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Fake News: Distinguishing Fact from Fiction

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2017 Issue

By Meagan Gillmore

People often want to avoid the news because, sometimes, reality hurts. Recently, some want to tune out for other reasons: they doubt the headlines are about real events or that actual people wrote the stories.

“Fake news” is real. It’s tricky to define, but it’s crucial for teachers to understand. Students often look to teachers for information about how the Internet works.

“If they don’t get it from teachers, they’re not getting it anywhere else,” says Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts, an Ottawa-based organization that provides media literacy resources. Help is coming for teachers: education programs are offering sessions on the topic. In Ontario, the Association for Media Literacy recently published a new resource that lists questions people should ask about fake news.

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Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto, ON.

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Meagan Gillmore
Meagan Gillmore
Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto, ON.

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