Chapter 4: The Fourth Lens – Motives
Welcome to Chapter 4
In this section, you’ll find resources related to the content in Chapter Four of Developing Digital Detectives by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins including:
- Referenced resources
- Grade specific mini-lessons
- Digital Detective’s “Mug Book”
Resources Referenced In This Chapter
In this section, you’ll find resources that are specifically referenced in the chapter. Some are recommended for use with students, while others may support your own understanding of this lens. Be sure to refer back to this chapter for more information about how to use these resources.
- UPDATED! Printable Suspect Cards (If the new suspect card deck looks a little funny, don’t fret! We have received reports that the original suspect cards weren’t printing properly, so we’ve made some changes that include flipping one side of each card page upside down. We hope this fixes the problem! 🤞🏻)
- Suspect Family Tree [COMPLETE]
- Suspect Family Tree [BLANK]
- [INFOGRAPHIC] Dusting for Prints: Lens 4: Motives
- [INFOGRAPHIC] Spot The Difference
- [BOOKMARK] Mis, Dis or Mal Information (PDF for easy printing)
This Lens In Action | Mini Lessons To Try Tomorrow
Digital Detectives "Mug Book"
“Mug Books” are collections of suspect photos/profiles that are often used in line-up activities. Historical examples, like this one, have storied pasts and served as inspiration to us as we were creating this chapter and its related resources. We’ve created our own mug book to complement/supplement the information contained in the suspect cards used in many of the mini-lessons for this chapter. While you are welcome to share the mug book with students, it was designed to support educator learning. Each suspect profile contains:
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- Our inspiration for the character
- Additional resources for further reading that may support your understanding of the profile. Warning, some of these present quite the research “rabbit hole.” Enjoy!
The Click Chaser
We created this suspect to represent individuals who spread false information as a way to seek fame and attention. Click Chasers care more about being the center of attention than they do about making money from the content they create and share.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Propagandist
We created this suspect to represent individuals who spread false information as a way to gain political power or to harm a political enemy. We wanted to capture the spirit of those individuals for whom winning, at all costs, is the only thing that matters.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Troll
We created this suspect to represent individuals who spread false information as a way to bully others. For trolls, theirr online work is deeply personal. It’s important to remember that trolls and bullies are motivated by the same things and use similar tactics. Trolls just take their bullying online.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Lemming
We were inspired to create this suspect as a way to illustrate how the desire to belong can cause, even ethical, people to spread false information. Lemmings don’t want to hurt others, but they fear being left out or feeling isolated.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
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- Tweeting Turns Us Into Lemmings
- Virtual Lemmings
- Herd Behavior
- The myth of Lemmings being followers as unpacked in John Green’s podcast, The Anthropocene Reviewed.
The Jokester
We created this suspect to characterize the creative who uses what they think is humor or satire to publicly “get over” on someone. “Punking” the victim alone isn’t enough. The jokester’s goal is always for the prank to go viral. When people don’t get the joke, or silence occurs, the jokester loses.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Influencer for Hire
We created this suspect to symbolize the sponsored content or brand ambassadors who manipulate content or create fake buzz in order to gain more paid endorsements on behalf of sponsors. The more clicks and likes they get, the larger their bank account grows.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Bot
Bots are pieces of code created by humans to spread false information or to create the appearance that an account or issue is receiving more engagement than it actually is. Because they are software, they can scale their message much quicker than a single human until they are suspended, blocked, or the human source is unveiled.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Blue Liar
A cousin of the white liar, the blue liar spreads false information on behalf of ‘societal good,’ because they believe the ends justify the means. Like many suspects, they want to use sensational content to spark action, but their message is lost if nobody is listening to the lie.
The following resource may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Flash Bomber
We created this suspect to symbolize the evolution of the ‘flash mob.’ This distractor archetype repeatedly pushes out sensational language, images, and information as ‘share bait,’ hoping to trigger outrage or a feeling of superiority.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Mimicker
We created this suspect because the internet is full of mis/dis/mal-information sites and accounts attempting to look like other legitimate sites and accounts. When the mimicker doesn’t appear trustworthy they lose their ability to spread nefarious information or gain financially.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Conspiracy Theorist
We created this suspect to represent people who fall for conspiracies as a way to explain uncomfortable realities. Using motivated reasoning they create easily explained connections that others can’t see. The author – and follower(s) find this information attractive because it gives them a sense of superiority and intellect that is higher than the general public.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Stan
We created this suspect inspired by how accounts devoted to a celebrity use their platform to act like publicists or PR firms to crowdsource gossip, support, or influence issues favorable to the celebrity they idolize. They sometimes organize to dog pile, doxx or discredit perceived enemies of their celebrity crush.
The following resource may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Concerned Cousin
We created this suspect to represented people who spread false information because they fear that their friends & family are being duped and want to be helpful, and save their community. They create confrontations sharing false information face-to-face or by forwarding, reposting media that confirms their fears or drives sympathy to their cause.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Sock Puppet
We created this account to represent a bot account that was created to spread propaganda and hide the identity of the suspect. Their goal is political gain, interference in governance, or influence social issue(s). They thrive when they create the illusion of consensus around their intended campaign of hate, bias, prejudice, or positive publicity.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Grifter
We created this suspect to identify those who use the internet to steal money, resources, and/or personal information for financial gain. They often target specific, vulnerable people with cloned content that looks like an official request or a legitimate advertisement.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Operative
We created this suspect to represent those whose motives appear, on the surface, to be about money, but who are really acting on behalf of a hidden “boss.” The operative carries out plans of another entity, which often include propaganda or the use of manipulated content (like deep fakes) to harm the reputation of an opponent.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Doppelgänger
We created this suspect to represent clone accounts that are designed to look verified or reputable sources. Sometimes these look-alike accounts are created by fans who admire the person they are copying, but others use the same technique to harm reputations or trick other people out of money or data.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Scaremonger
We created this suspect to represent those whose ultimate goal is to create chaos. While that chaos likely distracts attention from an important issue or cause, the Scaremonger may also be amused by the harm caused by the mis-, dis- and malformation they create and share.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Wannabe
We created this suspect to unpack the growing number of people who lack the credentials/training to be journalists but mimic the click/share bait strategies. These folks want to be the gatekeepers of information for viral or validation purposes. They want to be seen as experts – even though they haven’t earned that title.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Insider
We created this suspect to represent an individual who spreads dis- or malinformation to harm a group of entity to which they belong. Motivations may be political or fueled by greed. They may also believe their actions will cause necessary change within the organization. Their power lies in their anonymity because it offers them a way to blow the whistle without detection.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Outsider
We created this suspect to capture the person who doesn’t feel like a member of society. They typically want others to feel like they do or “burn society to the ground.” They spread fear, hate, and outrage through easily digested content, hoping that they will disrupt the social order.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Sentry
We created this suspect to represent individuals who spread dis- and malinformation because they fear change and want things to say exactly as they are. Unlike the Blue Liar, who spreads bad information to spark change, the Sentry’s goal is to guard and preserve the status quo.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
- Sealioning – definition
- Why Luddites Are Fashionable Again
The Spark
We created this suspect to capture the evolution citizen paparazzi, who aren’t trained journalists but, who seek to be “first on the scene” so that they, too, become part of the story. Their information is suspect because they are not motivated to fact check or seek accuracy; their only goal is to be first.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Cyborg
We created this suspect to showcase the grey area between a human who spreads propaganda and a bot that spreads the propaganda of its creator. In the early days of social media, bots were fairly easy to be identified, so cyborgs were created to reply to bot comments, helping them appear human and make their message more credible.
The following resource may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The White Liar
We created this suspect to capture those who spread bad information as a way to make themselves look better or to position themselves as the hero of a story. They don’t believe their lies will cause harm, and any harm that does result from their handiwork is a small price to pay. Like many suspects, they want to preserve themselves or the act they’ve committed by omitting information, remixing information to protect hurt feelings, or virtue signaling “likes.”
The following resource may add to your understanding of this suspect.
The Hydra
We created this suspect to play the role of the wildcard: a remix and mashup of existing suspects. As Digital Detectives get to know the suspects, the Hydra allows them to identify when bad information includes the tools and tactics of multiple profiles.
The following resources may add to your understanding of this suspect.