CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LITERACY POLICY AND PRACTICE

Barbara Comber & Hilary Janks | George G. Hruby  |  Editors

Working Critically and Creatively

With Fake News
Barbara Comber, Helen Grant

W
e revised this column after a week of never-­ end up infected without even realizing it’” (as quoted
ending news headlines about bad behavior: in Horowitz, 2017, para. 4). In the United Kingdom, the
Australian cricketers tampering with the All-­P arty Parliamentary Group on Literacy and the
ball in South Africa, spies being accused of attempting National Literacy Trust organized the Commission on
to murder their fellow ex-­spies, world leaders creating Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills in
trade wars, politicians disregarding indigenous owner- Schools, which conducted an evidence review published
ship of country, and so forth. Simultaneously, a line-­up in August 2017 (Picton & Teravainen, 2017). A recent
of world leaders promised nuclear disarmament, jobs, seminar conducted by the Permanent Representation
prosperity, and cheaper power. Yet, images of children of Sweden to the European Union, which importantly
maimed and starving as their homelands are bombed, brought together politicians, journalists, and academ-
or ruthlessly removed from their families, haunt us. We ics, focused on ways of dealing with disinformation
want to turn it off. We don’t want to listen to any more of (Government Offices of Sweden, 2017). A conference
it, nor our children to see it. Some of the children in our in Helsinki in May 2016 on media and information lit-
classrooms and neighborhoods have endured or fled eracy delved into the production of digital resources
similar conditions. In the mix of actually horrific world by the Nordic and Baltic nations and was parlayed
events and injustices, how might educators properly ad- into the book Citizens in a Mediated World: A Nordic-
dress the phenomenon of fake news? Fake news is fabri- Baltic Perspective on Media and Information Literacy
cated accounts without any basis in fact. What are our (Wadbring & Pekkala, 2017). It is somewhat ironic that
ethical pedagogical responsibilities? critical literacy is now seen as important across party
Critical media literacy scholars have noted that politics given its virtual disappearance from the official
there is nothing new about fake news, except perhaps curriculum in a number of nations. Nevertheless, edu-
in its contemporary blatant appropriation by differ- cators may be able to count this “digital disorientation”
ent protagonists to different ends (Luke, Sefton-­Green, as a helpful disruption to reductive understandings of
Graham, Kellner, & Ladwig, 2018; Williams, 2018). In literacy and seize the opportunity it presents to devise
“an ‘age of digital disorientation,’…the very meaning of critical multimedia literacies.
‘reality’ itself seems to be up for grabs in a ‘post-­truth’ What does it mean to educate when anyone with
digital media culture controlled by powerful corporate a mobile phone can produce news that may go viral at
and state actors, and defined by speed, immediacy, and any moment and when the credentials for being a world
information oversaturation” (Williams, 2018, p. 53). It is leader no longer include ethics and morality. Teachers,
this particular mix that makes addressing critical me- taking a critical literacy approach, have worked with
dia literacy as an integral part of everyday education so students for eons to interrogate media texts, looking for
urgent. Although some students are competent digital bias, what’s said and what’s not, how the language works
social media communicators, many are unaware of the to position readers, the political histories of the outlet
potential for manipulation. and its editors, and so forth. However, in a so-­called post-­
Not only educators recognize this urgency. Laura truth world, where fake news has become a truism in its
Boldrini, the former president and speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian
Parliament, initiated a project with the Italian Ministry HELEN GRANT is a teacher researcher at Gilles Street
of Education for children to become “fake-­news hunt- Primary School, Adelaide, SA, Australia; email helen.
ers” (Horowitz, 2017, para. 22). As she put it, “‘fake news [email protected].
drips drops of poison into our daily web diet and we

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 CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LITERACY POLICY AND PRACTICE

own right, what does this mean for critical literacy in By the end of Year 8, students identify and analyse how
classrooms? How can teachers make everyday texts and representations of social values and points of view are por-
their encapsulation in sound bites and Twitter feeds the trayed in the media artworks they make, distribute and
view. They evaluate how they and other makers and users of
object of study in classrooms? For example, how might
media artworks from different cultures, times and places
the concept of fake news become the object of analysis in
use genre and media conventions and technical and sym-
literacy and language lessons, and to what end? bolic elements to make meaning. They identify and analyse
Globally, educators face urgent questions about how the social and ethical responsibility of the makers and us-
critical literacy pedagogy can be designed to examine ers of media artworks. (media arts achievement standard
the politics of language with diverse student cohorts. for years 7 and 8)
Helen (second author), an elementary English as an
Additional Language teacher, has found that if we build Highlighting the verbs/processes in the text pro-
strong, challenging learning around problem solving vides a starting point for my planning, such as evalu-
and critical literacy, the consequences can be cathartic ate, discuss, and analyze. Official expectations range
in a world where people may feel helpless. Here, Helen from students discussing texts by the end of year 4, ex-
shares her approach to interrogating fake news with plaining texts by the end of year 6, and identifying and
elementary and middle school students, including re- analyzing texts with awareness of social and ethical
cently arrived refugee and migrant students learning responsibility by the end of year 8. This goal of ethical
English as a second language. She does this within a pol- and social responsibility always underpins my teach-
icy context of a national curriculum and national test- ing across all year levels. I know that critical questions
ing of literacy (see Australian Curriculum, Assessment can be asked at any stage of reading and viewing and are
and Reporting Authority, 2016). important for students who are also learning literacy in
a new language. These designated learning outcomes
provide the go-­a head for my working critically and cre-
Teacher as Critical atively with fake news. I choose my focus and design
and Creative Reader learning, questioning, and research around this.
My starting point in designing a study of fake news is I am always searching for examples of texts of vari-
to find links to the curriculum. I read the Australian ous kinds and genres that will connect with young
Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and people and address big questions. The fake news topic
Reporting Authority, 2016) looking for opportunities to was no exception. I selected and curated a range of
engage students in critical reading and analysis of con- texts that I could use with students to illustrate key el-
temporary everyday texts. I scan the strands of English ements of fake news and how it worked. To start with
and media arts; the content descriptions of language, a shared experience, we viewed the “Fake News” (2016)
literature, and literacy; the general capabilities; and the episode of Behind the News, an Australian Broadcasting
achievement standards from lower to higher to cater to Corporation program developed for use by teachers
the range of students’ needs. In other words, I read the and students to explore how news is produced. We read
curriculum actively looking for both implicit and ex- a transcript of the show. We highlighted unfamiliar
plicit references to critical literacy or related practices. words and phrases and started a glossary of terminol-
Rather than mourn what’s not stated and a more radical ogy—words, dictionary meanings, my meanings, or in
curricular history, I read to seek ways of making space students’ own words in English or their first language—
for the critical. For example, to make sure they remembered the terms. This proved
challenging because terminology (e.g., discriminate,
By the end of Year 4, students describe and discuss simi- sponsored) and tags such as “rumour mill,” “extreme
larities and differences between media artworks they make bias, and “a little too crazy to be true” can be difficult to
and view. They discuss how and why they and others use im- explain to some new English learners.
ages, sound and text to make and present media artworks. After the screening of the Behind the News episode,
(media arts achievement standard for years 3 and 4) we explored PowerPoint selections of various images
of current world leaders, authorized images, and those
By the end of Year 6, students explain how points of view,
ideas and stories are shaped and portrayed in media art-
in which multimedia players had used an image as tar-
works they make, share and view. They explain the pur- get for commentary. I also searched reputable web-
poses and audiences for media artworks made in different sites for examples of fake news that could be used for
cultures, times and places. (media arts achievement stan- educational purposes and found “California’s Velcro
dard for years 5 and 6) Crop Under Challenge” by Ken Umbach (http://www.

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 CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LITERACY POLICY AND PRACTICE

umbachconsulting.com/miscellany/velcro.html), DHMO. humor as I can. Being able to understand how humor

org (http://www.dhmo.org/), and “The Pacific Northwest works is key cultural and linguistic knowledge, particu-
Tree Octopus” (https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/links. larly for recently arrived students whose first language
html). I also hunted down and collected as many appro- or dialect is not English. Cartooning is a key creative
priate cartoons as I could find, about a range of leaders, and critical response to fake news. I collect a range of
that used humor to make a point. I developed a resource images in which the creators have played with existing
focused on political cartooning and fake news. Working images of world leaders as social commentary. Not sur-
critically and creatively with fake news took consider- prisingly, all of my students recognized Trump. Tasks
able preparation to ensure its relevance and suitability have included analyzing examples of cartoons about
for my students. world leaders before creating a large cartoon to tell an
I try to simplify and clarify the complex learning alternative message of their own. After viewing pho-
idea or theme. It is important to know more about my tographic and cartoon images and memes of a range of
students to understand my next moves. leaders, we discussed questions such as these:

■ What do you notice about the images (e.g., who/

Who Are My Students? what, clothes, gestures, gaze, colors, focal point, fore-
As of April 2018, our 400 students represent 46 differ- ground/background, rule of thirds, did they follow or
ent groups in terms of language, culture, and ethnicity. break the visual rules?)?
In one class, I have a group of Chinese, Indian, Iranian, ■ Is there a difference in the terms prime minister,
Russian, Brazilian, Japanese Brazilian, and Icelandic stu- president, and chancellor? Where do these differ-
dents. What do these students bring to the learning? My ent titles comes from? How many of the leaders are
approach always begins with identifying assets: global women, and how many are men?
experiences, languages, literacies, political histories,
knowledge of popular culture, or whatever is “the latest ■ How are leaders portrayed? What do the images
in their lives.” I invite students to share (in turns) their symbolize?
musical playlists and what influences them. One student
included classical Brazilian, Brazilian rappers, and other In this unit, I showed students how I deconstruct ex-
popular songs. We analyzed his playlist and considered amples of fake news, such as DHMO.org and the piece on
what it suggests about the culture, the instruments, the velcro crops. Increasingly, however, flexibility is needed
fashion, and the uptake of various genres. It may be hip-­ to plan appropriate activities for different classes,
hop in Portuguese about contemporary culture. This groups of students, and complexities of concepts. I draw
frequently involves three-­way translation and interpre- on my growing collection of slideshows on topics such
tation for one another. This is when it’s really exciting! as communication, photography and film techniques,
Regarding the study of fake news, I need to be aware visual literacies, gestures, cartooning, and professional
that some students are very reticent and suspicious be- artists’ work to help explain specific and complex con-
cause in their homelands they did not have a chance to cepts. I start each weekly lesson with a visual review of
have their voices heard. An Afghani girl was amazed to what we have learned/done/viewed so far, and students
see the workings of our school’s Student Representative draw visual maps to continually add to and build on.
Council, where students consider ways to address prob- I always include a focus on positive action, brain-
lems. In considering world leaders in my class, it was storming ways that we can influence and change our
crucial for me to show respect to all. Although some stu- world. I invite students to research different areas us-
dents are extremely knowledgeable about politics and ing websites in their first languages. One student found
inform me about current situations, it is necessary to ex- a fake news item on a Japanese site about how eating
ercise an element of discretion in what we do and share. chocolate helps in weight loss!
Democracy often comes up as a topic for discussion.

Our Summary: Building Analytical

Designing and Enacting a Fake News Repertoires for the Fake News Times
Curriculum: Having a Laugh Critical literacy involves collecting texts beyond the
I am conscious that so much of world and local news classroom to provide students with curated sets of im-
is depressing, so part of my approach to this topic and ages and texts that show diversity and contradiction,
critical literacy more broadly is to incorporate as much as well as modeling good journalistic practice. A key

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 CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LITERACY POLICY AND PRACTICE

principle is to work with multiple texts so students are A. Smith, & J.Z. Pandya (Eds.), Handbook of writing, lit-
able to compare and analyze how the artists and writers eracies, and education in digital cultures (pp. 251–262). New
York, NY: Routledge.
constructed their messages. Learning task design and Picton, I., & Teravainen, A. (2017). Fake news and critical lit-
assessment are informed by relevant, authorized learn- eracy: An evidence review. London, UK: National Literacy
ing outcomes. The fundamental curricular goal is that Trust.
students learn to “identify and analyse the social and Wadbring, I., & Pekkala, L. (Eds.). (2017). Citizens in a mediated
world: A Nordic-Baltic perspective on media and information
ethical responsibility of the makers and users of media
literacy. Gothenburg, Sweden: Nordicom.
artworks” and how texts work in the world. Fake news Williams, R. (2018). Fighting “fake news” in an age of digital
is an ideal topic for critical media educators. When disorientation: Towards “real news”, critical media literacy
Helen’s students realize the kinds of things that can be education, and independent journalism for 21st century
discussed, they bring in texts found in everyday life in citizens. In C.Z. Goering & P.L. Thomas (Eds.), Critical me-
dia literacy and fake news in post-truth America (pp. 53–65).
their communities, making the corpus of material open, Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Sense.
dynamic, and multilingual—a positive productive dis-
ruption to business as usual.
The department editors welcome reader comments.
BARBARA COMBER is a research professor in
REFERENCES the School of Education at the University of
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. South Australia, Adelaide, and an adjunct
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Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy   Vol. 62   No. 3 332 November/December 2018    literacyworldwide.org