Suggestions for class activities and assignments:

False Advertising

Create a Scam Health Food/Product with bogus claims of being natural, miraculous health benefits, science gibberish and technobabble.

Redesign junk food with Misleading Labeling to make it look healthy.
See examples by Matt Rosenman and
Brandon Shepherd’s Doritos, Mountain Dew, M&Ms.

Find an ad for a Scam Product or a food with Misleading Labeling. What claims are false or unproven? What are they implying to trick you without explicitly lying? What does its disclaimer say?

Find a product that says it is Natural, or implies something like farm-fresh, homemade, etc. Assess whether it really is more natural than other options or just a lie.

Disinformation

Create a Ghost video showing a place is haunted. Then show the tricks you used, such as a friend moving things and making noises off camera.

Find a Misleading Graph or Statistic in the news, social media, or website. What are they trying to hide?

Choose an example of Disinformation from a fact-checking site, like Snopes, PolitiFact, or other. Who was mostly spreading this? Who does this disinformation benefit or hurt?

Write a political Satirical News article. Why do you think some people don’t realize a story is satire and spread it as misinformation? See examples like The Onion, The Babylon Bee, and other satirical news sites.

False Beliefs

Research a Pseudoscience or Alternative Medicine. What part of it sounds logical and appealing? How do studies disprove it?

What Pseudoscience or Alternative Medicine do believe? (see list) Why do you want it to be true? Do you like the idea of mysterious forces? simple solutions? secret shortcuts? profound insights? predictability of bad events? control to prevent bad events?

What belief are you surprised to learn is a Pseudoscience or Alternative Medicine? (see list) After researching science sources, do you accept or reject the scientific explanation? Why?

Make a poster about an Old Wives’ Tale showing that is incorrect.

Research some Health Advice that is commonly misunderstood. What part is correct, and what part is wrong?

Research a Conspiracy Theory (see list). Evaluate 1) how hard it would be to keep a secret, and 2) how realistic is their reason for tricking everyone.

Invent your own Conspiracy Theory. 1) Who is behind it? 2) Who are they tricking or hurting? 3) How are they doing it? Make it as complex as possible, with many unlikely steps and many co-conspirators blackmailed or paid off. 4) Why are they doing it? Be very vague with loose implications. Example: Birds Aren’t Real

Science

Design a Controlled Study assuming you had unlimited resources. What would you test to see if it works on people or not? What would you use as a placebo (if any)? How could you keep it blinded (if possible)? How would you measure it before and after?

What is something Artificial that people should not be afraid of? Explain why.