4. Do you really know what’s going on in the world? Who do you trust to tell you the truth?

Most of these issues are not black and white. A lot of people will tell you a lot of different things for a lot of different reasons. The key is to look further, read between the lines and keep asking questions.

The big issues in the world are complex but you need to be confident that you have some understanding of the things that you want to challenge or take action on. So where do you go and who do you listen to?

• Newspapers
• Friends or family
• Websites like Wikipedia
• Politicians
• Blogs, facebook groups, etc.
• Charities and campaigns
• Celebrities
• Media organisations like the BBC

We are bombarded by information, stories and opinions from all over the world, all trying to give us a message of some sort. But how do we know what is true, what is debateable, what is exaggerated and what is an outright lie?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when trying to ‘read between the lines’:

• Who created this message?
• How have they tried to grab my attention?
• How might different people understand this message?
• What points of view, lifestyles and values are being represented and what has been left out?
• Why is this message being communicated?

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