Safer Internet Day 2026

Safer Internet Day 2026

Safer Internet Day Assembly - Spotting Fake News at Devon School

At Devon School, we marked Safer Internet Day with a whole-school assembly focused on the important topic of Fake News.

In preparation for the assembly, our Year 7 and Year 8 computing students took part in a creative and thought-provoking lesson exploring how easily misinformation can be created and shared online. Using Artificial Intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, alongside carefully structured AI prompting techniques, students designed their own fake news stories and generated accompanying images. They also experimented with simple JavaScript code to demonstrate how easily web content can be edited and manipulated.

The aim of the assembly was to present students with ten news articles - five real and five fake - and challenge them to identify which were genuine and which had been fabricated. By mixing believable fake stories with authentic headlines, we highlighted how convincing misinformation can be when presented in a familiar format.

This activity was not about encouraging deception, but about developing:

• Critical thinking skills
• Media literacy
• Awareness of AI-generated content
• An understanding of how online information can be manipulated

Students quickly realised that spotting fake news is not always straightforward, especially when false stories are mixed with real but unusual or "silly" genuine headlines. The task sparked excellent discussion about questioning sources, identifying bias, and considering the motivations behind published content.

Some of the creative fake stories designed by students included:

• "Cauliflower Ear Crisis" - written by a student who strongly dislikes cauliflower, turning vegetables into a health scare headline.
• "Gaming Improves Academic Performance" - a cleverly constructed argument aimed at convincing parents that staying up late playing video games is more important than sleep.
• "Freedom Sticks Rebrand" - a deliberately exaggerated political headline designed to test how absurd a story could be while still sounding believable.

The assembly demonstrated just how powerful modern technology can be - and how important it is for young people to question what they read, check sources carefully, and think critically before sharing information online.

A big well done to our Year 7 and 8 students for their creativity, enthusiasm, and thoughtful participation. Safer Internet Day provided a fantastic opportunity to explore digital responsibility in an engaging and memorable way.