For some of us, the all-consuming preoccupation with leaving cert exams have given way to other things. Our kids will soon be exposed to new ideas and unfamiliar sources.

Our kids learned that misinformation and disinformation exists, but it didn’t go as far identifying the more subtle (and common) forms of it. I’d appreciate any concrete ideas for what to teach them, and how to make it interesting. In my experience, if the message is in any way long winded I lose their attention.

I’ve drafted something which I’ll put in a comment below. But basically what served me well growing up was learning about how bias emerges in myself (fallacies, emotional reasoning, basic psychology) as well as in the media (journalists with a pattern of chanting for one perspective, absent or misinterpreted sources, history of credibility, “Chinese whispers” on social media, etc).

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Regarding point #4, I asked an LLM for the most common logical fallacies that are use to propagate misinformation in the EU today. I asked it to include intentional disinformation as well as unintentional social misinformation, like a friend might share. It came up with this list:

In both disinformation (intentionally deceptive) and unintentional misinformation in Europe today, several logical fallacies frequently appear. These fallacies manipulate reasoning, exploit cognitive biases, and spread misleading narratives. Here are the most common ones:

1. False Dilemma (Black-or-White Fallacy)

Presenting a complex issue as having only two opposing options, ignoring nuance.
Example: "Either we ban all immigration, or Europe will lose its cultural identity."

2. Appeal to Fear (Scare Tactics)

Using exaggerated threats to provoke emotional reactions rather than rational debate.
Example: "If we don’t stop climate policies now, the economy will collapse, and we’ll all freeze in the dark!"

3. Hasty Generalization

Drawing broad conclusions from limited or unrepresentative evidence.
Example: "A few immigrants committed crimes, so all immigrants are dangerous."

4. Ad Hominem (Personal Attack)

Attacking the person instead of their argument. Common in political debates.
Example: "You can’t trust her opinion on vaccines because she’s paid by Big Pharma."

5. Slippery Slope

Suggesting that a minor action will inevitably lead to extreme consequences without evidence.
Example: "If we allow gay marriage, next people will marry animals!"

6. Appeal to Authority (False Expertise)

Citing an irrelevant or unqualified "expert" to support a claim.
Example: "A famous actor says 5G causes COVID, so it must be true."

7. Cherry-Picking (Suppressed Evidence)

Selectively presenting data that supports a claim while ignoring contradictory evidence.
Example: "This study shows no link between vaccines and autism" (while ignoring 100 other studies that do).

8. Straw Man

Misrepresenting an opponent’s argument to make it easier to attack.
Example: "Environmentalists want to ban all cars and force everyone to ride bicycles!"

9. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (False Cause)

Assuming causation just because two events happened sequentially.
Example: "Crime rates rose after more refugees arrived, so refugees cause crime."

10. Bandwagon Fallacy (Appeal to Popularity)

Claiming something is true or good just because many people believe it.
Example: "Most people in my town think the election was rigged, so it must be true."

Why These Fallacies Spread in Europe

Social Media Algorithms amplify emotionally charged, oversimplified claims.
Polarization leads to echo chambers where fallacies go unchallenged.
Distrust in Institutions makes people more susceptible to alternative narratives.
Cognitive Biases (confirmation bias, in-group favoritism) reinforce fallacious reasoning.

How to Counter Them?

Critical Thinking Education (teaching media literacy in schools).
Fact-Checking (organizations like EUvsDisinfo).
Encouraging Nuance in public debates.

Would you like examples specific to a certain European country or issue?