Journalist Maggie Farley knew that fake news has existed for a long time as people manipulated information for their own benefit.
In a report by NPR, Farley says “Before, the biggest concern was, ‘Are people being confused by opinion; are people being tricked by spin?'” Now, she feels the stakes are much higher. So, she had the idea to create a game to test users’ ability to detect fake news from real.
Factitious was created at the game lab at American University.
Players read an article and decide if it is fake or real. Factitious then gives feedback as to whether the choice is correct. There is also a clue, which can be clicked to reveal the article’s source.
Earlier this year, NPR asked teachers what they are doing to teach students about fake news. Here are some of the responses.
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