New Search

Multiple Skills: Did Trump announce his own Hunger Games?

SKILL: Multiple Skills

DIFFICULTY: Challenging

SUBJECT(S): Pop Culture, Politics/Current Events, Sports

Posted: January 5, 2026

Students will use their source investigation and claim checking skills to learn that Trump did not announce his own Hunger Games.

Related Lesson

Verification Skills: Investigate the Source & Check the Claim

Link to Example

Trump Just Announced His Own Hunger Games (Mother Jones)
President Snow from the Hunger Games film sitting in a gold and white marble office.

Background

The Hunger Games is a competition from the fictional dystopian young adult book and film series of the same name, in which the government forces one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. 



About the Example

“Trump Just Announced His Own Hunger Games,” reads this headline from a website called Mother Jones. For anyone even somewhat familiar with The Hunger Games novels or films, this will immediately call up an unsettling image of teenagers being forced to fight to the death.

Before letting our imaginations run wild, let’s investigate the source using Wikipedia to see what we can learn about Mother Jones’ reputation. Here we learn Mother Jones is a “nonprofit American progressive magazine that focuses on news, commentary, and investigative journalism.” We can be confident the information in this article will be largely accurate because this is a magazine that hires professional journalists to report and comment on the news.

So does this mean America is hosting a literal Hunger Games? Not exactly. Now that we know Mother Jones is a credible source, let’s read on to learn more about this story. The article explains that Donald Trump announced the “Patriot Games,” a celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday that will feature one boy and one girl high school athlete from each state and territory. We also learn that social media users were quick to make both humorous and critical comparisons to the fictional Hunger Games.

We can dig even deeper, especially if we’re unfamiliar with Mother Jones and left with the impression that the Patriot Games was inspired by the Hunger Games. By using a simple keyword search for “trump patriot games” we can find more coverage on this story from additional reliable sources. Here we find articles from ABC News, CTV News, and The Independent that report on the proposed Patriot Games and the online reaction comparing them to the Hunger Games.



Activities

Investigate the Source

  1. Show students this article from Mother Jones and ask them to read the headline. Invite students in the class familiar with novels or films to briefly explain what the Hunger Games are.
  2. Ask students to investigate Mother Jones using Wikipedia. Guiding questions:
  • What terms in the Wikipedia article signal that this source is reliable or not?
  • Do you think the primary goal of the article is to inform, to sell, to persuade, or to entertain?
  • What is the political slant of Mother Jones? How might that impact the stories it publishes?

 

Check the Claim

  1. Explain to students that even though Mother Jones is a professional news source with a commitment to accuracy, the headline is exaggerated for effect and criticism of Trump. In cases like this, when we’re engaging with unfamiliar sources and want more context or alternative perspectives, we can use a keyword search to find additional coverage to ensure they’re getting a fuller picture of a topic.
  2. Ask students to use a keyword search to see if other reliable sources have reported on this story. Guiding questions:
  • Is the claim that Trump announced his own Hunger Games true, false, or somewhere in the middle? Explain your reasoning.
  • Why might Mother Jones have used an exaggerated headline?
  • What might a more accurate headline be?


Review and Discuss Key Concepts (optional)

Explain the concept of framing:

Framing is the process through which information is presented and contextualized to guide the audience’s interpretation. News stories are framed by the choices journalists and editors make in the creation of the story, including the headline, focus, perspective, word choice, quotes, context, and images included. Journalists make these choices to make complex stories more understandable, interesting, and relevant to the reader. 

Guiding questions:

  • Does the headline accurately reflect the contents of Mother Jones’ article? If someone just read the headline, what context would they be missing about the story?
  • What images are included in the article? How do they impact your interpretation of the story?
  • What information is included in the article to frame the Patriot Games in the broader context of Trump’s presidency? How does it impact your interpretation of the event?


Related Resources 

Investigate the Source

Check the Claim