English · Première, Terminale (B1 to C2), Bac pro

True or Tale? Getting informed in the age of social media and AI

Introduction

Framework. This sequence fits the curriculum themes "Citizenship and virtual worlds" and "Fictions and realities".

Levels. Première and Terminale, from B1 to C2, with extension work for C1 and C2 learners. A lighter version is suggested for Bac pro classes.

Aim. To help learners recognise how the truth is manipulated on social media: viral posts, AI generated images, recycled pictures and debates shifted step by step. The press is studied separately, as a point of comparison.

Organisation. Seven sessions. Each one opens with a marked recap and offers exercises with answer keys and corrected homework. An adapted version for learners with dyslexia accompanies the whole sequence.

Assessment. An assessment out of 20 with its answer key, a teacher marking grid and an active correction sheet that learners fill in to understand their mistakes, on paper or on the school online platform.

Fake news spreads mainly through social media. This sequence starts from real viral posts checked by journalists (AFP Fact Check, Reuters Fact Check, Full Fact, PolitiFact), then compares each post with the way professional newspapers handled the same story. Topics are neutral: monuments, celebrities, weather. Misleading pictures are described, never reproduced.

Every session opens with a recap check, offers a corrected exercise, a gap-fill worksheet and homework with a model answer.

Sessions

Session 1
What is in my feed? Anatomy of a viral post Session 2
AI images: clues and limits Session 3
Recycled pictures: the shark on the highway Session 4
Check like a fact-checker: the Eiffel Tower on fire Session 5
The press as counterpoint: viral post versus newspaper article Session 6
Shifting a debate step by step: the Overton window Session 7
Final task: our class column, True or Tale?Session 8
Film session: The Truman Show and Nightcrawler Assessment out of 20
With its answer key and a model answer Teacher marking grid
Criteria and points Active correction sheet
My mistake, type of error, correct form, why Levels and C1/C2 extensionCurriculum axesChecked sourcesAdapted version (dyslexia)