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Checking claims online

8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.8.7, W.8.8 · England: KS3 English (research and evaluating sources), GCSE English Language Paper 2

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  1. Question 1

    Read the question and choose. A quote is shared with a famous scientist's photo, but you can't find it in any of her speeches or writings. What should you conclude?

    • A. she must have said it privately
    • B. it may be made up or wrongly attributed, so don't share it
    • C. it must be real because her photo is there
    • D. quotes are always accurate online

  2. Question 2

    Is the proposed answer correct? A post says "A study proves X" but gives no link. What is the best next step? → search for the original study and see what it actually found

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 3

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?

    • A. visiting the motorway
    • B. asking a teacher
    • C. calling her uncle
    • D. a reverse image search

  1. Question 4

    Read the question and choose. A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it?

    • A. count the shares
    • B. zoom in to see if it looks wet
    • C. ask the person who shared it if it's real
    • D. do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared

  2. Question 5

    Is the proposed answer correct? Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? → an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outlets

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 6

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?

    • A. visiting the motorway
    • B. asking a teacher
    • C. calling her uncle
    • D. a reverse image search

  1. Question 7

    Read the question and choose. A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it?

    • A. count the shares
    • B. zoom in to see if it looks wet
    • C. ask the person who shared it if it's real
    • D. do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared

  2. Question 8

    Is the proposed answer correct? A website's address looks almost like a famous newspaper's, but with one letter different. What should you suspect? → it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 9

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?

    • A. asking a teacher
    • B. visiting the motorway
    • C. calling her uncle
    • D. a reverse image search

  1. Question 10

    Read the question and choose. You find a website about a health claim. You've never heard of the organisation behind it. What should you do first?

    • A. trust its 'About us' page
    • B. read the whole site carefully before checking anything else
    • C. open a new tab and search for what reliable sources say about that organisation
    • D. judge it by how professional it looks

  2. Question 11

    Is the proposed answer correct? A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it? → do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 12

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?

    • A. asking a teacher
    • B. calling her uncle
    • C. visiting the motorway
    • D. a reverse image search

  1. Question 13

    Read the question and choose. A website's address looks almost like a famous newspaper's, but with one letter different. What should you suspect?

    • A. nothing; addresses don't matter
    • B. it is safer than the real site
    • C. it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one
    • D. it is the newspaper's official backup site

  2. Question 14

    Is the proposed answer correct? A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it? → count the shares

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 15

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?

    • A. asking a teacher
    • B. a reverse image search
    • C. visiting the motorway
    • D. calling her uncle

  1. Question 16

    Read the question and choose. You strongly agree with a post and want to share it immediately. What's the wisest move?

    • A. change the wording first
    • B. share it quickly before it disappears
    • C. pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with
    • D. share it only with friends

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Answer key: Checking claims online

  1. 1. B. it may be made up or wrongly attributed, so don't share it

  2. 2. A. yes, it is correct

  3. 3. D. a reverse image search

  4. 4. D. do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared

  5. 5. A. yes, it is correct

  6. 6. D. a reverse image search

  7. 7. D. do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared

  8. 8. A. yes, it is correct

  9. 9. D. a reverse image search

  10. 10. C. open a new tab and search for what reliable sources say about that organisation

  11. 11. A. yes, it is correct

  12. 12. D. a reverse image search

  13. 13. C. it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one

  14. 14. B. no, it is not correct

  15. 15. B. a reverse image search

  16. 16. C. pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with