Digital Literacy: Fake News 2

Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: This week we are revisiting our series of podcasts connected to digital literacy.

Jack: Digital literacy is the ability to find and evaluate online information and also your ability to collaborate online and create your own online information.

Rowan: A few weeks ago, in our roleplays, we looked at functional skills and how good the three of us were with technology.

Rich: Ah, yes, I remember. Rowan was the expert - a technical whizz and we were the technophobes - hopeless with technology.

Jack: I hope all our listeners know this is not true! We’re all technical whizzes really! Anyway, this week we’re going to look more at how we evaluate the information we watch and read online.

Rowan: It’s important that we think about what we come across online. We need to evaluate what we read because not everything that is online is true.

Rich: You’re talking about fake news.

Jack: Yes, but it’s not just fake news that’s the problem. There’s all sorts of information online that you shouldn’t believe; false information.

Rowan: Fake news is usually connected with politics but false information covers other topics such as health, the environment and even entertainment or sport. It’s information that has the intention to mislead or deceive people that read it.

Jack: False information can be anything from a fun parody website to clickbait to propaganda. We’ll look at this language later on.

Rich: So, it’s important to be able to evaluate what we see online to make sure we’re not misled, deceived or tricked.

Rowan: In this week’s roleplay, Rich is tricked into believing something that is not true.

Jack: This week’s podcast comes in two parts. After each part, we have a task for you to do which will give you a chance to talk about the topic and the language which we will introduce.

Rich: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll be able to find all these podcasts and the transcripts and extra activities that go with them.

Rowan: So if you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, check out our website!

Jack: And don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess!

SOCIAL

Jack: Before we start this week’s roleplay we’d just like to thank everyone for all their comments on the Premier Skills English website. It’s great to know that you’re enjoying the podcasts and all of the free learning materials we have on the site.

Rich: We’d like to give a shout-out to some of our listeners and tell everyone what they’ve been saying.

Rowan: The first person I’d like to say a big hello to is Emanuel Kwarteng from Ghana. Emanuel told us a story last week about his trainers getting stuck in the mud in a huge rainstorm. I have a question for you Emanuel. Did you get your trainers back?

Jack: I’d like to say hi to Vic from Mexico. He told us about the extreme weather he encountered in Germany a few years ago. It was so cold, Vic had to cancel all his plans and stay in the hotel. I’m sure it wasn’t as warm as you are used to in Mexico, Vic.

Rich: Finally I’d like to say thanks to Abdlrhmn in Egypt who was one of many who completed our task last week. His idea is to ban cars and other vehicles for one day every week. He says it would be better for our health and the environment.

Rowan: This was the task about climate change in your country and what can be done about it. You can find this podcast and task in skills and then the listen section on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack: OK, I think it’s time to reveal last week’s football phrase and see who got the right answer.

Last Week’s football Phrase

Rich: Right, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the podcast page on the Premier Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Jack: Thanks for all your answers and guesses last week. The first listener with the correct answer was MoBeckham from Turkey. Well done Mo. We know that you are a big Manchester United fan so we’re not surprised that you were first this week.

Rowan: Congratulations also go to Tiago Delazari from Brazil, Gil_foot and Emmanuel from France, Richard J from Ecuador, Capred and Anvd1110 from Vietnam, Abdlrhmn and Mon from Egypt, Marco Zapien from Mexico, Mayu from Japan, Emmanuel Kwarteng from Ghana, Bagas from Indonesia, HSN from Turkey, and Dallas from the Cape Verde Islands.

Rich: Later on, at the end of the podcast, we’ll have this week’s football phrase for you but for now here’s the answer to last week’s challenge.

Jack: Last week’s football phrase was welcome home. This phrase is not exactly a football phrase but it is one that you will see a lot if you read about Cristiano Ronaldo and his return to Manchester United. This phrase is used as a greeting to tell someone that you are happy that they have returned. I saw lots of fan-made signs saying welcome home Cristiano at their match last weekend.

Rowan: Are you going to watch Ronaldo’s second debut for United this weekend?

Introduction to Roleplay

Rich: As we said earlier, in this week’s roleplay we’re talking about false information and not believing everything you see online.

Jack: You are about to hear this week’s second roleplay. The three of us are on a bus and trying to persuade Rich to think before he posts things online.

Rich: While you listen we want you to answer a question: The question is: What do I decide to do with my football shirt?

Roleplay

Rowan: Hey Rich.

Rich: Hey Rowan. Hey Jack. The bus took ages, didn’t it? I read online that it’s the drivers that are City fans, they’re refusing to drive red buses.

Jack: You can’t be serious. Where did you read that nonsense? I’ve not heard of any strike and even if there was I’m sure it would be about pay or conditions not the colour of the buses.

Rich: I read it online. I swear.

Rowan: I believe you but where did you read it? You can’t believe everything you see online. It must have been some kind of parody site having a laugh.

Jack: You’ve got to be a bit more critical of what you see online. What about Messi joining Liverpool?

Rich: Yeah, it’s exciting, isn’t it? Look.

Rowan: Yeah, we’ve seen it but Messi’s not joining Liverpool. He’s moved to PSG.

Rich: I thought something was up when the guy in the shop asked why I wanted Messi on my shirt.

Jack: The article was just clickbait - you’ve got to stop spreading false information. These websites want you to share and get more people to click - it makes them money.

Rich: But how do I know what’s real and not?

Rowan: Sharing things from mainstream media might be a good start - if you can see something on multiple websites it’s probably legitimate.

Jack: Yes, if you see more reputable sources like the BBC or premierleague.com sharing the story, you’re definitely on safer ground.

Rich: I suppose I could read the article more - the headline is sometimes misleading.

Rowan: Exactly. The one about Messi actually said Messi to Liverpool but nowhere in the article did it say he had signed for Liverpool FC.

Jack: The football stories are just a bit silly but you’ve got to be careful with some of the other stuff. Some of it’s just propaganda - just pushing certain political agendas.

Rich: Really?

Rowan: Definitely.

Rich: Like the Messi to Liverpool story.

Jack: No, that just makes you look a bit silly. What are you going to do about that shirt?

Rich: I’m going to keep it. It’ll be a collector’s item when Messi signs for us next season.

Rowan: This is our stop. I’ll get the bell.

Language Focus 

Jack: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was: What did Rich decide to do with his football shirt?

Rich: Well, I decided to keep it. I’d never throw away a Liverpool shirt and if Messi does join Liverpool at any point it will become more valuable.

Rowan: In the roleplay, we mainly spoke about how we should think more about what we read and share online. There are a few words and phrases I’d like us to look at now.

Jack: Let’s start with a few words we used in the roleplay to describe different types of online content that can mislead readers.

Rich: One reason that you might be taken in by something that you read is that it is a parody or satire. Listen to this from the roleplay:

Rich: I read it online. I swear.

Rowan: I believe you but where did you read it. You can’t believe everything you see online. It might have been some kind of parody site having a laugh.

Jack: You’ve got to be a bit more critical of what you see online. What about Messi joining Liverpool?

Rich: Parody is a style that copies or imitates another style to be funny. There are lots of parody websites, like the onion.

Rowan: It’s not always clear whether a story is just a joke or parody. It’s a good idea to check the website to see if it is known for satire or creating funny stories before you share something that you think is true or serious.

Jack: I told Rich to be a bit more critical about what he reads. Here critical means to analytical and making careful judgements about what you read - thinking more about what you are reading and why the text has been written.

Rich: Another useful word that we used in the roleplay was clickbait.

Rowan: Clickbait stories are often invented to gain more website visitors and increase advertising revenue for websites.

Jack: Clickbait stories use sensationalist headlines to grab your attention, normally at the expense of truth or accuracy.

Rich: Another word we can look at is propaganda. I know that in some languages this means advertising and publicity but in English it has a different meaning.

Rowan: Propaganda is ideas or statements that may be false or present only one side of an argument. Some online stories are created to deliberately mislead audiences, promote a biased point of view or particular political cause or agenda.

Jack: So what can we do to protect ourselves from parody, clickbait and propaganda.

Rich: We spoke about this in the roleplay. Let’s look at some of the language we used.

Rowan: We spoke about looking at reputable sources. A source is what provides you with the information and reputable means something that is considered to be honest and truthful.

Jack: What you consider to be a reputable source is subjective but in the UK I might consider the BBC to be a reputable source.

Rich: We also spoke about something being reported by multiple sources as being legitimate, sometimes people just say legit.

Rowan: Here legitimate means that something is fair, honest and accepted.

Jack: Something is also more likely to be true if you see it on mainstream media.

Rich: Mainstream media is more traditional and usually covers larger organisations like the BBC in the UK rather than social media.

Rowan: Mainstream media can influence large numbers of people and is more likely to represent generally accepted beliefs and opinions.

Jack: Yes, you are probably on safer ground if you share mainstream media and reputable sources.

Rich: On safer ground is a phrase that can be used to describe something that is likely to be correct or accepted.

Rowan: Have a listen to this part of the roleplay again and listen out for some of the words and phrases we’ve just been talking about:

Jack: The article was just clickbait - you’ve got to stop spreading false information. These websites want you to share and get more people to click - it makes them money.

Rich: But how do I know what’s real and not?

Rowan: Sharing things from mainstream media might be a good start - if you can see something on multiple websites it’s probably legitimate.

Jack: Yes, if you see more reputable sources like the BBC or premierleague.com sharing the story, you’re definitely on safer ground.

Rich: OK, I think that is enough language for now. You can look at this vocabulary in more detail on the Premier Skills English website. You’ll also find free activities, the transcript and a quiz to help you understand.

TASK

Rowan: It’s time for your task. In the roleplay you just heard, Jack and I told Rich to be more critical about what he reads online.

Jack: Your task is to tell us three tips to avoid sharing false information online.

Rich: We want to hear what people can do to avoid sharing rumours and gossip. We want you to try to use some of the language that we used in this podcast when sharing your tips.

Rowan: Write all your tips in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.

Football Phrase

Jack: OK, it’s time for our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rich: You will hear this football phrase in every podcast we release this week.

Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the podcast page on the Premier Skills English website or the review section on Apple Podcasts and write the word or phrase in the comments. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Jack: So what is this week’s football phrase, Rich?

Rich: This week’s football phrase is *** **** ** * ****. This phrase is a very common cliche and is often used in interviews by managers after winning a match. The journalist asks if the team are going to do well this season, or win the league or cup and the manager says something like ‘we can’t look that far ahead … we just need to take *** **** ** * **** and see where that takes us. The cliche is used by managers because they don’t want the team to get too confident and lose concentration in matches that, in theory, should be easy.

Rowan: A more difficult phrase this week. If you have a football phrase that you would like us to use in the podcast, just get in touch and let us know.

Jack: Before we finish we just wanted to say that we hope you found this lesson useful and we hope all of you stay fit and healthy.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.