Importance of fact-checking agencies in the fight against Fake News and possibilities for teaching Chemistry

Abstract

Moved by the notorious social impact caused by the dissemination of fake news, surveys and reflections on the use of Fake News as educational strategies were discussed in this work. For this, three checking agencies (E-farsas, Aos Fatos, Lupa) and one software (FakeCheck), as well as their potentiality were explored and the Lupa agency, in addition to being employed in the survey of the amount of demystification of fake news in the years of 2019 and 2020, was also chosen in the selection of publications used in proposing strategies for teaching chemistry. The main observations bring as a result the uniqueness of each verification agency in its methods and resources offered; the growing character of FN demystifications from 2019 to 2020; and the possibility of using FN as a tool in approaching chemical concepts in the fields of pure, interdisciplinary and common-sense chemistry for the teaching of chemistry to high school students. The results obtained and presented in this article justify its importance as a potential instrument of awareness and education.