Walk-through slides
April 6, 2026
“Viral post ‘spilling the beans’ about paid No Kings protesters is parody”
PARODY ACCOUNT
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Note:
These slides are designed to be delivered to students in slideshow mode.
Some slides contain speaker notes with additional context, links and information.
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The claim
A viral post appears to show a person “spilling the beans” about getting paid to protest at the No Kings rally in March 2026.
But this claim isn’t true. Let’s look at the facts.
PARODY ACCOUNT
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A closer look
Let’s take a closer look at this post. Is there anything that seems suspicious?
PARODY ACCOUNT
We blurred this handle — but you should know that it contains a derogatory term, and that’s never a sign of credibility.
This post doesn’t provide any actual evidence.
And it uses pretty inflammatory language.
This account doesn’t seem very reliable.
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Clicking on the account profile and reviewing its post history is good practice to determine the sort of content it typically shares.
This account posts a lot of political content that seems designed to try to make people mad.
PARODY ACCOUNT
Newslit tip
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“Rage bait” is content that is designed to provoke anger.
Why do you think people post rage bait online?
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Newslit term
This causes more engagement as people comment and share the post.
When you are angry, you might want to tell the person why you think they are wrong.
And that leads to more people seeing it, which can lead to more exposure and maybe even money.
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False claims that people are being paid to attend protests or political rallies are common online.
This kind of disinformation is usually created to explain away large crowds and dismiss their concerns as fake to make it seem less of a genuine political movement.
PARODY ACCOUNT
A familiar rumor
AI-GENERATED
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What should you do when a social media post elicits a strong emotional reaction?
PARODY ACCOUNT
Newslit practice
People are more prone to believe something when it causes a strong emotional response.
It’s best to slow down and get your emotions in check so that you can critically examine the post.
Because our emotions can override our more careful, rational thinking processes.
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Want more?
Explore more RumorGuard slides in our full guide for the 2025-26 school year.
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These exercises originated in the April 6, 2026, issue of The Sift® newsletter from the News Literacy Project. You can read archives of the newsletter and subscribe here.
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newslit.org
Follow us at @NewsLitProject
Thank you!
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