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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

FAKE
NEWS
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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. How would you define ‘fake news’?

2. Have you read fake news stories? If so, what topics were they about?

3. What do you think you can do to guard against fake news?

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FAKE NEWS

2 Finding vocabulary

Find vocabulary in the article on page three which has the same meaning as the following definitions.

1. some information that is discussed between people informally but may not
be based in fact (para. I)
2. an article detailing the life and achievements of someone who has recently
died (para. I)
3. a statement or a description, or the act of making one, that makes something
seem more important, better, worse, etc., than it really is (para. I)
4. make a situation, disease or problem considerably worse (para. II)

5. use something to cause harm or damage to someone or something (para. III)

6. using humour to criticise a person or an institution (para. III)

7. encourage someone to do something, often by offering something they want

to do (para. IV)
8. attracting attraction because of how interesting or exciting it is (para. V)

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3 Reading for gist

Skim-read the article on page three and choose the best word A - C to fill the gaps 1 - 12.

What to believe?
The problem of fake news

I) In May of 1897, the famous American author Mark Twain visited London. While he was there,
1
rumours in the US that he had fallen ill and died with several newspapers reporting
on it and one going as far as printing an obituary. Twain was in fact alive and well, though suspected
2
the story began due to a cousin who shared his surname had indeed ill. In a letter to
a journalist, he humorously remarked ‘The report of my death was an exaggeration.’
3
II) Fake news then, is hardly a new phenomenon. Though with the rise of the internet,
social media, its spread and influence have been greatly exacerbated and it has become a real hot-
button issue within the last decade, finding its way into discussions on politics, healthcare and
4
international relations. News stories untruths come in two forms: completely false
and not entirely true. The former are often created to drive traffic to a particular website or to push
a false narrative about a person or event in the media. The latter can be somewhat more harmful as
5
the true aspects are able to fool people more into believing that the false aspects are
also worth their attention.

III) One of the issues of late is that the term ‘fake news’ has been weaponised to dismiss articles which
are not worthy of the name. What fake news is not is articles talking about subjects you don’t like or
disagree with. Several politicians have used the label to attack reports on factual events that damage
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their reputation or present them in a bad light. There have also been incidents of articles
for comedy value to critique events, which have been presented as fact which confuse readers who are
not in on the joke who then confuse them with fake news. Websites such as The Onion and The Daily
7
Mash have been producing these for some time. However, of late, reality has been so
at times that it can be difficult to distinguish between that and satirical content.

IV) To add to the challenge, professional news organisations nearly all contain varying elements of bias
in their reporting. News channels in the US such as MSNBC and CNN generally have a left-wing bias,
8
tending to be more of conservatives. Similarly, Fox News is very right-wing, having
been supportive of Republicans such as Donald Trump and George Bush. To a lesser extent, this is also
true of several of the tabloid newspapers in the UK such as The Sun and The Daily Mail. Reporting
9
from these institutions isn’t fake news, but they are to push a view of the world which
can entice or enrage their audience.
10
V) Real fake news can have real-world consequences. A serious issue is that the
majority of everyday people don’t have the time or brain space to tell which is which. Fake news is
11
often compelling because it confirms what we already think or want to believe. It’s
that ‘a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth puts on its shoes,’: a quote which many
people think was written by Mark Twain. There is, however, no evidence that this is so, making it,
12
, another example of fake news.

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1. a. circulation b. circuit c. circulated

2. a. being b. was c. been
3. a. partly b. particularly c. particular
4. a. spreads b. spread c. spreading
5. a. ready b. readily c. read
6. a. written b. writing c. writes
7. a. believable b. disbelief c. unbelievable
8. a. criticise b. critic c. critical
9. a. set off b. set up c. set down
10. a. disaster b. disastrous c. disastrously
11. a. saying b. says c. said
12. a. fits b. fitting c. fittingly

Sources: bbc.co.uk, skillsyouneed.com, weforum.org

4 Reading comprehension

Decide if the following statements are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).

1. Mark Twain had a British relative who died in 1897.

2. According to the article, fake news has become a bigger problem in the last ten years.

3. According to the article, fake news containing elements of truth can do more damage than that
which is entirely false.

4. According to the article, a news story criticising a politician you support is an example of fake
news.

5. Humorous stories which make fun of public figures and events are not an example of fake news.

6. The writer of the article believes that differentiating between reality and satire can be challenging.

7. Conservative politicians don’t appear on MSNBC to give their viewpoint.

8. The Sun and The Daily Mail tend to push a left-wing agenda.

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5 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the following vocabulary to the correct definitions.

1. critical thinking (n) a. being doubtful about the truth of some information

2. sceptical (adj.) b. unaffected by something, particularly when it can harm

other people
3. immune (adj.) c. operating within the law

4. dupe (v) d. creating very strong negative feelings and emotions

5. gullible (adj.) e. make someone believe something which is false, usually to

get something from them
6. inflammatory (adj.) f. the analysis of information to decide to what extent it is
reliable and true
7. conspiracy theory (n) g. easily deceived into believing something

8. legitimate (adj.) h. the belief that a secret organisation is responsible for an

event

Part B: Complete the following sentences with the vocabulary from Part A. You may need to change
the form of the word to fit the sentence.

1. The actor was previously strongly condemned for making and racist
comments which resulted in him being dropped by his management.

2. I have a strong belief in my writing, but I’m not to criticism and I

find it hurtful when people write negative comments about it on social media.

3. I was listening to a podcast the other day which was discussing the
that the September 11th attacks were faked by the government. It amazes me how anyone can
believe that.

4. Everyone in my family uses a credit card, but I’m very about them.
I think they’re designed to get you into debt.

5. When I first read the email, I thought it was a joke, but it turned out to be completely
and I had genuinely won £50,000.

6. You only need to use the smallest amount of to know that everything
Andrew Tate says is utter garbage. He says anything to chase fame.

7. My grandmother was into giving away a large percentage of her

savings in a scam, and now she’s worried that she will have enough to live on.

8. I told him that the word had been taken out of the dictionary and
he actually went to look it up! I’ve never laughed so hard.

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FAKE NEWS

6 Listening for gist

Listen to the interview with Dr Neil Richardson and decide which of the following questions are asked.

1. What is it that makes people share fake news?

2. What is the reason people create fake news?

3. What can we do to check that the information on a blog is true?

4. What else should we do before sharing a story?

5. Has anyone been prosecuted for the creation of fake news?

6. What consequences has fake news had in the real world?

7. What do we do about fake news?

8. How can we fact-check information given on a podcast?

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7 Listening comprehension

Listen again and decide which of the options A - C reflects what is said in the interview.

1. What does Dr Richardson think about blogs?

a. They’re generally less reliable as a source of information than news outlets and should always
be treated with scepticism.
b. They frequently provide exclusive stories that can’t be found anywhere else as they can move
faster than news channels.
c. The information they contain should be balanced against other sources reporting on the same
event.

2. According to Dr Richardson, blogs written by professionals within the industry they’re reporting
on...
a. still need to be treated carefully as they can include bias and have a particular slant.

b. are ideal sources of information as they can deal with topics that official sources can’t discuss.

c. are generally written for profit and therefore should be avoided as sources of information.

3. What action does Dr Richardson suggest ahead of posting a news story on social media?

a. Seeing if anyone else has posted the same story and what the reaction to it was.

b. Ensuring that the story isn’t out of date and looking at the origins of the story, including
checking the relevance of links.
c. Considering the relevance of the story to the audience you’re posting it to, as it may not be
necessary.

4. What is the issue with satire?

a. Many people have looked stupid after posting satirical news thinking it was real.

b. It’s not a form of humour that a lot of people understand and it can confuse your followers.

c. In its attempt to make fun of the news, it can often contain language that is upsetting to a lot
of people.

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for people posting fake news stories on
social media?
a. Being part of the Baby Boomer generation who frequently aren’t as aware of how to
effectively use social media.
b. Being driven by an emotional reaction to a headline prompts users to share before stopping
to question its integrity.
c. Wanting to break the news of a fascinating story first to people within their social media
circle.

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6. How did fake news lead to a shooting in the United States?

a. Staff at the restaurant believed that a customer was a dangerous criminal.

b. A customer believed that he was saving children from dangerous criminals.

c. Child customers thought the pizza they were given contained poison.

7. How does Dr Richardson say fake news has affected politics?

a. Political leaders have actively been sharing fake news about their opponents.

b. There has been an increase in the amount of disinformation shared about politicians.

c. There has been a reduction in the amount of public trust in professional institutions.

8. Why does Dr Richardson mention Snopes.com?

a. It’s a well-known source of fake news.

b. It’s a useful source when checking facts.

c. It’s biased against conservatives.

8 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What effect has fake news had in your country?

2. What would you do if you saw a friend had shared fake news on social media?

3. What do you think can be done about fake news that hasn’t already been done?

4. Before sharing a news story with family and friends, what action do you usually take?

5. Do you read news stories that friends post on social media? Why/Why not?

6. Where do you usually get your news from? Why?

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9 Extended activity: Real or satire?

Read the following headlines. In pairs or a group, discuss if you think the headlines are from a real
story or a satirical one.

1. Cows lose their jobs as milk price drops

2. Miracle cure kills fifth patient

3. Doctors successfully transplant entire living pig into patient

4. Elon Musk announces successful trial of Neuralink brain detonator

5. Amphibious pitcher makes debut

6. England has no idea what to do if it wins World Cup

7. Breathing oxygen linked to staying alive

8. Federal agents raid gun shop, find weapons

9. World death rate holding steady at 100%

10. Murderer says detective ruined his reputation

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TEACHER MATERIALS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

FAKE NEWS

Transcripts

6. Listening for gist

Host: Good morning, listeners! Today on the show, I’m very pleased to welcome Dr. Neil
Richardson, head of the Media Studies department at Churchill University and author
of the new book ‘What are we supposed to believe?’ Dr. Richardson, welcome to
the show.

Dr Richardson: Very pleased to be here.

Host: Now, I’ve read your book and thought it was great. But what I really want to ask you
is what do we do about fake news?

Dr Richardson: Well, that’s a very good question. The answer really lies in what we all should be
doing with any information we read and that’s applying critical thinking. Firstly, you
have to look at the source of the information. Almost anyone can start a blog or
set up a website and write almost anything they want to. That’s not to say that
blogs don’t provide valuable information, quite the opposite. But if it’s something
that’s only reported by one blog rather than a newspaper, then you need to be very
sceptical.

Host: What can we do to check that information on a blog is true?

Dr Richardson: Have a look at who the author of the blog or the piece is. Some blogs are set
up by well-known journalists or academics. There will nearly always be an ‘about’
section on the blog so look at that and also put their name in a search engine to
find out more about them. You do need to keep in mind that the fact that they’re
a professional, doesn’t mean that they’re immune to bias and they may still have an
agenda. This last point applies to the story too, see if you can find something about
the information from another place. A genuine story very rarely breaks without
several people reporting on it.

Host: What else should we do before sharing a story?

Dr Richardson: You can make a point of checking a few things, such as the date. There’s so much
content on the internet that it’s very easy to be duped into thinking something has
just happened when it’s actually an old story. You should also be able to see where
the sources of information came from. If there are links, click on them to find out if
what they are saying actually supports the story. The other thing to watch out for
is satire. A lot of people instantly understand when something is written as a joke,
but many don’t. There are lots of examples of people who have looked gullible after
publicly expressing shock or anger at a satirical story.

Host: What is it that makes people share fake news?

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FAKE NEWS

Dr Richardson: It can be a variety of things. People like to be the first person in their social media
circle to share something interesting. Others like to support their own ideas with
stories which they think prove they are correct. Newspaper stories often have
inflammatory headlines designed to attract interest and we’re very used to having an
instant reaction to something we see. At the same time, many of us feel powerless
to do anything about the society we live in. One thing we can do is share on social
media and give our opinion about it as a way of letting off steam. So a lot of people
see fake news and post without pausing to question whether it’s true or not.

Host: What consequences has fake news had in the real world?

Dr Richardson: Well, in the US there was a shooting in a pizza restaurant because the gunman
believed they were harming children due to a series of political fake news stories
supporting a conspiracy theory. They’ve almost certainly affected the political
process in countries like the US, not only by spreading false information but by
reducing the level of trust in leaders and legitimate sources of information. As I
say in my book, it leaves people with the sense that they are being lied to more than
they actually are. It’s much easier to believe nothing than to carefully consider what
you do believe. The advice I gave about deciding if a news story is fake or not, is
that takes time which most people don’t have. So it makes everyone less trusting
of society and of each other which is really the worst thing about it. A final thing I
will say is that there are some very good fact-checking sites such as Snopes.com and
Politifact.com. They look in detail at news stories that have gone around the internet
and will clearly say to what degree they are true or false. So a quick check on those
sites will often save you hours of time and help you to understand the situation more
clearly.

Host: Thank you so much for coming to talk to us today. After the break, we’re going to
look at some examples of fake news that had people fooled and look at where those
stories came... (fade)

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TEACHER MATERIALS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

FAKE NEWS

Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This task introduces the topic and covers some of the questions which are dealt with during the lesson. Ask the
students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. You may want to bring the discussion back to the class
and work on a group definition of ‘fake news’ which you can come back to later in the class after the reading and
listening tasks.

2. Finding vocabulary

5 mins. This task highlights some of the higher-level vocabulary in the article and aids students’ comprehension.

1. rumour (n) 2. obituary (n) 3. exaggeration (n) 4. exacerbate (v)

5. weaponise (v) 6. satirical (adj.) 7. entice (v) 8. compelling (adj.)

3. Reading for gist

5 mins.
Ask the students to skim and scan to decide which are the best words to fit each gap in the article.

1. circulated 2. been 3. particularly 4. spreading 5. readily 6. written

7. unbelievable 8. critical 9. set up 10. disastrous 11. said 12. fittingly
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/beyondfakenews/howyoucanfightfakenews
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/fake-news.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38906931
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/fake-news-what-it-is-and-how-to-spot-it/

4. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Ask the students to underline where they find the answer in the article. If they are unable to do so, the answer is
likely to be Not Given.

1. Not Given. His cousin had been ill, but the article doesn’t mention if he died or not.
2. True. Though with the rise of the internet, particularly social media, its spread and influence has been greatly
exacerbated ...within the last decade
3. True. The latter can be somewhat more harmful as the true aspects are able to fool people more readily into
believing that the false aspects are also worth their attention.
4. False. What fake news is not is articles talking about subjects you don’t like or disagree with.
5. True. There have also been incidents of articles written for comedy value to critique events, which have been
presented as fact which confuse readers who are not in on the joke who then confuse them with fake news.
6. True. However, of late, reality has been so unbelievable at times that it can be difficult to distinguish between
that and satirical content.
7. Not Given. It says that they tend to be more critical of conservatives, not that they do not appear on the show.

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FAKE NEWS

8. False. Similarly, Fox News is very right-wing.... To a lesser extent, this is also true of several of the tabloid
newspapers in the UK such as The Sun and The Daily Mail.

5. Focus on vocabulary

5 mins.
This task focuses on some of the higher-level vocabulary used in the listening task. Ask the students to complete
the task unaided in the first instance, but allow them to use a reference later if needed. Be sure they can correctly
pronounce the target language.
Part A:

1. → f. 2. → a. 3. → b. 4. → e.
5. → g. 6. → d. 7. → h. 8. → c.
5 mins.
This task puts the vocabulary in context. Be sure that students are aware of different forms of the words and that
they may need to use them to fit the sentence.
Part B:

1. inflammatory 2. immune 3. conspiracy theory 4. sceptical

5. legitimate 6. critical thinking 7. duped 8. gullible

6. Listening for gist

5 mins.
This gives the students the opportunity to listen to the interview for the first time and get a general idea of what
the conversation is about.
Questions asked: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7

7. Listening comprehension

10 mins.
Ask the students to read the questions and answer them after the first listening, then allow them to listen again
to check their answers.

1. c. 2. a. 3. b. 4. a. 5. a. 6. b. 7. c. 8. b.

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

9. Extended activity: Real or satire?

15 mins+
Put the students in teams and ask them to decide if the headlines are real or satirical. You can do it as a team
game and give points, or just use it as a point of discussion.
Source of real headlines: 25 Funny Newspaper Headlines to Crack You Up — Best Life (bestlifeonline.com)
Satirical headlines are from The Onion and The Daily Mash

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FAKE NEWS

1. Real 2. Real 3. Satire 4. Satire 5. Real (it

an unchecked
autocorrect from
‘ambidextrous’)
6. Satire 7. Real 8. Real 9. Satire 10. Real

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