Teach-Secondary-Issue-14.5

Fact or fiction? Andrew K. Shenton considers the educational value of artfully constructed hoaxes when it comes to teaching students media and information literacy skills... G iven the prevalence of ‘fake news’, misinformation and disinformation, few independent learning skills are more important today than the ability to make evaluative judgements on the sources we access. Teachers can encourage students to hone their critical faculties by inviting them to determine the credibility of hoaxes, such as television productions like the 1977 ITVmockumentary Alternative 3 , the BBC’s 1992 ‘live broadcast’ drama Ghostwatch and Orson Welles’ 1938 radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds . Tell-tale signs For a more recent example, we can look to Fantasy Park: Fifty Years On – a mock- documentary first transmitted on BBC Radio Four inMarch 2025, and still available at the time of writing via BBC Sounds (see tiny.cc/ts145-ML1 ). Described by the Radio Times as a “ Fake 48-hour music festival… created for radio broadcast from pre-existing recordings ” Fantasy Park mischievously presents this fictitious event retrospectively as one that actually took place. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Andrew K. Shenton worked for many years as an EPQ teacher at Monkseaton High School and then in the same capacity at Whitley Bay High; he is now retired When playing the mock radio documentary to students, we can ask them to identify any elements that seem suspicious. The sceptical adult may be wary due to multiple factors, starting with the name. After all, one definition of ‘fantasy’ is something with no basis in reality. Then there’s the potential significance of Jon Holmes’ involvement as co-writer, producer and director, who is well known for his work on The Skewer – a satirical Radio Four show that edits together existing sound clips for humorous effect. The programme is also (purposefully) vague on basic facts, such as when and where the concert took place. It’s merely stated to have happened in ‘July 1975’ at a venue ‘just a few short miles south of Cincinnati’. Furthermore, Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling is named as one of the announcers in the original radio coverage. At one point, he refers to what listeners will hear “ In the coming hours and days ” but Serling couldn’t have been presenting ‘live’ at the time of the event, since he’d died the previous month. An adult audience would also struggle to believe that so many marquee pop acts of the 1970s could have been assembled for a single festival, unless it were in aid of charity. Yet no details are given regarding how the performers were attracted and paid. We’re even told that The Beatles appeared at the festival – despite it being common knowledge that they never reformed with all four members following their split in 1970. Key considerations As students make their own observations while listening to Fantasy Park: Fifty Years On , we can encourage them to move from specific concerns to more general underlying issues before then formulating questions they should perhaps consider when engaging with other information sources in future. These questions could include: • Are there any clues that the material isn’t to be taken seriously? • Can the overall narrative, and the elements within it, be considered credible? • To what extent is the information stated compatible with your existing knowledge and facts obtained from elsewhere? • Does the source omit any details we would expect to be included? • Are those responsible for the item known for a particular type of work – and would the source in question fit the creator’s prevailing pattern? A classroom activity of the sort presented here can, of course, be centred on a media text or information source of any kind, though students may find it easier – at least initially – to work with a radio broadcast rather than a film or TV show, as they need only concentrate on what they hearing. Once they’ve considered the source, ask them to justify their judgements by citing the available evidence. Regardless of the material you use, this exercise may help students hone a set of questions and responses they can then apply to similar such assignments in future, as well as their independent learning and researchmore generally. TEACH SECONDARY SPECIAL LITERACY 33 teachwire.net/secondary L I T E R A C Y