Media Literacy and Fake News (1 Viewer)

[Ayo]

The Canadian Journalism Federation is taking fake news very seriously. I've worked with media literacy for years, and this is - to date - the most expansively public approach that I've seen, in advance of the Federal Election.

Journalism group launches anti-fake news campaign ahead of Canadian election

Recent polling suggests nearly all Canadians have come across misinformation online, yet only 40 per cent feel they know how to differentiate between fake news and the real thing.

www.thestar.com

If you are engaged online, you have likely been subjected to something that was not true, and yet there isn't much pursuit in trying to determine factual accuracy of the articles and information. And most of us - probably every single one of us here - have fallen for it.

Recent polling by Ipsos, Earnscliffe Strategy Group and MIT researchers suggests nearly all Canadians have come across misinformation online, yet only 40 per cent feel they know how to differentiate between fake news and the real thing.

The polls also found 90 per cent of Canadians admitted to falling for fake news in the past, and only a third of them regularly check to see if the stories they’re consuming are legitimate.

I don't think that their approach is going to be enough. I think the most effective utility it will have is bringing awareness. But fuller approaches to media literacy are going to be necessary to combat the deluge of increasingly deceptive media. These are hard skills that can be learned, but with the advent of new 'deep fake' technology, media literacy is going to have adapt, too.

I would like to see greater emphasis on media literacy in the US. Because even though this statement is for the Canadian audience, it definitely - maybe even more so - applies to the US where news is more infotainment and sensationalized than it is up here:

“To be an engaged citizen, you have to have access to quality journalism… you have to understand what is quality journalism and what is not,” said Richard Gingras, vice-president of Google News.

Another source includes one approach - the SPOT approach: https://www.manitoulin.ca/news-media-canada-launches-new-tool-to-help-people-spot-fake-news/

SPOT is an acronym that acts as a simple way to remember the four principles of identifying misinformation. It works like this:
S: Is this a credible source? Check the source of the article—and be skeptical.
P: Is the perspective biased? Think critically and look for varying viewpoints on an issue.
O: Are other sources reporting the same story? Be your own fact-checker and verify the validity of the story.
T: Is the story timely? Check the date the story was published—sometimes, stories use old information to take advantage of a timely occurrence.

It's obviously not enough, but a decent start.

 

[Dadsdream]

So why do Murdock/Ailes do the exact opposite?

IDK. The bigger issue here is whether a BOMBSHELL in the backseat is different from one in the front seat!

 

[cuddlemonkey]

IDK. The bigger issue here is whether a BOMBSHELL in the backseat is different from one in the front seat!

You have to admit that the alliteration is a nice touch.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

You have to admit that the alliteration is a nice touch.

Of course, were I to have my way, it would have read, "Bolton Bombshell Bumped to Backseat."

 

[GMRfellowtraveller]

IDK. The bigger issue here is whether a BOMBSHELL in the backseat is different from one in the front seat!

No, it’s not

 

[Dadsdream]

No, it’s not

Yes, it is, if the topic is "Media Literacy and Fake News."
Not every single thing can be a "bombshell." Not every tidbit of news can be "explosive."
Not that long ago, only The Globe or the National Enquirer would have used such words over and over and over, day after day.
Now, we've got the granddaddy of all cable news networks, CNN, behaving like the gossip rags of old.
After three years of unending, breathless coverage of the Russia Collusion Hoax, they've got nothing left in the tank but garbage news with garbage sensationalist headlines.
It's become their signature.
Boom! CNN Behaves Like Gossip Rag - Bombshell!

 

[RegularChuck]

Yes, it is, if the topic is "Media Literacy and Fake News."
Not every single thing can be a "bombshell." Not every tidbit of news can be "explosive."
Not that long ago, only The Globe or the National Enquirer would have used such words over and over and over, day after day.
Now, we've got the granddaddy of all cable news networks, CNN, behaving like the gossip rags of old.
After three years of unending, breathless coverage of the Russia Collusion Hoax, they've got nothing left in the tank but garbage news with garbage sensationalist headlines.
It's become their signature.
Boom! CNN Behaves Like Gossip Rag - Bombshell!

I think your post here is more sensational than CNN’s headlines.

 

[samiam5211]

Yes, it is, if the topic is "Media Literacy and Fake News."
Not every single thing can be a "bombshell." Not every tidbit of news can be "explosive."
Not that long ago, only The Globe or the National Enquirer would have used such words over and over and over, day after day.
Now, we've got the granddaddy of all cable news networks, CNN, behaving like the gossip rags of old.
After three years of unending, breathless coverage of the Russia Collusion Hoax, they've got nothing left in the tank but garbage news with garbage sensationalist headlines.
It's become their signature.
Boom! CNN Behaves Like Gossip Rag - Bombshell!

CNN like all successful media, are biased towards maximizing profit. Like a restaurant owner arguing with Gordon Ramsey, they are all desperate to hold on to their current customers that they become obsessed with catering to them.

This is a serious problem culturally with how the market defines success.

It is not nearly as pressing as the actual problem the extravagant headline you complain about is discussing.

 

[GMRfellowtraveller]

Yes, it is, if the topic is "Media Literacy and Fake News."
Not every single thing can be a "bombshell." Not every tidbit of news can be "explosive."
Not that long ago, only The Globe or the National Enquirer would have used such words over and over and over, day after day.
Now, we've got the granddaddy of all cable news networks, CNN, behaving like the gossip rags of old.
After three years of unending, breathless coverage of the Russia Collusion Hoax, they've got nothing left in the tank but garbage news with garbage sensationalist headlines.
It's become their signature.
Boom! CNN Behaves Like Gossip Rag - Bombshell!

At BEST you are arguing that cnn should not do what Ailes sank into the Fox and eventually the republican dna: establish/create the narrative - find the optimal buzzwords - repeat them incessantly across media
It’s curious that now, with the word bombshell, you have issue with the practice

 

[Dadsdream]

At BEST you are arguing that cnn should not do what Ailes sank into the Fox and eventually the republican dna: establish/create the narrative - find the optimal buzzwords - repeat them incessantly across media
It’s curious that now, with the word bombshell, you have issue with the practice

It's not about me. It's about media literacy and fake news.
People who are media literate understand that like any other thing in American culture, things go in cycles.
The current fad is to incorporate words like "explosive" and "bombshell" in news reporting.
The fad has overused the words and rendered them trite and repetitive, so people read past the words without even seeing them anymore.
Now, if you'd rather talk about me than about the subject of the thread, PM me.

 

[GMRfellowtraveller]

It's not about me. It's about media literacy and fake news.
People who are media literate understand that like any other thing in American culture, things go in cycles.
The current fad is to incorporate words like "explosive" and "bombshell" in news reporting.
The fad has overused the words and rendered them trite and repetitive, so people read past the words without even seeing them anymore.
Now, if you'd rather talk about me than about the subject of the thread, PM me.

Fundamental to media literacy is understanding how one’s perspectives informs the way they ‘read’ information n front of them
Without that, those people (all of us) are susceptible to propaganda

Also, thanks for the offer, but I’ll interact with the board the way I choose to interact with the board

 

[CoolBrees]

Thoughts and prayers.

Rush Limbaugh says he's been diagnosed with lung cancer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Conservative radio host and Republican kingmaker Rush Limbaugh said he’s been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer...

apnews.com

 

[BobE]

TBF they corrected themselves 5 hours later after the narrative had been set.

 

[Intensesaint]

TBF they corrected themselves 5 hours later after the narrative had been set.

CNN is fake news..

 

[superchuck500]

Wow. Note there is some strong language.

 

[JimEverett]

Carville is on the right track towards identifying the problem.

 

[Dadsdream]

Carville is on the right track towards identifying the problem.

Carville does not take kindly to New Yorkers badmouthing his beloved Ellis Hugh!

Back on topic: When a media source inserts the words "So Called" into a headline about a presidential action (Example: So-Called Peace Plan) that's an editorial license, which moves the subject piece from the "News" column into the "Editorial Opinion" column.

 

[TheRealTruth]

Carville does not take kindly to New Yorkers badmouthing his beloved Ellis Hugh!

Back on topic: When a media source inserts the words "So Called" into a headline about a presidential action (Example: So-Called Peace Plan) that's an editorial license, which moves the subject piece from the "News" column into the "Editorial Opinion" column.

100% Agree. I saw we had a thread here with so-called in the title and thought it was just the bias of the member here, but it's on the actual NPR story. This honestly surprised me coming from NPR. Using 'so-called' in their headline is both dismissive and passive aggressive.

 

[coldseat]

Wow. Note there is some strong language.

I wonder why those type of comments have never made me feel "attacked"? I mean, I grew up in Louisiana, I went to LSU, I graduated from LSU, you'd think I would be really offended, right? I mean, I should be, according to most. But I'm not in the least.

I guess I've just always seen crap like that as general stereotyping, turned into jokes to take easy swipes at a schools. I guess I've always reacted to that with a smirk and a backhanded retort. But I've never gotten offended and seen it as an actual condemnation of a whole school, all of it's students and a whole region of the country. But apparently I'm supposed to feel that way.

I've seen all kinds of comments about elitist schools, or northeast schools and taken them in the same vane. During football season, we cannibalize each other in the SEC with all kinds of dis back and forth about which school is the most country/backwards, talking about cousins and all kinds of family members. I've seen jokes between ivy league schools about which one is the dumbest or which one you just need money to get into and not actually be smart ( Yale, you can thank W for that.)

I guess I just see it all as that. But that's not the case in a highly politicized culture. For so many (most of whom probably never even attended LSU) it's a crushing blow meant to cast aspersions upon a whole culture.

Maybe my skin is just to thick to get it. IDK.