Online Identity and Misinformation
Understand the ethics of online identity and the importance of consistency between who you are online and offline; explain how recommendation algorithms and filter bubbles narrow information exposure; evaluate the psychology of misinformation: why it spreads, why smart people believe it, and how to apply source evaluation (lateral reading, checking evidence, recognising emotional manipulation); understand digital consent around sharing images or personal information; explore the ethics of AI, surveillance, and data privacy as they affect everyday life; reflect on responsible content creation and online influence
1 · Read
Your online identity is how people see you when you are not standing in front of them. It includes your posts, comments, photos, and profile. Ask yourself if that identity matches who you really are. Pretending to be very different online, like claiming to be older or making up things about yourself, can mislead people, and once they find out, it can break their trust in you. The same honesty applies to other people: always ask before posting a photo or personal detail about someone else.
Apps and websites use recommendation algorithms to decide what you see next. These algorithms notice what you click, watch, and like, then show you more of the same. Over time, this can build a filter bubble: a narrower and narrower slice of the world that mostly agrees with what you already think.
Jake sees a post claiming a celebrity said something outrageous. It makes him angry, so he almost shares it right away. Then he pauses, opens a new tab, and searches the celebrity's name with the claim. Three reliable news sites all say it never happened, so Jake decides not to share it.
Before you believe or share a claim, try lateral reading: open a new tab and search what other trustworthy sources say about it, instead of only reading deeper into the same page. Watch for headlines built to make you angry or scared right away. That rush of feeling is often the point.
Check the source and notice the feeling before you share, not after. Even careful people get fooled, so it always helps to look outside your own feed.
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Our On-line Identities
Your feed is a mirror that flatters. Offline you are messy, multiple, changing. Online you curate: best angles, best days, best jokes. Followers meet the exhibit, not the archive. That gap is normal, but mind it. Posting a triumph while hiding the grind teaches watchers a lie about ease. Keep one rule: never publish a self you would be ashamed to introduce.
AI algorithms: How well do they know you?
Recommendation engines decide most of what you see. They optimize for watch time, not truth or growth, feeding you more of whatever held you longest. The result is a filter bubble: a cosy room where everything confirms you. Smart people fall for it because the room feels like research. Pop it deliberately. Follow one thoughtful disagree-er. Search the claim's opposite. Notice what the algorithm never shows you. Your attention is the product; spend it on purpose.
Truth or Trick? Learning to Evaluate Online Information
Falsehoods win on feelings, not facts. Outrage travels fastest, novelty second, confirmation third. That is why your smartest friend shared that fake story: it felt true before it looked true. Defence starts at the headline: ALL CAPS fury and miracle cures signal manipulation. Read past it. Check the date, the source, the evidence. One manipulated image or fudged number voids the share. Emotional urgency is the tell. When you feel the surge, pause instead of passing on.
SIFT Tutorial
SIFT new claims in thirty seconds. Stop: notice your reaction before you reason. Investigate the source: who publishes this, and what do they gain? Open a new tab and search the claim elsewhere; lateral reading beats deep reading of one page. Find better coverage: does anyone reputable confirm it? Trace to the origin: quote, clip, or photo in full context. Four moves, half a minute, most fakes filtered. Practice until it is reflex.
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En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.