1. What do you see? Young woman Old woman 5-Dec-18
Get students to raise a hand to show which image they see. If they see both then then can raise both hands.
Explain that these famous images help us to understand that we all see the world differently.
Old woman
Young woman 2

2. What do you see? Duck Rabbit 5-Dec-18
Get students to raise a hand to show which image they see. If they see both then then can raise both hands.
Explain that these famous images help us to understand that we all see the world differently.
Duck
Rabbit 3

3. How do you decide what to believe?
Look at the following picture. You will then have to decide (by raising a hand) whether you think the picture is right or wrong.
THERE IS ACTUALLY A FLAT EARTH SOCIETY!
Get students to put up their hands to say whether this picture is correct (right) or wrong. The idea is that even for what most people would consider to be absolute established truths, there are still some people who might reject them.
You can also get students at this point to come up with arguments to say that the world is flat. Ask them to imagine they are going to try to convince a younger student. What arguments might they use?
An important idea in this lesson is that it’s quite easy to make people believe things that aren’t necessarily true.
Wrong
Right

4. Propaganda and conspiracies
Objectives
By the end of this lesson you should be able to…
Describe what propaganda is
Explain some of the techniques used for propaganda
Consider if tools of propaganda are being used in recent news events
Keywords
Conspiracy theory, bias, propaganda, misinformation, truth

5. How do we establish what is true?
Diamond 9
You have a sheet with 9 diamonds on. You need order the 9 diamonds into a big one in order of what you think is the most reliable source of information to the least.
Documentaries
Friends
Newspaper
Youtube
Sky news
Teachers
A diamond 9 is a Thinking Skills activity. There is no right or wrong answer but it gets students to think about which sources of information they find the most reliable. To discuss get students to give examples of what they put at the top and the bottom of the diamond and explain their reasons for this.
BBC
news
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Parents

6. Most reliable BBC 1 2 2 Least reliable Youtube Teachers Friends
Documentaries
Most reliable
BBC
news
Teachers 1 2 2
Newspaper
Friends
1 is the most reliable
Number 2 are the next 2 most reliable etc.
Sky news
Social media
Parents
Least reliable

7. An article from June 2015 says that Russia wants an investigation to see if the Americans really did land on the moon in 1969.
We’re now going to look at some of the evidence which makes people think the Americans faked the whole thing.
At this point you can then start to try to convince them that the moon landing was faked (this conspiracy will be debunked later). But by pointing to a broadsheet paper it will hopefully give the next slide some gravitas.
The point of the next two slides is to convince the students that the moon landing was faked. This conspiracy theory is then debunked later on in the lesson

8. Why’s the flag moving? There’s no wind in space!!
Is there anything strange about these pictures?
Why’s the flag moving? There’s no wind in space!!
Key point: The purpose of this is to show students how convincing an argument can be by just giving one side of an argument. So try to convince the students that the evidence seems to be faked, this will be debunked later in the lesson. Then get the students to put up their hands again. Right hand for it was faked, left for it wasn’t.
If you zoom in on the photo you can see the other astronauts reflection
IT WAS FAKED!!
There was no moon landing!!
If they’re in space, why are there no stars?
He’s not holding a camera!
Wrong
Right

9. If the video doesn’t play click here or here.
You’re about to be shown some footage that the government doesn’t want you to see
Check the videos aren’t blocked prior to the lesson! If you need to use the second ‘here’ link scroll down to vampire conspiracy video.
This video was made by a youth group in Tower Hamlets and it’s called digital disruption.
Clip 6:55mins
In 2005 a series of strange rumours spread through East London…
How does the video establish credibility? Do you believe it?
What aren’t they telling you?
Information from the group who made the film:
About This video:
The Vampire Conspiracy is a bogus ‘conspiracy film’ co-developed with young people from our working group in Tower Hamlets. The documentary links a local urban legend about urban vampires with a recent spate of fox attacks and the emergence of a new form of (super) Rabies in the US. The result is a film that uses every trick in the book to try to convince the audience of something that is, well, completely false. The key thing to remember when watching The Vampire Conspiracy is that, technically, it is rarely ‘lying’ to you. Instead the film generally misleads the audience using techniques like omitting information, transferring credibility or using other subtle psychological tricks.
How it can be used:
Essentially, the audience should be exposed to The Vampire Conspiracy without any background information or any suggestion that it might be fake. The idea is for them to watch it as if they had just come across it without any background information or context. After the film has finished a discussion can then be facilitated about what the group think about the issues in the film and what they think should be done about them. The important thing is that young people to personally experience being influenced using the films propaganda techniques and to see how that influence can influence their opinions and actions.
If the video doesn’t play click here or here.

10. How are you being influenced? Just a few of the techniques…
Discuss
Which theories did you think were the most convincing why?
Were any of the theories silly or far-fetched?
Why do you think people believe these theories?
How are you being influenced? Just a few of the techniques…
Bandwagon
Assertion
Lesser of two evils
Scapegoating
Down with the kids
Transfer
Diversion
Misrepresentation of the facts
Playing to your emotions
Discuss what each of these techniques mean. You can also go onto the digital disruption website to get more details about this.
A US propaganda poster from WWII showing the Japanese going ‘ape’

11. If the video doesn’t play click here.
Propaganda:
Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view: ‘he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda’
About This video:
What you need to know is a deconstruction of the The Vampire Conspiracy presented by the project’s Lead Lindsay Knight. After revealing that the film is, in fact, false, Lindsay outlines some of the key techniques used in The Vampire Conspiracy to mislead the audience and provides some key tips for protecting yourself from being negatively influenced by what you see. Generally the film seeks to provide young people with an experience and awareness of how easy it is for them to be influenced by what they watch and to get them thinking about how they can protect themselves Online.
How it can be used:
What you need to know is designed to introduce young people to the various ways that media can be used to influence them. After the film has been watched, it can be used as the basis for a discussion about what the group has learned in order to review the information and consolidate understanding. For example, the group could respond to the film by drawing up a list of questions they should be asking when watching clips online. It’s also an opportunity to start a conversation about the types of films that members of the group have been viewing and to start them thinking about how these have influenced their perceptions and ideas. Overall this film should inspire young people to start asking the right questions when watching clips on the Internet.
Clip: 9:20
After clip ensure class are questioning whether propaganda like this is harmless or whether it can be damaging? State clearly that this is an example of a conspiracy theory that is made up.
If the video doesn’t play click here.

12. The camera’s on his spacesuit
At this point debunk the moon landing conspiracy.
With the question at the end you can link this back to their diamond 9. How reliable are the sources we use?
The flag was folded
It was lunar daytime
How did you know someone landed on the moon?

13. You can read the article by clicking on the picture.
This article goes onto explain how Russia are asking for this investigation because they are angry about the US investigating FIFA.
You can read the article by clicking on the picture.
At this point debunk the moon landing conspiracy.

14. How could you find out which is true?
If you only present the evidence you want to show it’s very easy to make people believe what you want
These two articles were published in the same week and they can’t both be right.
How could you find out which is true?
Discussion here should focus on the idea that we need to look at all available information in order to arrive to our own, informed conclusions. We have to use our own judgement and not just blindly follow what others tell us.
Extract from the website:
Immigration: choose your headline
It’s been a bizarre week for immigration headlines. ‘Immigration does not cause unemployment‘ declared the Independent on the front page. ‘Immigrants are not causing unemployment‘ said the Telegraph, and the Guardian announced that ‘Migrants do not affect jobless levels‘.
Meanwhile the Mirror has reported that ‘Every four non-EU immigrants puts a Brit out of work‘, The Sun said that ‘160,000 Brits lose jobs to migrants‘ and the Daily Mail declared that Immigration is reducing jobs for British workers and David Cameron must act now.
What’s going on here?
The main reason for the confusion is that two separate research bodies have released details of their latest work within a day of each other: the National Institute of Economic and Social Research on Monday and the Migration Advisory Committee on Tuesday. The NIESR report finds no correlation between migration and and joblessness. The MAC study finds a negative impact on British workers under very specific circumstances.

15. Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
63% of registered American voters believe in at least one political conspiracy theory.
Conspiracy theories appear to be a way of reacting to uncertainty and powerlessness.
They might be a rational leap to understand what just happened.
Does the Internet and other media sources make us paranoid?
Are they forms of cynicism, a turning away from politics and traditional media?
Facts according to a recent poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University. Quoted in

16. Debunking a famous conspiracy theory
Click the pictures
Extensive studies have been done by independent researchers which show that 9/11 was not a planned demolition and that it was planes, not missiles or bombs that destroyed the World Trade Center.
However, many people still refuse to accept this.
You may want to leave this slide unless you’re confident about the 9/11 conspiracy and the counter-narratives for it.

17. Are any of these convincing?
Can you think of any more famous conspiracy theories?
Try to think of one and write it on a post-it. Then stick it on the board and look what other people have put.
9/11 was set up by the Americans
Are any of these convincing?
The aim of this isn’t to convince the students that these conspiracy theories aren’t true. It’s top get them thinking about what is true and to get them to begin to think about how they can verify information they are exposed to. This theme continues in future lessons.

18. What do the following pictures show?
For each of one’s discussed raise your right hand if you believe it, your left hand if you don’t.
9/11 was faked
The illuminati try to govern the world
Aliens crashed in Roswell
JFK was killed by his own government
The Queen is a lizard
We never landed on the moon
Again get students to put up their hands to show what they think about each of these conspiracy theories.
The Queen is a lizard is a conspiracy theory by David Icke who claims the leading elite are all lizards.
True
False 19

19. Well known conspiracy theories
The JFK Assassination
9/11 Cover-Up
Roswell, Area 51 and the Aliens
Secret Societies Control the World
Osama Bin Laden is still alive
The Moon Landings Were Faked
Jesus and Mary Magdalene
Holocaust Revisionism
The Reptilian Elite
The Illuminati and the New World Order
Elvis Presley faked his own death
Shakespeare was not Shakespeare
Paul McCartney is dead
Harold Wilson was a Soviet agent
The Aids virus was created in a CIA laboratory
Sources:
The Illuminati and the New World Order
A conspiracy in which powerful and secretive groups (the Illuminati, the Bilderberg Group and other shadowy cabals) are plotting to rule mankind with a single world government. Many historical events are said to have been engineered by these groups with one goal - the New World Order (NWO). The groups use political finance, social engineering, mind control, and fear-based propaganda to achieve their aims. Signs of the NWO are said to be the pyramid on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, strange and disturbing murals at Denver International Airport, and pentagrams in city plans. International organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF, the European Union, the United Nations, and Nato are listed as founding organisations of the New World Order.

20. The next slides are classroom resources.

21. Most reliable BBC 1 2 2 Least reliable Youtube Teachers Friends
Documentaries
Most reliable
BBC
news
Teachers 1 2 2
Newspaper
Friends
1 is the most reliable
Number 2 are the next 2 most reliable etc.
Sky news
Social media
Parents
Least reliable