Do Not Believe All That You See Online!
The readers at the Young Readers' Club are huge fans of Gordon Korman's writing. Needless to say, when Hypergifted was published earlier this year, they had to get their hands on it. This amazing book has two prequels, Ungifted and Supergifted, both of which have been read, discussed, and analyzed to the core at the club. We know every character inside and out.
We will not divulge important details of the plot, as the purpose of this post is not to share spoilers. If anything, it is to wholeheartedly recommend this book to any young reader. We at the Young Readers' Club have been having a blast reading it together. We have laughed a lot, critiqued a particular character, and documented several theories about what could happen next. So far, none of our theories have turned out to be right! The author beat us each time with an unexpected twist.
Deepfake Videos Online: Don't Blindly Believe What You See
There is a particularly intriguing online video in the book. Everyone believes that a certain character has climbed Mount Everest. No one believes him when he insists he has never even been there. The situation escalates, and he becomes the star attraction. He even starts to wonder if he has a long-lost twin brother. The chain of events has led us to believe that this must be an AI-generated video; modern technology has become so powerful that fabricated clips look convincingly real. (We are still reading the book. We don't know yet if we are right about this conclusion!)
Ironically, the picture above is also AI-generated, created using a prompt with details about the character being seen in a video scaling Mount Everest. After our initial observations—about how the boy in the photo resembled friends of the readers and how he did not quite fit how they had pictured the character—the discussion took a fascinating turn:
Climbing Everest requires substantial protective gear: the head and ears must be covered.
He would have to wear goggles.
At that altitude, wouldn't he need an oxygen mask?
With all that gear on, everyone looks virtually the same. How could anyone identify that the person in the video was truly him?
How were viewers able to spot a tiny scar on his face? Was the video an extreme close-up?
There was only one way to find out. We returned to the book and reread the passage describing the video. Details we had missed earlier began to surface. It became increasingly clear that the viral video that had captivated the school was undoubtedly an AI-generated deepfake. This discovery sparked a brand-new theory that we are eager to test as we read on.
More Than Vocabulary: Reading as Critical Thinking
Had this lesson been packaged as a heavy-handed moral, the takeaway likely would not have resonated half as deeply. Getting absorbed in the plot, peeling back layer after layer, and noticing subtle discrepancies until realizing the characters were completely duped—that is a lesson these young minds will never forget. They will naturally be more skeptical of digital content and look for evidence of authenticity.
When a book can entertain while empowering young readers to think critically, who can deny that reading for pleasure offers far more than just vocabulary building?
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The Young Readers' Club is a book club for the 9-12 age group. We also do vocabulary building activities, debates and discussions based on the books we read!
Writing programs for the 9-13 age group- Young Writers' Club Jr.
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The Young Writers' Club program for the 14-18 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
Tween Tribune is an online magazine for the Young Writers' Club (Jr.) program for tweens. Weekly updates of our discussions are published. Once in 6 months, the best of writing by the tween members is made available to read.
Musings from the Young Writers' Club is an online magazine showcasing the work we do at the Young Writers' Club.
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