Objective: To develop critical thinking skills and media literacy by comparing n
Objective: To develop critical thinking skills and media literacy by comparing news articles on the same topic from different sources, utilizing AI to identify marketing and emotional trigger words. Students will reflect on the articles and use AI to generate unbiased content. Students will choose two news aggregators and compare the same story from different viewpoints, such as Fox News vs. CNN, TikTok vs. X (Formerly Twitter).
Here are some questions to consider:
How does news selection amplify one’s political views?
How do digital platforms impact the choice and quality of news for consumers?
What choices might writers, editors, producers, and so on make that could lead to bias in news sources?
How can headlines be misleading, and how can editors express bias by choosing whether or not to use a specific news story?
What are some ways to detect bias in news media, and why is it important to compare news reports from a wide variety of sources?
AI News Generators
Here are just a few possible options you can use. Please note that some require a paid subscriiption but almost all offer a free version or a free trial. If you know of others that I did not list below, please share them with me so I can use them in future classes. ChatGPT
APP Sonic
Perplexity.ai
Bard
Texta
Write Sonic
Hour One
Step 1: Select a Topic
Choose a current event or topic related to American Government. Ensure it is covered by multiple news sources.
Step 2: Identify News Articles
Find two news articles from different sources covering the chosen topic. Make sure the articles present varying perspectives.
News websites (e.g., NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, CNN.com)
News aggregators (e.g., Google News, Reddit, RealClearPolitics)
Social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok)
Television (cable news channels such as Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, or broadcast channels like CBS, NBC, and ABC)
Radio and podcasts (terrestrial talk radio, SiriusXM, podcast industry)
Newspapers (physical newspaper subscriiptions or purchases)
Pick a story and examine the same news story from contrasting perspectives (e.g., Fox News vs. CNN).
Provide a link or citation for these sources. Step 3: AI News Generator Access one of the free AI news generator tools provided (e.g., APP Sonic).
Employ ChatGPT, or AI tool of you choice, to search for marketing and/or emotional trigger words in both articles.
Provide ChatGPT with the following prompt:
“Identify marketing and emotional trigger words in the selected news articles related to [chosen topic].”
Special note: you will need to copy and paste the text into ChatGPT as it cannot link to outside sources. Step 4: Reflect on Findings
After receiving the AI-generated analysis, reflect on how the use of these words may influence readers’ perceptions. Consider the potential biases introduced.
Step 5: AI-generated Rewrite
Provide a rewritten prompt to ChatGPT that emphasizes the importance of an unbiased analysis.
For example: “Generate a neutral summary of the news articles on [chosen topic], focusing on presenting facts without any emotional or promotional language.”
Use the revised prompt to obtain an unbiased summary of the news articles from ChatGPT. Compare the AI-generated unbiased content with the original articles.
Step 6: Conclusion
Post a summary of your findings on the online discussion forum. Include insights on marketing and emotional trigger words, the impact on reader perception, and a comparison of the unbiased summary with the original articles.