Theology students uncover 'fake news'—with the Pope’s blessing

Jared Kushner registered to vote as a woman.
Fifteen pounds of frozen Italian sausages crashed down on a family’s roof.
A man made $1.1 million off a Bitcoin scam selling Chuck E. Cheese tokens.
A Junior theology class studying Catholic Social Teaching recently discussed these juicy topics at length. And despite the strange headlines, the underlying lesson at work is seriously teaching students what it takes to be a “faithful citizen.”
If our girls are to grow into strong women leaders of faith, “they need to be thoughtful, socially aware critical thinkers who are responsible for understanding the truth,” said Director of Campus Ministry and theology teacher Teri Gonzales.

As faithful citizens, students learned, they have a moral obligation to become an “informed, active and responsible participant in the political process,” according to the U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral on Civic Responsibility.
 
Pope Francis spoke out just this week on the “dire consequences” of fake news, describing it as a “deceptive power of evil that moves from one lie to another in order to rob us of our interior freedom.” He called instead for “education for truth” and the need to teach people how to interpret information.

Mrs. Gonzales is among those conscientious Catholic educators who are teaching students how to decipher the online deluge of often disrespectful, vitriolic news stories that confront them.

She turned to Mayfield’s in-house information and literacy experts, our extraordinary librarians. Asst. Librarian Julie Daniels created a lesson to teach students how to methodically and critically evaluate the value of a news story. Is it “share-worthy?” Or should they hit the trash button?

Using educational resources from NewseumED.org, a media literacy organization, Mrs. Daniels asked students to break into groups and read an assortment of online stories, including those in the opening sentences of this article.

“Some of these stories are really, really tricky,” Mrs. Daniels warned. “You can’t assume anything.”

As they read and researched on their computers, a lively discussion flowed:

“There is no way this could be real.”
“Where’s the evidence?”
“Can you find the same information somewhere else?”
“If this is true, where are the pictures?”
“Why is this website so distracting?”

Mrs. Daniels told students to look at dates, identify the sourcing and the names of the websites. She also gave them a handy flow-chart to guide their discussion. A few of the points:
  • Is there evidence to support the claim? Look for statistics, studies, primary sources
  • Run a computer search of the key facts. Do you find corroboration?
  • Is the story and website calm, clear and neat? Or are there sloppy mistakes and things like ALL CAPS WORDS?
  • Is it news, opinion or satire?
At the end of their evaluation, the students had reached conclusions of their own.

Is Jared Kushner really registered as a woman?

Yes.

“But the website was so distracting and the story made it sound like he was incapable of doing anything,” said Brooke Acosta ’19. “We looked at some other sources and found out that it was a computer error.”

Student conclusion: The story is misleading and there is no scandal here.

Did frozen sausage fall from the sky on someone’s roof?

Yes.

“We searched multiple sources and there were many exact, matter-of-fact stories on this,” one student said.

Student conclusion: A harmless story that seems false when you first read it.

Finally, did some guy really make $1 million off a Bitcoin scam using Chuck E. Cheese tokens?

No.

Students found numerous stories debunking what became a viral article.

But even before they undertook research, the keen eye of Amelia Enzminger ’19, found one comment that deeply troubled her and made her believe the story was false. In one paragraph, a New York police officer was quoted using offensive labels to describe a person.

“It was so disrespectful for a police officer to talk like this,” Amelia said. “It made me think if this article were true people would be really upset about how a NYPD officer is talking to the press.”

For Mrs. Gonzales, this exercise is a necessary and important tool to help our students grow into young women of faith. 

“Catholic Social Teaching urges us to participate in the social and political life based on the Gospel and the witness of Jesus,” she said. “And to become responsible, moral agents, we have to first learn to be respectful, thoughtful and critical thinkers—and it’s our responsibility to seek the truth.”
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Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.