EFE learning modules / News & Media

scenario 3 alex and sarah are sitting in a local ca

Scenario Context

"Alex and Sarah are sitting in a local cafe. Alex is scrolling through his phone looking at social media, while Sarah is reading a digital newspaper on her tablet. They start a conversation about a controversial news story they both saw online."

Speakers
A

Alex

A college student who gets most of his news from social media platforms and trending topics.

S

Sarah

A journalism major who is passionate about ethics, fact-checking, and traditional news sources.

The Dialogue

Tap highlighted words to view vocabulary cards below.

Alex
Hey Sarah, did you see that crazy story on Twitter about the city council banning all cars downtown?
Sarah
I saw a headline about it, but I haven't confirmed it yet. Which account posted it?
Alex
It was trending! Everyone is sharing it. It looks like a huge protest is starting.
Sarah
We have to be careful, Alex. Sometimes those trending stories are full of .
Alex
What do you mean? There were pictures and everything.
Sarah
Pictures can be taken out of context. I'm looking at a reputable news site right now to see if they reported it.
Alex
You always trust those old-fashioned newspapers. They are too slow.
Sarah
They might be slower, but they value and verify their sources before publishing.
Alex
But isn't there a lot of in mainstream media too?
Sarah
That's true. Every has some level of , which is why we need .
Alex
? Is that like a class you take?
Sarah
It's a skill! It means being able to analyze and evaluate the information you consume.
Alex
Okay, so how do I know if this car ban story is ?
Sarah
First, check the . Is it a known news organization or just a random user?
Alex
It looks like an account called 'CityBreakingNews' with a blue checkmark.
Sarah
Nowadays, anyone can buy a checkmark. You need to that specific claim.
Alex
I see. Let me search for the official city council website.
Sarah
Good idea. Also, look for in the wording of the tweet.
Alex
The tweet says 'TOTAL CHAOS AS CITY BANS CARS FOREVER!' Is that ?
Sarah
Exactly. They use emotional language to get clicks. It's often called clickbait.
Alex
Wow, I just found the official statement. They are only closing one street for a weekend festival.
Sarah
See? That's a huge difference from a total permanent ban.
Alex
I feel a bit silly for believing the first thing I saw.
Sarah
Don't feel bad. The internet is designed to spread things fast, not necessarily accurately.
Alex
So, how can I improve the of my news feed?
Sarah
Follow a variety of sources, including some that have an viewpoint.
Alex
I should probably stop relying only on social media algorithms.
Sarah
Definitely. Algorithms show you what you want to see, which creates an echo chamber.
Alex
I'm going to download a couple of different news apps today.
Sarah
That's a great start toward becoming a more informed citizen.
Alex
Thanks for the tips, Sarah. I'll be more skeptical next time.
Sarah
You're welcome! Critical thinking is the best tool against fake news.

Scene Vocabulary

Practice vocabulary words & meanings.

Bias

/ባየስ/

አድልዎ

A prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another.

ከሌላው ጋር ሲነጻጸር ለአንድ ነገር፣ ሰው ወይም ቡድን የሚደረግ አድልዎ።

Reliability

/ሪላየቢሊቲ/

አስተማማኝነት

The quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well.

ታማኝ የመሆን ወይም በቋሚነት በጥሩ ሁኔታ የመስራት ጥራት።

Credible

/ክሬዲብል/

ተአማኒ

Able to be believed; convincing.

ሊታመን የሚችል፤ አሳማኝ።

Sensationalism

/ሴንሴሽናሊዝም/

ስሜት ቀስቃሽነት

The use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest.

የህዝብን ፍላጎት ለመቀስቀስ ሲባል ትክክለኛነትን በመተው አስደሳች ወይም አስደንጋጭ ታሪኮችን ወይም ቋንቋን መጠቀም።

Misinformation

/ሚስኢንፎርሜሽን/

የተሳሳተ መረጃ

False or inaccurate information that is spread, regardless of intent to deceive.

ለማታለል ታስቦም ባይሆን የሚሰራጭ ውሸት ወይም ትክክል ያልሆነ መረጃ።

Fact-check

/ፋክት ቼክ/

እውነታን ማረጋገጥ

Investigate an issue in order to verify the facts.

እውነታዎችን ለማረጋገጥ አንድን ጉዳይ መመርመር።

Source

/ሶርስ/

ምንጭ

A place, person, or thing from which something comes or can be obtained.

አንድ ነገር የሚገኝበት ወይም ሊገኝ የሚችልበት ቦታ፣ ሰው ወይም ቁስ።

Objective

/ኦብጄክቲቭ/

ገለልተኛ

Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.

እውነታዎችን በሚያስቡበት እና በሚያቀርቡበት ጊዜ በግል ስሜቶች ወይም አስተያየቶች ያልተነኩ።

Integrity

/ኢንቴግሪቲ/

ታማኝነት/ቅንነት

The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

ታማኝ የመሆን እና ጠንካራ የሞራል መርሆች የመኖር ጥራት።

Media Literacy

/ሚዲያ ሊተረሲ/

የሚዲያ ግንዛቤ

The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms.

የተለያዩ የሚዲያ መልዕክቶችን የማግኘት፣ የመተንተን፣ የመገምገም እና የመፍጠር ችሎታ።