The Covid-19 pandemic is a public-health crisis unprecedented in recent times. It has to be taken incredibly seriously. But there is a lot of contradictory information and perspectives out there. We encounter government updates, new theories, countless opinions and lots of experts providing non-stop advice and information. Who should we believe? And how should we engage with different perspectives?

In this lesson students will discuss a series of fake, misleading or unsubstantiated stories and, by comparing and contrasting news and opinion pieces, explore how experts have been used to legitimise and reinforce commentators’ opinions during the coronavirus crisis.