AI news changes quickly. Put a date on each claim, separate evidence from prediction, and check a news summary against its sources.
Your activity / Right here
Bring a notebook. Begin below.
The activity is included on this page. Work on paper or in your own document; keep your first attempt and the evidence you checked.
Warm-up: Dr. Q's Question
How do you know that headline is true?
My first answer: ________________________________________________
Mike's Mix-Up: The Group Chat Forward
Made-Up Example.
Go back to Thursday night. Here is what Mike did:
1. He saw a screenshot, not an article.
2. He had a strong reaction, a joke about homework, and forwarded it in seconds.
3. He did not look for a date, a reporter, or a state.
4. Twelve people reacted before anyone asked a question.
5. The next morning, he read laterally, found the real stories, and posted a correction with links.
What went wrong? Talk it through with a partner, then write your answers.
• Which SIFT move would have stopped the forward?
• What three details were missing from the screenshot?
• Why might a fake headline grow out of a real topic?
• Was Mike's correction worth posting, even though it was a little embarrassing? Why?
Think First: Headline Sort
No devices. Printed headlines and a pen. About 15 minutes.
Your teacher may hand out printed headlines, or you can copy some from a newspaper. You can also practice with these made-up ones:
1. "Chatbot Passes Law Exam, Company Says"
2. "New Rule: Platforms Must Remove Reported Deepfakes Within 48 Hours"
3. "Experts Predict AI Will Replace Most Teachers by 2035"
4. "Opinion: Students Should Write by Hand Before Using AI"
5. "Shocking: AI Now Smarter Than All Humans, Insiders Reveal"
6. "Survey: Most Teens Think Classmates Use AI for Homework"
For each headline:
1. Write its main label: Fact, Idea, Rule, or Prediction.
2. Circle any hype words, such as "shocking," "insiders," "all," "never," or "always."
3. Write the first question you would ask.
4. Star the headline you would most want to check before sharing.
Read the video transcript
Read along, pause, or return to an idea. This transcript follows the selected lesson video.
Welcome back.
I'm Carla, an AI avatar.
Today's topic is the news, and one question you should ask
every time you see a headline about AI.
Thursday night, a screenshot lands on Mike's phone:
"BREAKING: New state law bans all AI chatbots for anyone
under 18, starting Monday."
Mike forwards it to his group chat in about three seconds.
How do you know that headline is true?
It looked like real news?
Here is a number worth knowing.
In a Stanford study of 3,446 high school students tested
in 2018 and 2019, 52 percent said a grainy video was
strong evidence of voter fraud in the 2016 Democratic primaries.
The footage actually showed voter fraud in Russia.
Looking real is easy.
Being real takes evidence.
Here is how professionals check.
In a 2019 study, Stanford researchers Sam Wineburg and
Sarah McGrew watched historians,
students, and professional fact checkers judge websites.
The fact checkers "read laterally,
leaving a site after a quick scan and opening up new
browser tabs in order to judge the credibility of the
original site."
And they reached better conclusions in a fraction of the time.
That move is called lateral reading.
You leave the page to learn about the page.
In 2019, Mike Caulfield published four moves called SIFT.
Stop.
Investigate the source.
Find better coverage.
Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.
Mike tries it.
No state name.
No reporter.
No date.
No major outlet reports a ban.
The real stories are about new state laws that make AI
companion chatbots remind users they are talking to AI,
and new laws about guidance for AI in schools.
Notice what Mike did not do.
He did not ask a chatbot whether the headline was true.
A chatbot's answer is one more claim to check.
As Rob's first edition puts it, an AI-generated answer is
not treated as evidence.
The fake took a real topic, stripped out the details,
and made it shocking.
When fakes get easier to make, checking has to become a habit.
Mike posted a correction with links.
That is one of the most useful posts anyone can make.
This week, you'll sort printed headlines by hand,
catch what an AI changes when it summarizes the news,
and start your AI News Log.
Every news item in this chapter carries a date,
because news gets old fast.
Grab a pen.
Before you use an AI tool
Follow your course or institution's rules. Use an instructor-approved tool that permits your age, and meet any required consent conditions. Keep names, contact details, school records, and other private information out of prompts. Use fictional examples when you can.
Learning without an AI account
Follow the demonstration, pause before each answer, and do the reasoning on paper. Discuss what you would ask, how you would check it, and which decisions would remain yours.
About the characters and voices
This course uses AI-created characters and synthetic voices. Carla is an AI avatar. They help tell the story; they are not real students sharing testimonials.
Designed for high-school and community-college learners. Choose examples from your classes, work, and everyday life. Keep your completed work in your course portfolio.
