Fostering Friendships - Enhancing Social Bonds in the Classroom
Lessons from Manti Te'o
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Lessons from Manti Te’o
Jen Lee Reeves – AARP Social Communications
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What happened
National reports about Manti Te’o’s girlfriend dying
Theme reported on many levels:
• Quick reports
• In-depth features
• Shared and re-shared across publications
It was all a hoax: There was never a real girlfriend, falsely
attributed photos
No one uncovered the hoax until the website, Deadspin, did
some reporting
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Deadspin report
Reporters were tipped about the fake girlfriend
The reporters researched the girlfriend’s history
• No record of her attending Stanford
• No records of a car crash
• No death certificate
Analyzed articles on the relationship and
found conflicting information
Tracked down the original photo
Found the person linked to the photo and Te’O
Published an article with their findings
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Lessons learned
Create a list to make sure you asked all questions:
• Check and confirm sources
• Provide as many original sources as you can (link to them)
• Do not take statements at face value, confirm facts
• Look for alternate perspectives
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Lessons learned
Create a list to make sure you asked all questions:
• Check and confirm sources
• Provide as many original sources as you can (link to them)
• Do not take statements at face value, confirm facts
• Look for alternate perspectives
CHECKLISTS
• Craig Silverman’s checklist
• Steve Buttry’s checklist
• Newslab checklist
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Power of getting it right
Deadspin’s reporting boosted web traffic
Proof traditional journalism is not the only journalism
Understanding social media and navigating through it can be
a powerful skill
We can all ask questions like journalists
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What did you learn?
Each of us can take different perspectives from a national
event like this one.
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Any
questions?
Give it your best shot!
jlreeves@aarp.org
@jenleereeves