fake news

fake news

Misinformation and fake news in 2022

Misinformation and fake news in 2022

2022 has begun and fake news continues. To help reduce misinformation in one’s news diet, your IU East Campus Librarians have some tips. Skip the memes How do you know that meme is real?  Sure, it’s got a goofy picture on it and says things you agree with, but that doesn’t make it truthful.  Memes communicate lots of different kinds of information, not all of which is easily categorizable, according to Molloy College professor Jamie Cohen.  In a meme, context is everything, which isn’t always communicable or understandable to a broad audience.  Memes may also serve as a form of folklore, in that they are transmitted person-to-person.  Memes and folklore, including folk stories, share a lot in common, particularly in … Continued
Remembering 9/11, twenty years later

Remembering 9/11, twenty years later

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, New York was going about its business.  As the city that never sleeps, people were already on board the subways, taking buses and heading up the elevators to their offices.  The streets were bustling as usual with shop owners, clerks, tourists, locals, children – everyone who had ever dreamed of New York. At 8:46 that morning, everything changed, forever.  A plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board, including four terrorists.  At 9:03 AM, a second plane struck the South Tower, again with everyone on board killed instantly.  Even more people were trapped on the upper floors of both buildings, all of whom lost their lives.  … Continued
NewsLitCamp: Highlights 2021

NewsLitCamp: Highlights 2021

The NewsLitCamp, hosted by the News Literacy Project, is an outreach program dedicated to providing educators with the latest tools and information that they need to equip their students in the fight against fake news.  This year, 15 reporters and staff members from CNN joined in, offering exclusive insight into the back door of the nation’s top rated cable news network. A useful delineation of terms was presented by John Silva, who directs education initiatives at the News Literacy Project.  “Fake news,” once a distinct term referring to completely fabricated information formatted like a news story, has been overused to the point of uselessness.  It has also taken on the tone of a slur used in disagreements of points of … Continued
How To Trust the News

How To Trust the News

In examining the current news environment, it can be disheartening to see the vast divide in political perspective that colors or slants vital reporting.  While partisan reporting allows consumers to feel more comfortable, having their own biases reinforced, it makes searching for the facts that inform opinions more difficult.  It also complicates finding common ground amongst differently aligned stakeholders. A deeply divided and partisan press has been a hallmark of American media since the beginning, when the Gazette of the United States (supported by Alexander Hamilton and unrepentantly Federalist) and the National Gazette (funded by Thomas Jefferson and rabidly anti-Federalist) were representative of the leading newspapers of the day.  Moreover, anyone could print up leaflets, broadsheets, or pamphlets with whatever … Continued
Media Literacy Week and News Sources

Media Literacy Week and News Sources

Media literacy is a vital skill, allowing people to analyze and understand how messages, particularly those designed to persuade (whether presented anywhere from television news programs to Facebook advertisements), are crafted and how they exert their influence.  A person who is able to recognize and mitigate the hidden influence of others is freer and more able to form reasoned opinions.  Media literacy also helps you responsibly frame your own messages, communicating in the clearest way possible and provoking thought without undue manipulation. Media Literacy Week is October 26-30, and is hosted by the National Association for Media Literacy Education.  Each day will focus on an aspect of media literacy: Access on Monday, Analyze on Tuesday, followed by Evaluate, Create, and … Continued