Don’t Take the Bait!
News Literacy in the Digital Media Age
@MsJWhiting
JACQUELYN
WHITING
Google Certified Innovator
Co-author of News Literacy: The Keys to Combating Fake News
Library Media Specialist
@MsJWhiting
A Brief History of Disinformation
Fake news is not new.
Lying Images
Declaration of Independence
John Trumbull’s iconic painting of an event that didn’t actually happen. He even included people in the painting who were opposed to independence.
Lying Images
Where did Trotsky Go?
In this version of the photo Lenin is flanked by his supposed political ally, Trotsky, and Lev Kamenev, but...
Lying Images
Where did Trotsky Go?
In this publicized version of the photo, Trotsky and Kamenev have been removed to diminish the perception of their influence and relevance after losing Stalin’s favor.
Where we are today
Are we any more information savvy?
Infotainment
“Truthiness”
“Wikiality”
The tools of media access
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The role of social media in the delivery of news and information.
Source:�Anderson, Monica and Jingjing Jiang. “Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018” Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media, 31 May 2018, pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
Source:�Anderson, Monica and Jingjing Jiang. “Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018” Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media, 31 May 2018, pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
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Source:�Anderson, Monica and Jingjing Jiang. “Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018” Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media, 31 May 2018, pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
the Internet...is both the world’s best fact-checker and the world’s best bias confirmer — often at the same time.”�Michael P. Lynch, professor of philosophy and the director of the Humanities Institute’s Public Discourse Project at the University of Connecticut.
Source: Lynch, Michael P. “Googling is Believing: Trumping the Informed Citizen,” New York Times. 9 March 2016. opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/googling-is-believing-trumping-the-informed-citizen.
“When it comes to evaluating information that flows across social channels or pops up in a Google search, young and otherwise digital-savvy students can easily be duped...”
For every challenge facing this nation, there are scores of websites pretending to be something they are not. Ordinary people once relied on publishers, editors, and subject matter experts to vet the information they consumed. But on the unregulated internet, all bets are off…
For every challenge facing this nation, there are scores of websites pretending to be something they are not. Ordinary people once relied on publishers, editors, and subject matter experts to vet the information they consumed. But on the unregulated internet, all bets are off…
Never have we had so much information at our fingertips. Whether this bounty will make us smarter and better informed or more ignorant and narrow-minded will depend on our awareness of this problem and our educational response to it.”
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What is admitted to the Librarian,�
STAYS with the Librarian.
MEDIA:�content created for a purpose
Clickbait
Native�Advertising
It used to be… and now it is…
24-7
News used to be delivered once a day for an hour on television, or in the morning newspaper. Now we have a 24/7 news cycle, where news is constantly breaking.
Streaming
We used to get news from weekly magazines, daily newspapers or nightly news broadcasts via television or radio. Now news streams across media platforms & devices.
Hoaxes
We used to trust investigative journalists to expose hoaxes. Now people can pretend to be journalists and perpetrate the hoaxes.
Journalists
Journalism used to be a profession that required specific training in both writing and ethics. Now citizen-journalists can generate content from anywhere and anytime.
Filter Bubbles
We used to have to actively change the channel (or buy another newspaper) to filter the information we received. Now Social Media “likes” create “echo chambers,” and we might not even realize these filters exist.
Ownership
News companies, large and small, have always had owners. Today very few small news companies remain because a few wealthy owners have created information monopolies.
@joycevalenza
Why does this matter?
24-7
News used to be delivered once a day for an hour on television, or in the morning newspaper. Now we have a 24/7 news cycle, where news is constantly breaking.
Streaming
We used to get news from weekly magazines, daily newspapers or nightly news broadcasts via television or radio. Now news streams across media platforms & devices.
Hoaxes
We used to trust investigative journalists to expose hoaxes. Now people can pretend to be journalists and perpetrate the hoaxes.
Journalists
Journalism used to be a profession that required specific training in both writing and ethics. Now citizen-journalists can generate content from anywhere and anytime.
Filter Bubbles
We used to have to actively change the channel (or buy another newspaper) to filter the information we received. Now Social Media “likes” create “echo chambers,” and we might not even realize these filters exist.
Ownership
News companies, large and small, have always had owners. Today very few small news companies remain because a few wealthy owners have created information monopolies.
@joycevalenza
Why does this matter?
24-7
News used to be delivered once a day for an hour on television, or in the morning newspaper. Now we have a 24/7 news cycle, where news is constantly breaking.
Why does this matter?
Streaming
We used to get news from weekly magazines, daily newspapers or nightly news broadcasts via television or radio. Now news streams across media platforms & devices.
Why does this matter?
Hoaxes
We used to trust investigative journalists to expose hoaxes. Now people can pretend to be journalists and perpetrate the hoaxes.
Real World Consequences
Infowars
Challenge:
Write a headline to describe a story about Alex Jones’ removal from Twitter
Real World Consequences
Pizzagate
Why does this matter?
Journalists
Journalism used to be a profession that required specific training in both writing and ethics. Now citizen-journalists can generate content from anywhere and anytime.
eyewitness?
interview?
share your content
Why does this matter?
Echo chambers, filter bubbles & bots
ECHO CHAMBERS: verify and amplify
FILTERS: remove what we don’t “like”
BOTS: Automated software built to follow, retweet or like a post
Why does this matter?
Ownership
News companies, large and small, have always had owners. Today very few small news companies remain because a few wealthy owners have created information monopolies.
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What do we do about it?
Fact-�Checkers
Start with
“About us”
Then Google
the author
And then triangulate
Fact-�Checkers
Use URL clues
Red flags such as
.com.co
Challenge:
Find the REAL
ABC News Website
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Fact-
Checkers
ALL CAPS or SENSATIONAL headlines are suspect
Fact-Checkers
Look for citations & triangulate (check against 2 other sources)
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Source:�https://www.facebook.com/AllSidesNow/posts/1785127724869458
1 October 2018; 9:00PM
Google doesn’t write the news
News Publishers vs. News Aggregators
Fact-
Checkers
Check that social media accounts are verified
Reverse Image Search
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What questions should you ask?
Debunk this fake photo
Your Turn!
Know what you’re reading
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Bias has a place
Editorial
Op-Ed
Blog
Infotising
Sponsored Content (looks like news…)
Propaganda
Ads
Info verification sites
Find a debunked story to discuss
https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/fact-or-fake
https://www.hoax-slayer.net/
https://firstdraftnews.org/
https://www.snopes.com/
https://www.politifact.com/
https://www.factcheck.org/
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Before you share...
How do you respond to this story?
According to the First Army Division East, which posted the picture today on its Facebook page, the three soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment stood guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as the first heavy bands of rain from Hurricane Sandy moved across the Washington, D.C. area.
"The tomb," they write, "has been guarded continuously since 1948."
The U.S. Army has more information on the tomb.
Your Turn!
Journalistic truth is provisional.
Today’s evidence may be reframed by tomorrow’s discoveries.
BIG TAKEAWAYS:
@MsJWhiting
Thanks!
Jacquelyn Whiting
@MsJWhiting
mediatedmessages.org
Credits
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