📱 Phase 1 - Anticipation 👁️ Visual + Poll ⏱ 4 minutes

Task 1 - Would You Believe This?

Three health posts. Rate how believable each one looks - before you check a single fact.

Step 1 - Rate how believable each post looks

🌅

@risewell.daily

Wellness blog · 2 days ago

"5 Minutes of Morning Sunlight 'Resets Your Metabolism,' Says Study. I started doing this every day and within a week I had more energy than ever. Try it before you reach for coffee!"

❤️ 12.4k likes · 💬 890 comments · 🔁 3.1k shares

🌶️

@naturalcure.secrets

Sponsored post · 5 hours ago

"DOCTORS SHOCKED: This $3 Spice Lowers Blood Pressure Better Than Medication! Big Pharma doesn't want you to know this one trick. Limited stock - order now!"

❤️ 34.7k likes · 💬 2.2k comments · 🔁 9.8k shares

🔬

@scitranslate

Science communication · 1 week ago

"New research links a common food dye to hyperactivity in some children. Findings vary between studies, and researchers say more research is needed before drawing firm conclusions."

❤️ 1.1k likes · 💬 76 comments · 🔁 240 shares

💡 Here's the twist

Post 1 and Post 2 both sound confident and are getting huge engagement - but they make very different kinds of claims with very different levels of evidence behind them, and Post 2 even uses urgency language ("limited stock") and a conspiracy angle ("Big Pharma doesn't want you to know"), both common persuasion techniques. Post 3 sounds the most cautious and got the least engagement - but cautious, hedged language ("findings vary," "more research is needed") is often a sign of more honest science reporting, not less. Believability and popularity are not the same as accuracy.

Step 2 - Your vote

Can you trust health information you find online?

Let's learn a framework for telling the difference - the 5C Health Check.

← Lesson Continue to Task 2 →

What happens in Task 1

A 4-minute Phase 1 - Anticipation activity. Students rate three fictional health posts for believability, discover that confident, popular posts aren't necessarily accurate, and vote on whether they trust online health information.

🎯 Learning objectives

To recognise that believability, confidence and popularity are not reliable indicators of accuracy in online health content.

♿ SEN Adaptations