Thread: #Teachers: Here's a quick demo of how to use an example of misinformation as a digital forensics learning pathway with students. Let's start with this piece of inflammatory clickbait, published under the pretense of satire by Daily World Update: archive.is/PtWFV
Drill down on that lead image of people in the trucks using a reverse image search, and you'll find examples of the image that include the license plate on the truck. Like this one:
That appears to be from outside the U.S. -- and a careful observation will suggest that it might be from Mexico. If students go that route, they can eventually match that license plate using an online database of world license plates like this one: worldlicenseplates.com
Careful observation will also raise questions about the plants and balloons that the passengers have.
Or a text search of the title of the image -- "El Grito" -- or further exploration on reverse image search results can bring them to the photography sharing and discussion site where the original was posted...in 2004 trekearth.com/gallery/North_…
It turns out to be people in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico, headed to a celebration of Mexican Independence Day and most certainly NOT undocumented immigrants voting in a hotly contested, highly partisan special election in Pennsylvania. /END
N.B. Text search on "El Grito by Rockyboy" is the kind of text-based search that will return meaningful results here. Simply searching "El Grito" is too broad.
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#Teachers: Here's a thread laying out how to create a digital forensics learning pathway using this false quote meme featuring Denzel Washington that recirculated last week:
Before you get students started on their digital forensics work, you might point out the misinformation pattern it fits. This rumor has gone viral three separate times: first during the 2016 campaign, then again after Washington was nominated for an Oscar in February 2018, and...
...then again last week when Kanye West's tweeted statement of support for President Trump sparked a broader conversation about the political loyalties of the African American community. So one lesson here is that viral rumors recirculate when new contexts for them emerge.