1 - Start ~4 mins
You already know how to judge whether a source looks reliable. Today the question is different: when something online is wrong, was it a genuine mistake or was it meant to mislead?
You will sort real-feeling cases into misinformation, disinformation, or true-but-misleading, defend each call, then talk about why the intent behind a false claim changes how you should respond.
2 - Examine and Discuss ~6 mins
Three labels matter today:
- Misinformation: false or inaccurate information shared without meaning to deceive.
- Disinformation: false information created or shared on purpose to mislead.
- True but misleading: factually correct in pieces, yet framed so you walk away with the wrong idea.
The key difference is intent: did the person mean to trick you, or did they honestly believe what they shared? That is not always obvious from the post alone, which is why you will argue each case out loud.
Now try this in pairs: one of you takes a one-line false claim you might see in a group chat; the other says whether it sounds more like a mistake or a deliberate trick, and what clue they used. Keep it fully invented: not about anyone in this room or anyone you know by name. Use a board example if you blank, such as Bus is cancelled tomorrow — my cousin said or Free concert tickets if you share this link. Other safe shapes: a wrong match time, a fake shop closure, a mixed-up exam date.
3 - Hands-on: Sort the Claims ~12 mins
Open the interactive activity. Drag each invented case into the bucket that fits best: Misinformation, Disinformation, or True but misleading.
For every card, be ready to say:
- What is false, inaccurate, or twisted here?
- Does it look like a genuine mistake, a deliberate trick, or a true detail used in a misleading way?
- What extra evidence would make you change your call?
There is a defensible home for each card, but the reasoning is the point. If your group disagrees, park the card where the majority lands and note the minority view for the class talk.
Mistake, trick, or true but twisted?
4 - Hands-on: Why Intent Changes the Response ~10 mins
Same wrong claim, different intent, different next step. Work this short case in pairs, then the class will compare answers.
“The under-16s pitch is closed all month because of a dangerous chemical spill.”
| Version A — Jamie | Version B — an unknown account | |
|---|---|---|
| What happened | Heard it from a cousin, believed it, and posted it to the club group so teammates would not travel for nothing. | Invented the spill story to stop a rival club using the pitch on match day. |
| Misinformation or disinformation? | Decide, and say what your evidence is. | Decide, and say what your evidence is. |
| What would you do first? | Decide for this version. | Decide for this one separately — it is not the same answer. |
Then, in one sentence: why does the intent behind a claim change how you respond, even when the words on screen are identical?
Be ready to share one answer with the class. There is no single script the lesson wants you to recite; defend the response that fits the intent.
5 - Make Sense ~4 mins
Pull the labels together in plain words. Misinformation is getting it wrong and passing it on. Disinformation is trying to mislead on purpose. True but misleading uses real pieces to push a false overall picture.
Intent matters because your next move changes: a genuine mistake often needs a calm correction and a better source; a deliberate trick often needs you not to amplify it, and sometimes to report it. The words on the screen can look identical either way, so you still check facts, but you also ask what the poster gains if you believe them.
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