Information Literacy: critical thinking and practical skills TERESA SCHMIDT MERCER PUBLIC LIBRARY SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
Week 3 IDENTIFYING BAD INFORMATION
▪ Listen respectfully, without interrupting. ▪ Listen actively and with an ear to understanding others' views. (Don’t just think about what you are going to say while someone else is talking.) Gr ound Rules ▪ Criticize ideas, not individuals. ▪ Commit to learning, not debating. Comment in order to share information, not to persuade. ▪ Avoid blame, speculation, and inflammatory language. ▪ Allow everyone the chance to speak. ▪ Avoid assumptions about any member of the class or generalizations about social groups. ▪ Do not ask individuals to speak for their (perceived) social group. University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning & Teaching, https://crlt.umich.edu/publinks/generalguidelines
“Once the news faker obtains access to the press wires all the honest editors alive will not be able to repair the mischief he can do. An editor Fake news receiving a news item over the wire has no opportunity to test its authenticity as he would in the case of a local report. The offices of the (and the fear of members of The Associated Press in this country are connected with one another, and its centers of news gathering and distribution by a it) is not new! system of telegraph wires that in a single circuit would extend five times around the globe. This constitutes a very sensitive organism. Put your finger on it in New York, and it vibrates in San Francisco.” - Harper’s , 1925 дезинформация dezinformatsiya - disinformation Combating Fake News: An Agenda for Research and Action – May 2017
Changing media Influential people have been buying and using media since we’ve had media. Altruistic motives? Personal/political influence? Consolidation of local media outlets ▪ Sinclair Broadcast Group: 193 television stations ▪ Nexstar Media Group: 197 television stations ▪ iHeartMedia, Inc.: 850 AM and FM radio stations Changing models: newspaper baron → advertising → subscriber https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/08/why-do-billionaires-decide-to-buy-newspapers-and-why-should-we-be-happy-when-they-do/ https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/business/media/the-return-of-the-newspaper-barons.html
“ O T H E R P O L L S T E R S C O M P L A I N A B O U T D E C L I N I N G R E S P O N S E R A T E S , B U T O U R P O L L S H O W E D T H A T 9 6 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S W O U L D B E ‘ S O M E W H A T L I K E L Y ’ O R ‘ V E R Y L I K E L Y ’ T O A G R E E T O A N S W E R A S E R I E S O F Q U E S T I O N S F O R A S U R V E Y . ” https://xkcd.com/2357/
Fact-checking LET SOMEONE RELIABLE DO THE WORK
Duke Reporters’ Lab reporterslab.org
Fact-checking resources PoliticFact.com Focused on political statements from candidates and parties, rumors about political candidates and parties. Rating system: “True” to “Pants on Fire” Snopes.com Began with fact-checking of urban legends, now offers all kinds of topics including political fact- checking. Rates “True” to “False” plus other labels like scam, satire, outdated, misattribution, etc. Fact Checker – The Washington Post Ratings based on number of Pinocchios. AP Fact Check Fact checks, articles, and “Not real news” weekly summaries. https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/when-are-readers-likely-to-believe-a-fact-check/ https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2016/5-ways-fact-checkers-can-address-reader-concerns-about-bias/
Finding good sources BALANCE IS KEY!
AllSides AllSides is a news aggregator – providing articles from the left, center and right on a variety of topics. Their Media Bias Chart ONLY considers bias; it does not attempt to rate accuracy or credibility. https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart
AdFontes Media Media Bias Chart considers both bias and reliability.
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash A pundit is a person who offers to mass media their opinion or commentary on a particular Journalism vs. Punditry subject area (most typically political analysis, the social sciences, technology or sport) on which they are knowledgeable (or can at least appear to be knowledgeable) or considered a scholar in said area. The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities. - Wikipedia
Purposeful Media Consumption Photo by Matthew Guay on Unsplash
Social Media “News” According to Pew, adults who get their news from social media: • Are less engaged with major news stories • Are less knowledgeable about the news than those who use other sources • Are more likely to hear conspiracy theories about the pandemic https://www.journalism.org/2020/07/30/americans-who- mainly-get-their-news-on-social-media-are-less-engaged-less- knowledgeable/
Getting out of your bubble Reduce social media use. Try DuckDuckGo when searching. Use incognito browsing to reduce tracking. Make an effort to add sources from both sides to your news routine Use news aggregators (like AllSides) with caution Watch out for news apps like Flipboard or Apple News that say they’ll get better over time. Fact-check things YOU agree with!
Talking to others IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET PEOPLE TO STOP SHARING (AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, BELIEVING) FAKE NEWS?
Techniques that work? “ Deep Canvassing ” – emphasis on listening and finding a human connection Make sure you understand the truth or fiction of the item • BEFORE you do anything. • Don’t engage on the social media post – public calling out rarely works and reacting or commenting on a post only boosts that post’s visibility. • Show that you relate to the person’s views, if you honestly can. • Change social norms.
Fake news “inoculation” Spotthetroll.org – help people recognize fake accounts Getbadnews.com – learning how to build a social media following is instructive! Celeste Headlee – 10 ways to have a better conversation 1. Don’t equate your experience with theirs 6. If you don’t know, say that you don’t know 2. Don’t multitask 7. Try not to repeat yourself 3. Don’t pontificate 8. Stay out of the weeds 4. Use open-ended questions 9. Listen 5. Go with the flow 10. Be brief
Pro-Truth Pledge I Pledge My Earnest Efforts To: Share are trut uth ◦ Verify: fact-check information to confirm it is true before accepting and sharing it ◦ Balance: share the whole truth, even if some aspects do not support my opinion ◦ Cite: share my sources so that others can verify my information ◦ Clarify: distinguish between my opinion and the facts Honor truth uth ◦ Acknowledge: acknowledge when others share true information, even when we disagree otherwise ◦ Reevaluate: reevaluate if my information is challenged, retract it if I cannot verify it ◦ Defend: defend others when they come under attack for sharing true information, even when we disagree otherwise ◦ Align: align my opinions and my actions with true information Encoura urage ge truth uth ◦ Fix: ask people to retract information that reliable sources have disproved even if they are my allies ◦ Educate: compassionately inform those around me to stop using unreliable sources even if these sources support my opinion ◦ Defer: recognize the opinions of experts as more likely to be accurate when the facts are disputed ◦ Celebrate: celebrate those who retract incorrect statements and update their beliefs toward the truth
Next week DO YOUR RESEARCH! Readin ing: g: feuniversity.org/information-literacy-fall-2020/
Thank you! TERESA SCHMIDT Mercer Public Librar y director@mercerpubliclibrar y.org 715.476.2366 feuniversity.org/information- literacy-fall-2020/
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