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
The lesson
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.
Watch it
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.