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Trace the Information: Is the US bracing itself for a ‘Cicada-geddon’?

SKILL: Trace the Information

DIFFICULTY: Simple

SUBJECT(S): Science

Students will trace the information to learn that while parts of the United States are about to be ‘invaded’ by about a trillion creepy-looking bugs called cicadas, there is no cause for concern.

Related Lesson

Lesson 4: Trace the Information (sign-in required)

Link to Example

One Trillion Bugs With Bulging Eyes Set to Invade a Third of the United States (Tweet)

Background

‘Periodical Cicadas’ are species of insects that appear at regular intervals of either 13 and 17 years in the eastern portion of North America. Typically emerging in late April or May, they emit sounds which, depending on the number of cicadas, can reach up to 100 decibels (about as loud as a hair dryer or lawn mower).



About the Example

This tweet by @drnewbold claims that ‘one trillion bugs with bulging eyes’ are set to invade as much as a ‘third of the United States’, and links to an article from a website called ‘Futurism.com’. 

While Futurism does not have a Wikipedia entry we can use to check its reputation, the article provides links to professional news sources we do recognize, like the New York Times and CBS. Clicking through, we learn that this unsettling claim is substantially true. Luckily we also learn that periodical cicadas, while “annoying” are not dangerous.



Activities 

  1. Show students the tweet and have them summarize the claim.
  2. Have students click through to the Futurism article. Ask them to identify the name of the source to try to use Wikipedia to learn more about its reputation (Note: there is not Wikipedia entry for Futurism).
  3. Have students click through to New York Times’ coverage of this story by clicking the red underlined text: “New York Times reports.” If they are unable to access the article due to the New York Times’ paywall, students can click through to coverage from CBS by clicking the red underlined text “differs in scale.” If students are unfamiliar with these sources they can check their reputation using Wikipedia. Guiding questions:
    • Is this claim mostly true, mostly false, or something else. Explain your reasoning.
    • In what ways is the New York Times/CBS article different from the Futurism reporting? In what ways are the articles similar?


Review and Discuss Key Concepts (optional)

Review the following concepts: 

Reporting on reporting: When a media organization or site takes original reporting from one or more other source(s), and creates a new story based on the old one(s). Often in the process of re-reporting, key context is left out, information exaggerated, and risk of error or misrepresentation is increased. 

Clickbait: a headline or image that is designed to entice users to click the link to learn more about that content. Clickbait headlines are often distorted, exaggerated or otherwise misleading.  

Guiding questions:

  • Is the Futurism article an example of reporting on reporting? Why or why not?
  • Do the tweet or any of the articles use clickbait headlines? Explain your reasoning.
  • Sometimes professional news articles will have exaggerated headlines. Why might this be? What are the potential effects of this?


Related Resources