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When does an article-shaped page become an advertisement?

Paid content can look much like the editorial material around it. The US Federal Trade Commission’s policy on deceptively formatted advertising asks how readers recognize its commercial status, a different question from whether every claim it contains is true.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What does a sponsorship disclosure need to make clear?
  • How might placement and wording affect whether a reader notices it?

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Media and information

What makes a historical source primary?

A diary and a history book stand in different relationships to the past, but neither is automatically beyond question. What counts as a primary source also depends on what you are trying to find out.

3–5 min
Media and information

Following a web claim back to its source

Five webpages repeating the same claim may lead back to one original report. Lateral reading looks beyond an unfamiliar page to investigate its publisher; following links upstream helps reveal where the evidence began.

8–10 min
Media and information

What can a photo’s metadata actually prove?

An image file may carry a date, camera information, or a caption alongside its pixels. Those details can be useful clues, but some can be changed or removed as a file is edited and shared.

4–5 min
When does an article-shaped page become an advertisement? | Speech Topic | speaking.app