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Trace the Information: Snoop Is Stranger Than Fiction

SKILL: Trace the Information

DIFFICULTY: Challenging

SUBJECT(S): Pop Culture

Posted: October 29, 2022

Should we believe what these sites are telling us about Snoop Dogg? By tracing the information students will learn that all of these stories about Snoop Dogg are true.

Related Lesson

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

Link to Example

See below
Rapper Snoop Dogg next to cartoon characters with "Doggyland" written in the lower third.

Background

Best known as a rapper who came to prominence in the 1990s, Snoop Dogg has produced a lot of hits, and a good amount of controversy to go with them. But the 90s were a long time ago, and in recent years Snoop is more likely to be hanging out with Martha Stewart and coaching youth football than raising many eyebrows.

That’s not to say that he hasn’t been hard at work. There have been several recent stories tracking the antics of one Calvin Brodus, and judging from their titles you could be forgiven for thinking that they were all made up.



About the Examples

  1. Example 1: an article from the website Parents.com which claims that Snoop has launched a new series of videos called “Doggyland” that teach social-emotional learning to children. 
  2. Example 2: a post that claims that Snoop has launched a new breakfast cereal called “Snoop Loopz” (Teacher note: If you cannot access X/Twitter, click here for a screenshot of the post that you can share with your students and here for a screenshot of the image contained in the post).
  3. Example 3: a post with a picture of Snoop Dogg dressed up in a Buzz Lightyear costume, but with no extra information provided (Teacher note: If you cannot access X/Twitter, click here for a screenshot of the post that you can share with your students here for a screenshot of the image contained in the post).


Activities

  1. If students aren’t familiar with the artist Snoop Dogg, have them read his Wikipedia article to gain some background information.
  2. Ask students to use different skills from the Trace the Information lesson. Some examples will require using click through and find, while others will require a reverse image search.
    1. For example 1: Read through the article, and click on the links provided to trace this information back to the source. Several sources confirm the information, including a link to the YouTube channel itself, as well as Snoop Dogg’s official Twitter account making the announcement.
    2. For example 2: Students here have two ways to practice their Trace the Information skills: they can click through to the website itself, or they can perform a reverse image search on the picture featured in the tweet. If they go the latter route, they’ll find reputable sources like CTV News and CNN reporting the same information.
    3. For example 3: Students will have to do a reverse image search to see if this image is real, or if it’s been manipulated. The search should produce a lot of hits, with reputable sources reporting that this picture is, in fact, real.

Optional Activity

  • Like many celebrities, Snoop Dogg has been the subject of several hoaxes over the years. Have students use a fact-checking website like Snopes or Politifact to see if they can track down any misinformation that has been spread about the rapper.


Related Resources