Hi, I'm Ms. Lowe, and I'm your RSHE teacher for today.

Thank you so much for choosing to complete your learning with me.

Now, today's lesson is all about social media and communities.

And because of some of the themes and topics that we're gonna cover today, it's important that you complete your learning with the company of an adult.

So let's begin by having a look at today's outcome.

So by the end of our lesson today, you're gonna be able to explain how communities can be affected by social media.

Every RSHE lesson should begin with a set of ground rules.

This ensures that every conversation had in RSHE is respectful and we're all able to learn effectively.

So Laura is reminding us that in RSHE, we should listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And when disagreeing, we challenge the statement and not the person.

Andeep is reminding us to respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that can identify anyone including ourselves.

Izzy is reminding us to choose a level of participation that suits us.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in a discussion, but we never put anyone on the spot.

And finally, Jacob is reminding us that in RSHE, there is no judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged.

Now let's have a look at our key words for today's lesson.

So we're gonna start with community.

A group of people brought together by shared beliefs, attitudes, interests, or location.

Discrimination, when people are treated unfairly or differently because of things like their race, gender or beliefs.

Misinformation, false or inaccurate information.

It means getting the facts wrong.

Echo chamber, a place or situation where people only hear ideas that they already agree with, so their beliefs are repeated and not challenged.

And here is our outline of what we're gonna be learning together today.

So we're gonna begin by asking the question, how do communities stay connected online? A community is a group of people who share something in common.

There are millions of online communities and the internet provides space for them to discuss their shared interests and experiences.

There are so many communities online.

Any interest that you have or somebody has, there is undoubtedly a community available online for them to join.

So for example, there can be global communities.

We can see here on the computer screen that this is a readers worldwide.

This is for people all over the world to communicate about their shared interests.

Or communities can be local.

This may be online groups for people who live in a local town or a local village to talk to each other, to ask each other questions, et cetera.

So communities can be global or local.

In a community, social media can be a really powerful force 'cause it can help people to organise events and share news quickly.

Even in a local community, social media apps and messaging services can help keep residents informed and connected.

So Lucas is telling us here that his mum is part of a messaging group with other school parents.

They talk about school events and they plan things together.

So Lucas is telling us here that his mum is part of a local community with other parents, and they use this social media messaging group to share news quickly and to help organise events.

So one of the reasons that social media is so great is because it helps people feel safely connected with others who share their interests, even if they're far apart.

It also means that people can join online communities to talk about their hobbies, ideas, or interests with people who they also know in real life.

So Alex is telling us here that he really enjoys being able to speak to his granddad who lives in Australia using online video calls.

So Alex there is using a global community in order to stay connected with his granddad.

Megan is telling us that she really enjoys online meetings for her young carers group.

Sometimes we're too busy or have too many commitments to meet up in person.

So we can see here how social media is helping to connect these two people with people that they love and the interests that they have and communities that matter to them.

Now let's pause here and we'll check our understanding.

"The benefits of a community are." You're gonna read through those three options, pause the video and we'll go through the right answer together.

Really well done if you said that the benefits of a community are people can connect locally or globally, and that it is filled with people who share things in common.

Social media also provides communities with a space to ask and answer questions about the issues that matter to them.

This helps people to stay connected and up to date with others, what is happening in their lives as well.

Izzy's mum says that there's a Q&A, a question and answer section on her local community page.

She wanted to know about clubs and activities at a local pool, and loads of people responded and gave her some great information.

Social media also provides communities with the space to organise.

So many communities revolve around a cause or an issue, and social media is a fantastic tool to help people to plan large group events to raise awareness.

So an example here, things that might happen at your school even are charity coffee mornings that take place.

So this is using social media to promote an event which is going to raise awareness for a cause.

The internet is also a space where communities can stay connected over shared experiences.

Messaging and forum sites provide space for people to communicate with others, access support, and learn more about a topic that really matters to them.

So Megan is telling us here that she's part of an online group for young carers.

We all know each other well in real life, and the meetings are supervised by professionals.

We talk about what it's like to be carers, and it's really empowering to connect with others who understand.

Social media also provides the opportunity for activism and funding.

Communities can work together on social media to raise awareness and raise money for the causes that matter to them.

So an example here may be an online fundraiser for saving an animal shelter.

When people are united in an online community, it can bring a real feeling of empowerment and a feeling like they're being heard.

Marginalised groups or those people facing discrimination can use this platform to express their thoughts and concerns.

Being a part of a group who share the same lived experiences, the same hobbies, or they have the same interests as us can be an excellent way to stay connected with the world around us.

And we're gonna pause here and we're gonna check our understanding.

So true or false, online communities are only useful for people who live far away? Pause the video and have a think about your answer.

Really well done if you said false.

Let's have a think about why this is false.

Well, online communities are useful for global groups and local groups, and they're a powerful way to organise and to communicate.

So well done if you said false for that answer.

And now we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So I would like for you to answer the question, how can communities stay connected online? I'd like you to explain your answer in one paragraph and try to include at least three ways that communities can stay connected online in your answer.

So I want you to pause the video, write down that paragraph, and then we'll go through what I think you might have written in just a moment.

Really good work there.

So I asked you to write a paragraph in answer to the question, how can communities stay connected online? And you might have said, there are many effective ways for communities to stay connected online.

One of the most popular methods is through social media platforms where people with shared interests can post updates, share photos and plan events, even if they live far apart.

Messaging apps and group chats are also useful because they allow members to quickly communicate, ask questions, and share important information in real time.

In addition, forums and dedicated websites provide a more permanent space for deeper discussions, sharing resources and offering support in difficult times.

Online communities are especially valuable because they give everyone a chance to participate, including those who may not feel confident speaking in person.

This helps to create a stronger and more inclusive community overall.

Well done if you mentioned any of those things in your answers.

We're moving on now to the second part of our lesson where we're gonna ask the question, what harm can misinformation do? Online communities can be great spaces, however, misinformation can harm these groups and the individuals that exist within them.

So misinformation can appear in lots of different ways.

It can appear as photos, videos, written posts, or even articles.

One way that misinformation can harm communities is through spreading fear and panic.

So Andeep says here that his dad said that in their local community group, someone shared a social media post which said that there was a crime wave in the community, and it made lots of people scared to go outside.

So we can see here that one piece of misinformation can quickly spread to other people and cause fear and panic within a community.

So another way that misinformation can cause harm is by causing divide within a community.

If people spread false facts, rumours, or even biassed opinions, it might cause people to turn against each other.

When people have different ideas about what is factual and what is true, it can create mistrust and conflict, and this can break the unity that exists within the community.

Now we're gonna pause here, and we're gonna put our learning into action.

So what I'd like for you to do is to complete the sentence with the missing word.

So it says so far, "Misinformation can cause in online communities." Pause the video and have a think about what is missing from this sentence.

Really well done if you said distrust.

You could have also said that misinformation can cause divide within online communities.

So let's have a look now at an example of misinformation creating distrust within a community.

So here we've got Ethan, and Ethan is on a community page on social media, which has been set up for people who are members of the video game club at school.

So Ethan is telling us that someone has posted in the group that the school is banning boys from attending the club starting from next week.

He's read this and it shocked him, so he shared it with his friends.

Now interestingly about misinformation is people are more likely to believe misinformation if it comes from somebody that they already trust, and we can see this happening here.

Because Ethan's friends trust him, they believe what he has to say about the school no longer allowing boys to attend the club.

So Ethan has sent this message to his friends and they've said, "No way! I can't believe that the school is doing this." And Ethan is doubling down and saying, "I know it's really unfair and I'm so annoyed." So because Ethan's friends trust him, they automatically believe the misinformation that he has sent to them.

Misinformation can also cause distrust in authority.

In Ethan's case, him and his friends start to develop a distrust of the school because they believe that the school is being unfair to them.

Ethan says, "I thought the school made these clubs for everyone.

I feel like I can't trust anything the adults at school say anymore." So we can see here that this mistrust, this misinformation is causing a great deal of distrust in authority within the school for Ethan.

So misinformation thrives in an echo chamber, and this is where the same thoughts and opinions are being echoed back at somebody and then never being challenged.

And this is because if a person's incorrect ideas and views are never challenged, it can then deepen the belief in the misinformation that they've heard.

Ethan says here, "Me and all my friends have seen the same post.

We all shared it, and since then, other people have posted similar things, so it must be true." Misinformation can also cause harm by fostering what we call an us versus them attitude within communities.

And Ethan sees this happening here because he starts to see the situation as being girls versus boys in the gaming club community.

And it means that he's gonna take his frustrations out on them.

So here Ethan is sending a message to a girl in the club and he says, "You shouldn't even be in this club because gaming isn't for girls." And this girl is saying, "Stop it, Ethan.

It's not true." So we can see here how that initial piece of misinformation has created this us versus them mentality.

Misinformation can also lead to discrimination.

When a situation becomes us versus them, it can cause negative feelings and attitudes towards what people see as the opposing group.

Although misinformation can appear online, the discrimination that happens as a result of it can actually spill over into the real world.

Ethan here is showing us an example of this.

He says that he's stopped speaking to any girls at school, and if they ever tried to talk to me, I'm not very nice in response because I'm so angry about the club.

And discrimination can then escalate from harmful comments online to violent or even aggressive behaviour in real life.

If you ever witness discrimination, whether that's online or in person, it is important to report it to a trusted adult or call the police on 101.

And now we're gonna pause the video here and check our understanding.

So true or false, even if misinformation occurs online, it can cause discrimination in person? So you're gonna pause the video here, have a think about your answer, and then we'll go through the right answer together.

Really well done if you said true.

Yes, we saw how misinformation can begin as a post, an image online.

It can quickly escalate into a situation that fosters an us versus them mentality, which will then lead to discrimination, and this can spill over into the real world.

So now we're gonna put our learning into practise, and what I'd like for you to do is to create a list of at least four ways that misinformation can cause harm in communities.

So you're gonna pause the video here and write that list and then we'll go through what you might have written together.

Excellent work there.

So you were asked to create a list of at least four ways that misinformation can cause harm in communities.

And you might have said that misinformation can cause fear and panic to spread amongst communities.

Misinformation can create distrust in a community or in authority.

Misinformation can thrive in an echo chamber.

It can create an us versus them mentality and create divisions.

And misinformation can cause discrimination to happen online, which can then lead to discrimination in real life.

So well done if you mention any of those things in your list.

Now we're gonna have a look at how we can avoid being fooled by misinformation.

Now misinformation is all over the internet, and it's very, very easy to be fooled by misinformation.

The internet makes it really difficult to tell which posts are fact and which are false, especially when the posts that contain misinformation are designed to manipulate our feelings.

However, there are some ways to spot misinformation and prevent ourselves from being fooled.

For example, we can look out for the five C's.

So the first C we can look out for is to check the source.

If you come across a post or an article, it's important to be certain that it came from a legitimate source, and you can do this by checking the account that posted.

Is it a legitimate news site? Researching the content online and seeing if anyone else has written anything about it.

Andeep says here, "Don't forget that an article posted on a legitimate news site is far more trustworthy than a post on social media," because the post that's been posted, so the article that's been posted on a legitimate news site has been fact checked and verified before it's been published.

When you post on social media, no such checks exist.

The next C is to check the facts.

So there are sites online that exist to check the facts that you've come across.

Jun's saying, "I've seen a few posts on social media that I thought might be misinformation.

I ran the claims through a fact checker online and I found out that they were false.

I'm so glad that I checked them before sharing them with my friends." So if you ever come across something on social media that you suspect might be misinformation, rather than sharing it immediately, it's really worth checking that the facts that you've come across are in fact facts.

Our next C on the checklist is to check the content.

Misinformation often begins with a really shocking or eye catching headline that's designed to draw people in.

When we see content like this online, we often refer to it as click bait, something that's been created to try and entice people in to click on the article or to look at what's been written.

Now in often, in most cases, the contents of the article probably don't match the headline.

So it's important to read the article or post in full before we share it.

Okay, so we're gonna pause here and we're gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

So true or false, only some people can be fooled by misinformation? Pause the video here and have a think about your answer.

Well done if you said false.

But why is this false? Well, anyone can be fooled by misinformation because it's created in a way that makes it difficult to spot.

Our fourth C on our checklist is crosscheck.

If you're unsure whether what you're reading is misinformation or not, then search the claims that are made in the article on other sites.

You should check whether or not other legitimate news sites, whether legitimate journalists or authors have covered the same information.

If they haven't, then it's likely then what you are reading is misinformation.

And our fifth and final C on the checklist is check the date.

So sometimes misinformation is presented as current news, but actually what it's showing is old or outdated information.

Jacob says here that he saw an article saying that schools were being closed due to lockdown.

He searched the information online and it turned out that this news was actually from five years ago.

Even if you follow those five C's, you might still be unsure about whether or not what you're reading is misinformation.

If you're ever in doubt or concerned, there are people that you can speak to.

You could speak to someone you trust, like an adult at home or a teacher at school.

And remember to always think before you share something online because this can help to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Now we're gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

So which of the following methods to help spot misinformation is accurate? Is it, A, check the facts presented by the article, B, check the source of the article, or C, check social media to verify the facts? So pause the video and have a go at answering that question.

Really well done if you said C.

Yes, checking social media to verify the facts is not a way to spot misinformation.

Like Andeep says here, "Social media isn't always a legitimate source of news." Now we're gonna check which of the five C's are missing here.

We've got check the source, check the content, cross check the information, and we're missing two more of the five C's.

So pause the video here and see if you can tell me which of them are missing.

Really well done if you said to check the date and to check the facts.

And finally, we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So what I'd like for you to do is I want you to give Alex five pieces of advice about how to spot misinformation online.

So Alex is saying, "I can never tell what information I read online is true or false.

I wish I knew how to spot misinformation online." So pause the video and give Alex those five pieces of advice.

Excellent work there.

Let's have a look at what you might have written.

So you might have said that Alex can follow the five C's and check the source of the information to make sure it came from a legitimate or reputable source, to check the content to make sure it matches the headline, to crosscheck the information with other legitimate news sites to make sure that the information that he's seen is correct, to check the date of the information to make sure it's relevant, and to check the facts mentioned in the story for accuracy.

Big well done if you manage to name all those five C's.

Now let's finish today's lesson with a summary of what we've learned.

So social media gives people the opportunity to be part of both a local and global community.

Social media can be a powerful force to help people organise events and share news quickly.

People can be easily fooled by misinformation if it's shared by someone that they trust.

Misinformation can be difficult to spot, especially if we're in an echo chamber, but if it is spread, it can lead to discrimination in real life.

We can spot misinformation by using the five C's.

We can check the source, check the facts, check the content, check the date, and crosscheck the information that we've read.

Now, if any of the issues that we've spoken about in today's lesson affect you in any way or you have any concerns, there are some places that you can go to to access support.

First, we have Childline, a website and phone line, which is able to offer confidential advice and support.

CEOP, which helps protect children from online abuse and exploitation.

And finally, Internet Matters, which teaches children and parents how to stay safe and happy online while using the internet.

And I'd like to end today's lesson by saying a big well done for all of your fantastic work, and I really look forward to seeing you in another RSHE lesson soon.