Have you heard of "fake news"? What about the words "conspiracy theory" and "hoax"? The topic of fake news has become very popular in the news lately. It refers to information that is not true or not accepted as truth by mainstream society. In this video, I will teach you some key vocabulary we use when talking about fake news. I'll also give you examples of their use. Next, I will talk about some expressions you can use if someone gives you fake news or tells you a story that isn't true. After watching, take my quiz to practice the new words and expressions you've learned. [ Ссылка ]
Next, watch this lesson on negative political vocabulary that you will hear in the news often:
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TRANSCRIPT

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to teach you some key expressions you can use when somebody tells you something that's not true and you want to argue against what they're saying. So, in this video I'm going to teach you these great expressions, but before I do that, we're going to talk about three words that are very common in English these days. Those three words are: "Fake news", "conspiracy theories", and "hoaxes". So in this video you will learn what these words mean, and you will also learn what to say to somebody that tells you something that's not true. All right, so let's get started.

So I have here three sentences. The first sentence is: "Scientists say the earth is flat. Not round." Is this true or not true? Okay, this sentence is not true. Some people believe this, but it is not true. My second sentence: "Michael Jackson is alive and living as Kim Kardashian." True or not true? Again, we have a sentence that is not true; I made this up. And finally, my third sentence: "Listening to rock music causes cancer." Is this true or untrue? Again, this is untrue; I also made up this. So my point here is that a lot of what you hear from people in conversation not true. People say these types of things all the time, and you will know that this is something that's not true, so what do you say when someone tells you that the earth is flat, or they tell you that Michael Jackson is living as Kim Kardashian? Okay? So, I will teach you those great expressions you can use. Before I do that, I wanted to just say that these three sentences can also be considered fake news. So, we will look at the meaning of fake news in a moment.

Okay, so the three main words I wanted to teach you today are words that you will see a lot on the internet and in the media. The first word is: "fake news". So what is fake news? Well, "fake" means not true. "Fake news" is news stories that are not true, and they're created to damage a person, a business, an agency, or a government, or they might also be created to get attention and to get clicks on the internet. So you'll see a lot of fake news on different social media, like Twitter, Facebook, and a lot of other places, too, online. So, this is a very common word these days, a lot of people are using it, so it's important that you know what it means.

We also have the word here: "conspiracy theory". So, "a conspiracy theory" is an explanation of an event or situation that is different from the official account. A lot of the times conspiracy theories are about a government or a business doing something illegal or to harm someone. Okay? So let's think of some conspiracy theories. Some people believe that the moon landing, so when... When astronauts went to the moon in the 1960s, some people believe the moon landing was fake. This is a popular conspiracy theory. Another conspiracy theory I heard recently is some people believe that Paul McCartney from the Beetles actually died in 1966, and there is a different man who replaced him and who is actually the better musician. So this is a different conspiracy theory. So, you'll see a lot of conspiracy theories on the internet, and a lot of people will tell you conspiracy theories during conversations.

The last word I wanted to teach you was the word: "hoax", "hoax". So, "a hoax" is a type of practical joke that is meant to embarrass or hurt people. So some examples of hoaxes are you'll have these death hoaxes, where they'll say a celebrity is dead, but it's not true; it's a joke. Or you might have a hoax, like, you know, some people might take a picture of an alien or a monster and tell everyone: "Look, we have evidence of this monster alien." But if it's not true, then it's a hoax. It's a joke, a practical joke. So, again, fake news, conspiracy theories, and hoaxes are very common on the internet, and so for these things that are not true, what do you say to people when they tell you this untrue information? Well, let's find out in a moment. […]

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