{"id":185,"date":"2026-03-26T18:28:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T18:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/explore-teacher-wrdsb\/chapter\/correcting-misinformation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T13:48:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:48:06","slug":"correcting-misinformation","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/explore-teacher-wrdsb\/chapter\/correcting-misinformation\/","title":{"raw":"Correcting Misinformation","rendered":"Correcting Misinformation"},"content":{"raw":"Remind students of some of the reasons why people choose not to correct false or misleading information when they see it: because they\u2019re not sure what is true, because are afraid of hurting someone\u2019s feelings, and because they don\u2019t think anyone will listen.\r\n\r\nHave have students watch the video in the Three Ways to Correct Misinformation<\/a> student chapter and go through the content with them.\r\n\r\nNext, have them look at the two scenarios in the Debunking Practice<\/a> student chapter.\r\n\r\nAsk students which strategy they would use to respond to each of the posts. (Make sure they understand that in these scenarios, Jared is a classmate working on a project with them, and Lloyd is a family member.)\r\n\r\nYou can have students write their answers individually or in pairs if you prefer, or simply take the question up as a class.\r\n\r\nNow discuss the two posts. Make sure the following points come up:\r\n
\r\n

Jared and the Titanic:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe stakes are high here: if you let Jared use that theory, you might fail your history report, so it\u2019s not enough to question it.\r\n\r\nAlso, because this is a private message, there isn\u2019t an audience to worry about.\r\n\r\nSince you and Jared have to work together, you\u2019ll probably want to debunk this politely and say something like \u201cI looked through the Titanic article on Wikipedia and there\u2019s nothing about it being switched with another ship.\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n
\r\n

Uncle Lloyd and ticks:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\nIf Uncle Lloyd likes to argue, you would probably be better off just asking a question, like \u201cAre you sure? Maybe they just never mentioned it to you.\u201d\r\n\r\nIf you feel comfortable, the best thing would be to correct him by providing accurate information from a reliable source, like \u201cThe Johns Hopkins Medicine site says there are 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, and the longer you wait to treat it the worse it gets.\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n ","rendered":"

Remind students of some of the reasons why people choose not to correct false or misleading information when they see it: because they\u2019re not sure what is true, because are afraid of hurting someone\u2019s feelings, and because they don\u2019t think anyone will listen.<\/p>\n

Have have students watch the video in the Three Ways to Correct Misinformation<\/a> student chapter and go through the content with them.<\/p>\n

Next, have them look at the two scenarios in the Debunking Practice<\/a> student chapter.<\/p>\n

Ask students which strategy they would use to respond to each of the posts. (Make sure they understand that in these scenarios, Jared is a classmate working on a project with them, and Lloyd is a family member.)<\/p>\n

You can have students write their answers individually or in pairs if you prefer, or simply take the question up as a class.<\/p>\n

Now discuss the two posts. Make sure the following points come up:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Jared and the Titanic:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n

The stakes are high here: if you let Jared use that theory, you might fail your history report, so it\u2019s not enough to question it.<\/p>\n

Also, because this is a private message, there isn\u2019t an audience to worry about.<\/p>\n

Since you and Jared have to work together, you\u2019ll probably want to debunk this politely and say something like \u201cI looked through the Titanic article on Wikipedia and there\u2019s nothing about it being switched with another ship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

Uncle Lloyd and ticks:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n

If Uncle Lloyd likes to argue, you would probably be better off just asking a question, like \u201cAre you sure? Maybe they just never mentioned it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you feel comfortable, the best thing would be to correct him by providing accurate information from a reliable source, like \u201cThe Johns Hopkins Medicine site says there are 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, and the longer you wait to treat it the worse it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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