GSAN: Super Bowl ‘Tayvoodoo’ | ICE rumors

Get Smart About News

Your guide to helping young
people get smart about news.

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Super Bowl ‘Tayvoodoo’ | ICE rumors

 
 

Top picks

Reader, this section highlights the latest news literacy topics and ways for you to engage with the kids in your life.

An illustration of an AI bot waving behind an open envelope with a page called news. The word AI is next to the bot, which has a white cloud behind it.
A network of AI-generated local newsletters has popped up across the U.S.

1. AI-generated newsletters target ‘small town America’

Behind a network of hundreds of newsletters across 47 states is a single man using artificial intelligence technology to summarize local news pulled from existing news outlets. Good Daily newsletter sites don’t disclose AI usage and appear to have the same fabricated reader testimonials on multiple sites, but the sites’ founder said he’s helping local news outlets by highlighting their work. However, several local news editors strongly disagreed when interviewed by Nieman Lab [link warning: profanity]. They said the Good Daily network lacked transparency, relied on recycled reports and competed for advertising with outlets staffed by journalists

Engage:

Share this Nieman Lab story with teens and discuss. What clues indicated that the Good Day newsletters were AI-generated? How do you determine whether a news source is legit? How could newsrooms use AI technology ethically?

★ Tools for the talk:

2. Teens support AI safeguards, study finds

Teens are growing up in a complex information landscape and it’s not always clear what sources are trustworthy — or what might be AI-generated. Over a third of American teens say they’ve been misled by fake content online, a new Common Sense Media report found. And as AI technology advances, most teens (74%) support AI safeguards and transparency, including labels or watermarks for AI content.

Note:

NLP’s teen survey last year had similar findings around teens’ trust in AI, with about half of teens reporting little or no trust in the accuracy and fairness of AI chatbots.

Engage:

Take this AI quiz with the teens in your life to see how sharp their AI skills are and spark discussion about AI technology. How can they tell if an image, video or audio clip is AI-generated? How could tech companies or the government regulate AI? How does AI technology impact trust in information? Could labels or transparency around AI usage help build trust?

3. Super Bowl fuels ‘Tayvoodoo’ conspiracy theories

The Kansas City Chiefs are heading to the Super Bowl for the third year in a row, and their winning streak — plus Taylor Swift’s high-profile support — has set conspiracy theories aflame online. Some fans of Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, believe “Tayvoodoo,” or a paranormal power of Swift’s that allows her to control events at will, may be involved in the team’s success. Another theory suggests that the NFL favors the Chiefs and conspired to bring the team to the Super Bowl. But one Wall Street Journal sports columnist points out the truth may possibly be “more mundane”: The Chiefs “may simply be quite good at playing football.”

Engage:

Discuss this topic with the kids in your life. What makes conspiracy theories appealing? Why do people fall for conspiracy theories about the NFL rigging the Super Bowl? What role does the perception of patterns play in these conspiracy theories? How can conspiracy theories be dangerous?

★ Tools for the talk:

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A banner ad from the News Literacy Project containing details about the event 'Hard hits, hidden truths: How investigative journalism tackled the NFL's concussion problem' on February 6 as part of National News Literacy Week. The ad also includes a black football helmet with blue outlines of a brain inside the helmet, a 'Register Now' button, and the logos of National News Literacy Week and presenters the News Literacy Project, Scripps and USA Today.
RumorGuard Rundown

Photo altered to falsely show Trump supporter being detained by ICE

A social media post reads “Latinos for Trump” and features an image that appears to show a man in a “Latinos for Trump 2024” shirt being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says “MANIPULATED IMAGE.”

NO: This is not a genuine photograph of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting a man in a “Latinos for Trump 2024” shirt. 

YES: This image has been digitally altered to add “Latinos for Trump 2024” on the man’s shirt and to change the acronym “HSI” (Homeland Security Investigations) to “ICE” on the shirts of the officers.

YES: The original photograph was taken in June 2018 and shows agents with HSI, a branch of ICE, arresting a man in Salem, Ohio, as part of a large-scale immigration raid at a meatpacking plant.

★ NewsLit takeaway

When a social media post provokes a strong emotional response, it can be difficult to critically examine it. This is especially true when the content deals with a hot-button political issue, such as President Donald Trump's executive actions to start mass deportations. People can be quick to believe information that conforms to their preexisting beliefs. Here are some tips to see through this kind of confirmation bias:

Consider the source. Many online accounts are more concerned with generating clicks than they are in spreading factual information. If you aren’t familiar with an account, be cautious.

Consider the evidence. This image was presented online without any information about where or when it was taken. This is an indication that the content deserves scrutiny.

Use a reverse image search. Finding the source of an image is the best way to get additional context. In this case, a reverse image search unveils the original photograph.

 

No, ICE is not offering $750 to report undocumented immigrants

A social media post contains an image of President Donald Trump and reads, “Breaking: ICE allegedly offering $750 for Reporting Undocumented Immigrants.” Two other posts read, “ICE is now paying $750 to anyone who turns in an illegal” and “ICE paying $750 for every immigrant you turn in.” The News Literacy Project has added a label that says “FALSE.”

NO: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not offering financial rewards for using its tip line to report people who are illegally in the country.

YES: ICE does have an online tip form and phone number for making such reports.

★ NewsLit takeaway

Viral claims about controversial topics can easily gain traction on social media. Here are a few tips to detect and debunk this type of misinformation:

  1. Look for evidence: A claim about a government policy should be supported by official statements from sources like the relevant federal agency or the White House. Posts that do not link back to these sources should be viewed with skepticism.
  2. Consider the source: Are they a reputable news outlet, a journalist, a government official or another party that would have trustworthy information? Or are they an ordinary social media user who is repeating viral rumors?
  3. Controversial topics deserve more consideration: It’s important to slow down and try to verify information. Remember, many social media accounts are incentivized to post content that generates clicks.
Kickers (Journalism slang). Definition: The ending of a story or news report, often intended to leave a lasting impression.
bullet Be wary of health hacks that promise quick fixes — especially if they sound too good to be true. This Conversation piece offers tips to spot pseudoscience online, like checking whether a source has expertise on a given topic.
bullet DeepSeek, a buzzy new AI chatbot, isn’t seeking deeply for accurate information. A NewsGuard audit of the Chinese AI tool found that it mostly provided inaccurate responses or nonanswers (83%) when prompted with news-related subjects.
bullet New Jersey’s newspaper of record for 193 years, The Star-Ledger, ran its final print edition on Feb. 2. The New Jersey paper will continue publishing on its news site, but some worry about the loss of accountability reporting and a print archive of history.
bullet The White House briefing room has invited influencers, podcasters and bloggers to apply for press credentials. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the change is part of adapting to “the new media landscape in 2025” and cited a Gallup poll showing Americans’ low trust in media.
bullet From her kitchen table in Brooklyn, independent journalist Marisa Kabas landed a major scoop on the since-rescinded White House order to freeze federal grants — proving that big news stories don’t always come from major news organizations. This trend was even noted by veteran news anchor Dan Rather, who recently posted on Facebook, “Independent journalism is now the way forward.”
bullet Although most financial advisors in the U.S. are required to hold a professional license, there is no regulation over financial influencers — or “fin-fluencers” — who publicly dispense advice. One woman told The New York Times that she lost $24,000 to a cryptocurrency lender after following financial advice from an influencer.
bullet When a pharmacy student was threatened with expulsion from the University of Tennessee for social media posts the school deemed inappropriate, she sued them on First Amendment grounds and won a $250,000 settlement.
bullet In Kenya, more young people are turning to influencers over traditional news media — a trend on display during last year’s deadly protests of a tax bill, when demonstrators regularly checked TikTok and Instagram for real-time updates.
bullet The “screenagers” who started a Luddite Club at their high school in Brooklyn, New York, three years ago are now in college, where many are still using flip phones and working to spread their movement.
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Your weekly issue of Get Smart About News is created by Susan Minichiello (@susanmini.bsky.social), Dan Evon (@danieljevon), Peter Adams (@peteradams.bsky.social), Hannah Covington (@hannahcov.bsky.social) and Pamela Brunskill (@PamelaBrunskill). It is edited by Mary Kane (@mk6325.bsky.social) and Lourdes Venard (@lourdesvenard.bsky.social).

For more tips on talking with kids about news literacy, take a look back at previous Get Smart About News issues in the archives.

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