Living in a post-truth world

Living in a post-truth world

When the business model for news corporations depends on blurring the lines between fact and opinion, how can we move from partisanship to problem solving? Photo illustration by News Decoder. In 2017, the political landscape collectively scoffed at Donald...

With news media inundating our feeds with content, youth guest author Skyler Kelley Duval dissects the blurred lines between fact and fiction. Central to being able to responsibly consume media is investment in critical thinking and media literacy education in schools. Are your students media literate? 

Exercise: Read the article with your class, then introduce the CRAAP test to your students as a tool to evaluate media sources. The CRAAP test assesses sources for Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose — with a goal of determining trustworthiness. You can find an example of the CRAAP test here. Consider analyzing a media source together as a class using the test.

Decoder: Can the world see China as the top peace broker?

Decoder: Can the world see China as the top peace broker?

Even as the U.S. and China stare each other down, China is bridging conflicts in regions the U.S. once dominated. Are we looking at a new world order? Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, left, hold hands with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince...

Some experts say that the world is entering a period of a renewed Cold War. This Decoder from ND correspondent Jim Wolf dives into the role China plays as new allegiances are formed and countries take ideological stands on democracy versus autocracy. Help your students draw the connection between past and present with this classroom article. 

Exercise: After reading the article as a class, have students create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting what the article describes as a potential “new world order” and the first Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. For both past and present, students should consider: major world powers, alliances (including non-aligned nations), proxy conflicts/Cold War “hotspots”, effectiveness of diplomacy, ideological conflicts, etc. 

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