Avec leurs enseignantes d’anglais, Mmes McAllister et Chesterman, les élèves de Terminales ont rencontré Jon Henley, correspondant du Guardian à Paris, en visioconférence. Le journaliste leur a prodigué de précieux conseils en matière de Fake News : de quoi il s’agit, comment elles circulent, pourquoi il est important de s’en prémunir et comment le faire.
Il a insisté sur l’importance de l’éducation de l’esprit critique, citant l’exemple de la Finlande, pays pionnier en la matière, dont l’École enseigne à ses plus jeunes élèves dans une approche transdisciplinaire la lecture prudente des statistiques, l’analyse des images et de leurs éventuels trucages, l’étude des astuces du discours politique etc.
Selon Jon Henley, les jeunes sont d’autant plus à risque d’être exposés aux Fake News que leur démarche d’information est souvent passive : elle vient à eux par leurs pairs, et surtout par les réseaux sociaux (via des algorithmes les exposant à des « filter bubbles » dans lesquelles toutes les informations sont perçues par un même prisme, presque comme dans une réalité alternative).
L'intervenant classe les Fake News en trois catégories : de simples erreurs (misinformation), la divulgation de faits avérés ou faux dans un but de discrédit (malinformation), ou la diffusion délibérée de mensonges ou d’informations fausses pour tromper (disinformation). Ce dernier type étant évidemment le plus dangereux.
En tant que journaliste dans un organe de presse établi de longue date et de bonne réputation, J. Henley a encouragé les élèves à vérifier les sources des informations qu’ils reçoivent et qu’ils ont tendance à (re)partager sans filtre. Selon lui, les médias reconnus peuvent se rendre coupables d’opinions, mais présentent (normalement) des informations véridiques. Il est d’avis que le fonctionnement même de la démocratie dépend du partage entre citoyens éclairés de faits réels vérifiables.
Besoin d’une boîte à outils anti-Fake News ? J. Henley indique les 7 bonnes questions à se poser face à l’information, afin de rester critique, sans toutefois tomber dans le cynisme :
Les élèves ont été inspirés par la présentation et la séquence de questions-réponses. Leurs commentaires suivent :
“Jon Henley’s conference was informative and enriching. Covering different topics such as the capitol invasion, Brexit, fake news and conspiracy theories. Fake news is salient nowadays with this covid pandemic. Moreover, it is characterised by misinformation, mal-information and disinformation. He made us rethink about how fake news is now a part of our daily life with social media. Furthermore, Henley mentioned how we live in bubbles that are capable of filtering information through algorithms.” Naomi C. & Lyane K. (Terminale 6)
“Jon Henley delivered a series of precious lessons on the danger of fake news and the importance of being aware of where our news comes from, to an interested and receptive audience, representative of the younger generation who is, as the Guardian’s journalist emphasised, more exposed than ever to the potential harm of misinformation.” Pedro T. (Terminale 6)
“I really appreciated Mr Henley's answer to the question I put forward: "Do you think anything can be done to restrict the output of Fake News?". Having quickly identified the crux of my question, which was about whether Donald Trump's ban from Twitter was the right way of dealing with Fake News merchants, he explained Twitter's stance, crucially as a private company. He quickly clarified the heated debate about free speech, by stating that Trump's exclusion wasn't an attack on free speech, but rather illustrated Twitter's right to disengage its clients from the platform. His talk on social media was quite eye-opening for me, as he also talked about the relationship between these so-called "platforms" (appellation which he seemingly disagreed with), and politicians/governments. I would be quite interested in writing a piece for the article if needed, as I fondly enjoyed the experience.” Joseph A. (Terminale 7)
“The expertise Jon Henley has on these subjects as well as the way he gave us the lecture very clearly and logically made this interview an enriching experience for us. It also was an eye-opener for the existential threat humanity has to face right now that is the accelerated ideological polarization. Very cool!” Emeric J.
“Jon Henleys’ presentation was very informative covering every aspect of fake news from what it is, to why it can be truly dangerous and even how to handle filtering it.” Alix D.
“Jon Henley’s description of the dangers of fake news was very developed and accurate. He was able to give us an important insight, from a journalistic perspective, that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. His remarks on social media were particularly instructive, and he allowed us to better understand how we interact with the news we are given.” Charlotte A.
“Jon Henley’s presentation was fantastic, and made me realise the real danger of fake news and misinformation!” Thomas H.
“Jon Henley’s presentation was extremely insightful as it allowed me to adopt a new point of view on fake news. From his classification of fake news to his tips to avoid their danger, Henley discussed the topic thoroughly and clearly enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of fake news.” - Amaris G.
“It needs to be heard by more people!” Victoria M.
“Jon Henley provided us valuable information about fake news, and about the three categories in which they can be classified. He highlighted the dangers fake news can represent in our society, and gave us precious advice about how to deal with the huge amount of information. He finished by emphasising a key recommendation: do not share what other people share with you unless you checked it was true.” Yasmine G.
Avec leurs enseignantes d’anglais, Mmes McAllister et Chesterman, les élèves de Terminales ont rencontré Jon Henley, correspondant du Guardian à Paris, en visioconférence. Le journaliste leur a prodigué de précieux conseils en matière de Fake News : de quoi il s’agit, comment elles circulent, pourquoi il est important de s’en prémunir et comment le faire.
Il a insisté sur l’importance de l’éducation de l’esprit critique, citant l’exemple de la Finlande, pays pionnier en la matière, dont l’École enseigne à ses plus jeunes élèves dans une approche transdisciplinaire la lecture prudente des statistiques, l’analyse des images et de leurs éventuels trucages, l’étude des astuces du discours politique etc.
Selon Jon Henley, les jeunes sont d’autant plus à risque d’être exposés aux Fake News que leur démarche d’information est souvent passive : elle vient à eux par leurs pairs, et surtout par les réseaux sociaux (via des algorithmes les exposant à des « filter bubbles » dans lesquelles toutes les informations sont perçues par un même prisme, presque comme dans une réalité alternative).
L'intervenant classe les Fake News en trois catégories : de simples erreurs (misinformation), la divulgation de faits avérés ou faux dans un but de discrédit (malinformation), ou la diffusion délibérée de mensonges ou d’informations fausses pour tromper (disinformation). Ce dernier type étant évidemment le plus dangereux.
En tant que journaliste dans un organe de presse établi de longue date et de bonne réputation, J. Henley a encouragé les élèves à vérifier les sources des informations qu’ils reçoivent et qu’ils ont tendance à (re)partager sans filtre. Selon lui, les médias reconnus peuvent se rendre coupables d’opinions, mais présentent (normalement) des informations véridiques. Il est d’avis que le fonctionnement même de la démocratie dépend du partage entre citoyens éclairés de faits réels vérifiables.
Besoin d’une boîte à outils anti-Fake News ? J. Henley indique les 7 bonnes questions à se poser face à l’information, afin de rester critique, sans toutefois tomber dans le cynisme :
Les élèves ont été inspirés par la présentation et la séquence de questions-réponses. Leurs commentaires suivent :
“Jon Henley’s conference was informative and enriching. Covering different topics such as the capitol invasion, Brexit, fake news and conspiracy theories. Fake news is salient nowadays with this covid pandemic. Moreover, it is characterised by misinformation, mal-information and disinformation. He made us rethink about how fake news is now a part of our daily life with social media. Furthermore, Henley mentioned how we live in bubbles that are capable of filtering information through algorithms.” Naomi C. & Lyane K. (Terminale 6)
“Jon Henley delivered a series of precious lessons on the danger of fake news and the importance of being aware of where our news comes from, to an interested and receptive audience, representative of the younger generation who is, as the Guardian’s journalist emphasised, more exposed than ever to the potential harm of misinformation.” Pedro T. (Terminale 6)
“I really appreciated Mr Henley's answer to the question I put forward: "Do you think anything can be done to restrict the output of Fake News?". Having quickly identified the crux of my question, which was about whether Donald Trump's ban from Twitter was the right way of dealing with Fake News merchants, he explained Twitter's stance, crucially as a private company. He quickly clarified the heated debate about free speech, by stating that Trump's exclusion wasn't an attack on free speech, but rather illustrated Twitter's right to disengage its clients from the platform. His talk on social media was quite eye-opening for me, as he also talked about the relationship between these so-called "platforms" (appellation which he seemingly disagreed with), and politicians/governments. I would be quite interested in writing a piece for the article if needed, as I fondly enjoyed the experience.” Joseph A. (Terminale 7)
“The expertise Jon Henley has on these subjects as well as the way he gave us the lecture very clearly and logically made this interview an enriching experience for us. It also was an eye-opener for the existential threat humanity has to face right now that is the accelerated ideological polarization. Very cool!” Emeric J.
“Jon Henleys’ presentation was very informative covering every aspect of fake news from what it is, to why it can be truly dangerous and even how to handle filtering it.” Alix D.
“Jon Henley’s description of the dangers of fake news was very developed and accurate. He was able to give us an important insight, from a journalistic perspective, that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. His remarks on social media were particularly instructive, and he allowed us to better understand how we interact with the news we are given.” Charlotte A.
“Jon Henley’s presentation was fantastic, and made me realise the real danger of fake news and misinformation!” Thomas H.
“Jon Henley’s presentation was extremely insightful as it allowed me to adopt a new point of view on fake news. From his classification of fake news to his tips to avoid their danger, Henley discussed the topic thoroughly and clearly enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of fake news.” - Amaris G.
“It needs to be heard by more people!” Victoria M.
“Jon Henley provided us valuable information about fake news, and about the three categories in which they can be classified. He highlighted the dangers fake news can represent in our society, and gave us precious advice about how to deal with the huge amount of information. He finished by emphasising a key recommendation: do not share what other people share with you unless you checked it was true.” Yasmine G.