VOA慢速英语--更多美国学校教授如何识别假新闻

More US Schools Teaching Skills to Recognize False News

A growing number of American states are requiring schools to teach students how to judge information on the internet and social media.

California is the latest state to pass such a requirement. Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law aimed at helping¹ educators teach students “media literacy²” skills.

Media literacy, also known as news literacy, is the ability to use critical thinking skills to recognize differences between real and “fake³” news. Fake news are stories that appear to be news, but are in fact false or misleading.

The new law requires California’s Department of Education to provide materials related to media literacy on its website. The materials are designed to inform teachers and provide tools for them to teach the subject.

California State Senator⁴ Bill Dodd proposed the bill, which became law. He said the goal is to give students a set of effective tools to “empower them to make informed decisions.” He added that news literacy is important for students and society to help “safeguard⁵ the future of democracy.”

Dodd told VOA that his media literacy efforts were based on a Stanford University study from 2016. It found that 80 percent of U.S. middle school students failed to recognize an advertisement that looked like a real news story. The ad was even identified as “sponsored content.”

The researchers also found that high school students had trouble telling the difference between a real Facebook news website and a fake news site.

The study called for more efforts to help students recognize false information on the internet and social media services. It said that young people also need the skills to find out where news stories come from, and to be able to judge the trustworthiness of sources and writers.

Dodd said he wanted his bill to go even further, and to include the creation⁶ of full media literacy training in all classrooms. But he said there was not enough legislative⁷ support for providing the money needed for such an effort. Dodd did say he thinks that once the new teaching materials become available, lawmakers will be more willing to expand the program.

Other states have also passed legislation⁸ to bring news literacy education to the classroom. Others are considering new measures.

The bill passed in California is similar to one approved last year in Washington State. It created a web-based system of materials for teachers. The Washington law also required education officials to report on how they plan to add media literacy education to local schools.

A bill was under consideration last year in New Mexico. It called for a new “life skills” requirement for those completing their education. The bill would require students to study media literacy as part of a class covering life skills in order to graduate. The state’s House of Representatives has yet to pass the measure.

A proposal before Hawaii’s legislature would develop a statewide plan to teach media literacy skills at all levels in public schools. That bill is still under consideration.

Carolyn Edy is a professor of communication at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She told VOA she has seen a clear change in her students’ abilities to judge news sources as they have grown on the internet and across social media.

Edy said that when students used to read printed newspapers, it was easier for them to recognize fact from opinion. Now, she finds it necessary to teach students how to fully⁹ examine websites.

“It’s a big problem for a lot of people,” she said.

One of Edy’s goals is to teach students how to research the news organizations responsible for the stories they are reading. One way to do this is for students to ask a series of questions.

One example she gives is, “What is the overall mission of the organization?” Another would be, “Do they use professional news gathering¹⁰ and reporting methods?”

Edy says young people also need to judge whether news organizations identify any possible conflicts of interest. Another question to ask is, “What do they do when they get a story wrong?” Responsible and trustworthy news organizations issue corrections if something is falsely reported, she said.

Edy added that one good thing to come out of the rise of misinformation and fake news is that it has made many people seek out good reporting.

“I’ve had some of the most engaged students I’ve ever had. And that’s really exciting,” she said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

literacy – n. the ability to read and write

critical – adj. involving careful judgment¹¹

safeguard – v. to protect something from harm

sponsored – adj. supported, given help from a sponsor

content – n. something contained; substance; the issue under consideration

source – n. someone or something that provides what is needed

graduate – v. to officially finish a school or university education

mission – n. the goal of a project or activity

professional – n. job requiring special training or skill

engaged – adj. to have attention focused on a certain subject or task

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

3 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

4 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

5 safeguard   

vt.保护，维护；n.预防措施，保证条款

参考例句：

• Keeping clean is a safeguard against disease.保持清洁是抵御疾病的防护措施。
• We must safeguard forest timber.我们必须保护森林。

6 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。