Activity
Students will use ChatGPT to analyze news articles, identify fake news, and understand the persuasive techniques used in disinformation campaigns. This simulation fosters critical thinking, digital literacy, and ethical considerations regarding AI in media evaluation.
Pre-requisites
- Basic familiarity with fact-checking strategies.
- Understanding of persuasive techniques used in media.
- Access to ChatGPT for text analysis.
Explanation of activity
Students will work in teams to analyze news articles, some of which contain disinformation. They will use ChatGPT to assess credibility, detect biases, and evaluate persuasive techniques used in disinformation.
- Scenario Introduction: Students take on the role of digital fact-checkers and receive a set of real and fake news articles.
- Initial Analysis: Students assess articles manually based on credibility markers.
- ChatGPT-Assisted Analysis: Students use ChatGPT to verify claims and detect disinformation.
- Comparative Evaluation: Teams compare their manual analysis with ChatGPT’s results.
- Debrief & Ethical Considerations: Discussion on AI’s role in media analysis and disinformation detection.
Teacher materials
- Selected real and fake news articles.
- Introduction to ChatGPT for fact-checking and credibility analysis.
- Framework for evaluating persuasive techniques in disinformation.
Relevant Reading to Understand the Materials:
Guo, Y., & Lee, D. (2023). Leveraging ChatGPT for enhancing critical thinking skills. Journal of Chemical Education, 100(12), 4876–4883. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00505
Holzmann, U., Anand, S., & Payumo, A. Y. (2024). The ChatGPT Fact-Check: Exploiting the limitations of generative AI to develop evidence-based reasoning skills in college science courses. Advances in Physiology Education, 49(1). https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00142.2024
Further Reading to Develop the Activity/Understanding of the Topic:
Student Materials
- List of persuasive techniques.
- Guide on how to use ChatGPT for fact-checking.
- Selected news articles (real and fake) for analysis.
Analysis of Student Understanding
- Identification of Disinformation: How accurately students classify news as real or fake.
- Effectiveness of AI Use: How students evaluate and critically use ChatGPT for fact-checking.
- Critical Thinking: Ability to analyze and explain persuasive techniques used in disinformation.
Assessing and Evaluation
- Accuracy of Article Classification: Teams are graded on their correct classification of articles.
- Use of ChatGPT: Assessment of how effectively students use AI for fact-checking.
- Critical Analysis Report: Teams submit a report on their evaluation process, AI findings, and ethical insights.
Modulations
- Adapt for different disciplines.
- Assign trending disinformation stories for real-time evaluation.
- Include discussion on improving AI fact-checking methods.
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June 18, 2025
