Are they eating the pets?

45-90 min

In this lesson the pupils learn about the importance of fact-checking, and discuss the consequences of the spread of misinformation. Fact-check this statement "They are eating the dogs, they are eating the cats. They are eating the pets of the people that live there."

Sist oppdatert 14. okt. 2024.

Preperation

Review the pupil page and prepare to share the link with your pupils. Let your pupils work individually on the first task, then together in pairs or small groups for the remaining tasks.

If you would like for all of your pupils to work with the tasks at the same time, you can use the presentation instead of sharing the pupil page.

Elevside: Are they eating the pets?Presentasjon: Are they eating the pets?

Guided practice

Introduce the topic and learning objectives for the lesson.

The pupils are able to

use different strategies to fact-check a statement
discuss how news spread on social media
describe and discuss consequences when information taken out of context goes viral

The pupils complete task 1

Fact-check this statement using a keyword search and by answering these questions. Take notes.

"The people in Springfield are eating people's pets"

A)

Who is behind the information?

This statement is from the presidential debate, that took place on 10th of September, where Donald J. Trump stated that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, where eating people's pets.
Before the presidential debate, Donald Trump's running mate, the vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance posted on social media that Haitian migrants living in Springfield were abducting and eating people's pets.
This statement can also be traced to a rumour posted on a Facebook page, where a woman claimed that her neighbour's daughter's cat was missing, and that the cat had been taken by immigrants, which was just a rumour and the cat was later found unharmed.
Anti-immigration misinformation, such as this debunked claim, is not a new phenomenon. There have been urban legends claiming that immigrants are eating people's pets and other animals, throughout the different waves of immigration to the United States.

The pupils complete task 2

Complete a reverse image search of the image below. Discuss with a partner.

An illustration made by AI of a cat in military cloths carrying a rifle, wearing a cap with the letters MAGA. Foto: Screenshot from Truth Social.

The pupils complete task 3

Watch the video MediaWise: Fact-checking: Are the people in Springfield eating people's pets? (1:30)

The pupils complete task 4

Discuss with a partner and take notes. Then share your answers in class.

B)

Who does this affect, and why?

Several immigrants living in Springfield have expressed, through interviews that followed after the presidential debate, that they felt unsafe, unwanted and scared, after the spread of this false claim.
An inquire made by YouGov, showed that people who supports Trump for president were more inclined to believe the statement about immigrants eating people's pets.
In a survey with a 1120 participants, where 385 people said they were Trump supporters, 22% of the people who said they would vote for Trump answered that they believed the statement to be "Definitely True", while 30% of the Trump supporters answered "Probably True".
The statement and the spread of this false claim can contribute to a more polarised society where we have different groups of people who do not agree on facts, which in turn can lead to people feeling like they live in different realities.

Additional resources

Here you will find a writing frame for How to fact-check a statement. If your pupils need an additional aid during their fact-checking, print out and hand out the writing frame when working with task 1.

If you want to show your pupils how misinformation spreads, you can have a look at the lesson "Who is spreading fake news?"

For further information, check out a podcast by The Daily, "The Story Behind 'They're Eating the Pets" in the link below.

Last ned: How to fact-check a statement (Word)Opplegg: Who is spreading fake news?Link: Podcast:The Story Behind 'They're Eating the Pets'

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