to show. Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 2. Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic Session 1 Objective: to understand what an infodemic is PARTNER TALK How long could you avoid seeing or hearing any news for? Be ready to share. 3 MINS
- 3. Is news always helpful? Choose two people to be news reporters. They should take it in turns to read the news announcements on the next ten slides. Everyone else should listen and be ready to summarise what has happened. 12 MINS
- 14. Can you summarise the story in ten seconds or less? Label one side of the room as “very easy” and the other as “very difficult”. Point to show how hard you found this task on this continuum. Don’t forget to share your reasons. Look at the next slide and work through steps 1 and 2 again. Why does this activity feel different from the first time? 1 2 3
- 16. An infodemic is when people are rapidly given lots of news about the same story. This could include facts, misinformation, fake news, important updates and opinions. Getting all of this at once makes it harder for people to pick out the truth and the most important bits of information. It can make the news story much more confusing KEYWORD: INFODEMIC
- 17. THINKING QUESTIONS 1. Why are infodemics more likely to happen now than in the past? 2. How might an infodemic make someone feel? 3. How might the way people interact with the news change during an infodemic? 4. “Finding out more about a news story is ALWAYS helpful.” 5. Do you agree or disagree? Can you argue for both sides? See what other people think! Join the discussion on the Hub and ask your questions to the experts. 5 MINS
- 18. Session 2 Objective: to understand how the public can shape the news PARTNER TALK Are you more likely to look at good news or bad news? Why? Feed back to the group. 3 MINS Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 19. x Imagine you own a bakery. You sell two things: cupcakes and cookies. Your customers seem to like these treats equally. In your cabinet, there is enough room for 20 items. How many of each item would you make? Why? Things have changed. Your customers only seem to buy the cupcakes these days. In your cabinet, there is enough room for 20 items. How many of each item would you make? Why? Things have changed again. People keep coming into your shop asking if you could bake iced-buns but usually you only bake cupcakes and cookies. Everyone in town seems to be talking about iced-buns. What if other bakeries start selling iced-buns and you don’t? What should you do? 5 MINS SCENARIO 1 click to reveal SCENARIO 2 click to reveal SCENARIO 3 click to reveal Read the following scenarios and answer the questions
- 20. x If more people are choosing cupcakes than cookies in your bakery, then there is a greater demand for cupcakes. It makes sense for you to supply your customers with more cupcakes and fewer cookies. You want your customers to keep coming back – so you will look at what they are choosing and change what you’re baking depending on what customers want. This is called SUPPLY AND DEMAND and it doesn’t just happen in bakeries. KEYWORDS If more people choose to look at bad news than good news, which type of news is most likely to be reported?
- 21. CHALLENGE: if more people started looking for good news, how would these statistics change? Look at these statistics about good news and bad news. For each one, ask: why is this? Try to use the words SUPPLY and DEMAND in your answers. The amount of negative news in the media has doubled in the last 5 years. Headlines with bad news get 30% more attention than headlines with good news. The media is 28% more likely now than in 2018 to put a negative spin on a news story to hook people in. A Russian newspaper lost 66% of its readers when it published positive stories for a day. Approximately 90% of all media news is negative. 12 MINS
- 22. THINKING QUESTIONS 1. Is good news or bad news more important? Why? 2. Who has the power over what is shown in the news? Does one group hold all the power? 3. Would there ever be an infodemic of good news? Why / why not? See what other people think! Join the discussion on the Hub and ask your questions to the experts. 5 MINS
- 23. Session 3 Objective: to evaluate the impact of the media on public opinion PARTNER TALK Have you ever done something because of something you have heard in the news? Feed back to the group. 3 MINS Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 24. How might someone’s perspective affect their opinion? For example, why might some people be happy about a news story while others are angry? 5 MINS Look at the picture. Is anyone wrong?
- 25. Look at these statistics Which show good news? Which show bad? How can you tell? 8 MINS Take a closer look at the numbers. What do you notice? How might people feel differently about a news story if they only saw one of these statistics? What about if they saw all of them?
- 26. THINKING QUESTIONS 1. How much power does the media have over public opinion? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why? 2. How can the language used to report a statistic affect public opinion? How could this contribute to the infodemic? 3. Who is responsible for making sure people get the full story? See what other people think! Join the discussion on the Hub and ask your questions to the experts. 5 MINS Challenge: How could the media affect people’s opinions and decisions about the covid-19 vaccine?
- 27. Session 4 Objective: to evaluate how far the media can shape a story PARTNER TALK What numbers have you seen in the news this week? Did they show good news or bad news? Feed back to the group. 3 MINS Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 28. The media can shape a story because people make decisions based on the news they see, read or hear. Has the news ever made you do something differently? Why is it important for the media to use this power carefully? For example, if a newspaper reports that a certain product is healthy then lots of people might go out and buy it. Or if a news channel reports that a popstar has done something bad then people might stop going to their concerts. 7 MINS
- 29. How might these headlines shape the story? For example, would it make people think or behave differently? In a good way or a bad way? SHAPING THE STORY Is it ever possible for the media to not shape a news story? LOCKDOWN CONTINUES DESPITE VACCINES ALL ADULTS TO BE VACCINATED BY AUTUMN
- 30. In a survey, 31% of people said that by December 2020, they were trying to avoid news about covid-19. THERE’S TOO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON I’M CONFUSED IT’S ALL BAD NEWS I KNOW ENOUGH I DON’T TRUST THE NEWS ANYMORE PARTNER A Pretend to be someone who is avoiding the news. Choose one of these reasons and explain your situation. PARTNER B Give advice about how Partner A could get better at navigating the news. Try to tailor your advice to their situation. Then…SWAP ROLES 5 MINS
- 31. Challenge: the media helps to get messages from the government to the public. Should it? When might this be a good thing? When might it be a bad thing? THINKING QUESTIONS 1. How many reasons can you think of for why someone might avoid the news? 2. When is it good to avoid the news? When is it bad? 3. How can taking a break from the news be healthy? How could someone tell when it’s time to take a break? See what other people think! Join the discussion on the Hub and ask your questions to the experts. 5 MINS
- 32. Session 5 Objective: to reflect on prior learning from the Issue PARTNER TALK Have you seen anything in the news recently that might shape the story? For example, by making people feel or behave in a certain way? Feed back to the group. 3 MINS Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 33. 12 MINS The next six slides show some questions to help you to recap your learning from the Issue. For each question, show how you feel by using your body language rather than words. For example, you could make a facial expression, fold your arms or give a thumbs up. After each one, people who appear to feel differently should share their opinions. DON’T SAY IT, SHOW IT! Challenge: Could you come up with your own questions about the Issue for everyone to answer?
- 34. How should news make people feel?
- 35. How do people feel during an infodemic?
- 36. What do you think about the power the media has over what the public think and do?
- 37. What do you think about the power the public has over which types of story appear in the news?
- 38. What do you think about how numbers are used in the news?
- 39. How do you feel about the media’s ability to shape a story?
- 40. THINKING QUESTIONS What top tips would you give to help people to navigate the covid-19 infodemic… - If they are seeing too much news? - If they are worried about bad news? - If they are confused by numbers in the news? - If their mental health has been affected by the news? See what other people think! Join the discussion on the Hub and ask your questions to the experts. 5 MINS
- 41. Session 6 Objective: to reflect on prior learning from the Issue PARTNER TALK Sum up the Issue in a sentence. Feed back to the group. 3 MINS Issue 4 | From pandemic to infodemic
- 42. SKILLS REFLECTION These skills are essential for navigating the news. Let’s think about why they are especially important during an infodemic… 10 MINS
- 43. 1. Why is this skill helpful during an infodemic? 2. What might happen during an infodemic if this skill didn’t exist?
- 44. 1. Why is this skill helpful during an infodemic? 2. What might happen during an infodemic if this skill didn’t exist?
- 45. 1. Why is this skill helpful during an infodemic? 2. What might happen during an infodemic if this skill didn’t exist?
- 46. 1. Why is this skill helpful during an infodemic? 2. What might happen during an infodemic if this skill didn’t exist?
- 47. 1. How did you use each of the news-literacy skills during this Issue: speaking, listening, problem-solving and creativity? 2. Which of these skills is the most important for navigating the news? Why? WANT TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING? Join the discussion on the Hub! 7 MINS What are the most important points to communicate about the covid-19 infodemic What different perspectives have you considered in this Issue? What would the consequence be if nobody learnt news-literacy skills What could you do to help other people you know practice news-literacy skills? What have you learned about numbers in the news? How can statistics help us? How can they confuse us?