LESSON 1 · Don't Get Fooled: Media Literacy
Fake Story Blueprint
Fake news stories share consistent features:
- Sensational headline that triggers outrage, fear, or moral disgust
- Emotional language — loaded words like shocking, destroyed, exposed
- No named sources that can be independently verified
- Vague timing — words like recently or just now create false urgency
- One-sided framing with no opposing view
The most effective fakes contain a grain of truth: a real event taken out of context, exaggerated, or mixed with fabricated details. Those real elements hold up to a quick fact-check, lending the whole story false credibility.