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Disinformation Digital Detectives

SecondaryYear 9 - 10Humanities and Social SciencesCivics and CitizenshipEnvironmentalEnergySocialOnline safety

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These resources are part of the Combatting Misinformation Education Resources, created in collaboration with Boundless Earth.

This Civics & Citizenship unit for Years 9 & 10, Disinformation Digital Detectives, has been designed to

  • build students’ critical thinking and digital literacy, empowering them to evaluate sources and determine information credibility
  • investigate how digital algorithms shape public information, examining how misinformation and disinformation spread rapidly through digital platforms
  • explore responsible digital citizenship, guiding students to understand their civic responsibilities in countering misinformation online
  • develop practical fact-checking strategies, equipping students with criteria and techniques to identify trustworthy information and sources
  • conduct meaningful, real-world investigations, allowing students to create targeted surveys that explore media consumption habits and fact-checking practices across different age groups.

Through hands-on investigations and real-world applications, students will learn to critically navigate digital information, confidently address disinformation, and actively contribute to informed democratic decision-making.

Scroll down to explore each lesson or click the download button on the right-hand side of this unit to download the entire unit at once. ✨

Cool.org thanks our philanthropic funder, Boundless Earth for its generous contributions and collaboration in creating these resources.

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Students learn how public sources of information are shaped by their originators and assess sources of information for their relevance and trustworthiness on a current issue.

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  • Lesson
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    How Do We Know a Source Is Trustworthy?
    SecondaryYear 9 - 10Humanities and Social SciencesCivics and CitizenshipEnvironmental

    Find Out

    Students explore how algorithms influence the spread of misinformation and disinformation online.

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  • Lesson
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    Understanding The Algorithm
    SecondaryYear 9 - 10Humanities and Social SciencesCivics and CitizenshipEnvironmental

    Take Action

    Students explore what it means to be responsible digital citizens on social media. They use their knowledge of identifying misinformation and disinformation to develop a survey for a specific age group in Australian society.

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  • Lesson
    • Free
    Responsibility to Combat Misinformation
    SecondaryYear 9 - 10Humanities and Social SciencesCivics and CitizenshipEnvironmental
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  • Lesson
    • Free
    Different First Steps for Different People
    SecondaryYear 9 - 10Humanities and Social SciencesCivics and CitizenshipEnvironmental

    In this unit

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