Media Literacy Basics (1/3)
Summary
TLDRThis workshop focuses on media literacy, emphasizing the importance of understanding and critically evaluating news from various sources. Jessica Keebler and Megan McGivney discuss the evolution of media, from centralized corporations to digital platforms, and the impact on information diversity. They provide strategies for navigating media, including questioning the creator's intent, identifying biases, and seeking multiple perspectives. The session addresses media's potential pitfalls, such as propaganda, conspiracy theories, and sensationalist news, and offers guidance on discerning reliable sources amidst the noise.
Takeaways
- 📚 **Media Literacy Defined**: The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication, including understanding how messages are created and consumed.
- 🌐 **Evolution of Media**: From centralized mass media controlled by corporations or state entities to a decentralized digital landscape with diverse sources and individual contributions.
- 🤔 **Navigating Media**: It's crucial to question who created the media, their goals, what's left out, other perspectives, your agreement with the content, and the intended audience.
- 📰 **Types of Media**: Distinguish between local, national, and international news outlets, recognizing each has its own purposes, agendas, and journalistic standards.
- 🎯 **Bias and Editorialization**: Be aware of infotainment, commentary news, and how they may present news stories with a slant towards a particular ideology or for entertainment.
- 🔍 **Critical Evaluation**: When consuming media, consider the emotional language, the presence of bias, and the inclusion or exclusion of certain voices and perspectives.
- 📈 **Media's Impact on Society**: Understand the role of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and sensationalist news in creating polarization and chaos in the media landscape.
- 🚫 **Red Flags in Media**: Be wary of media that uses emotional language, presents only one side of a story, lacks references or citations, or provides unreliable sources.
- 📌 **Trusted News Sources**: Recognize that all media has some form of bias, but there are generally trusted sources that provide a broader context and factual reporting.
- 💡 **Balanced Consumption**: Aim for a balanced media diet, being aware of the potential for misinformation and the importance of fact-checking and critical thinking.
Q & A
What is media literacy according to the video?
-Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication. It involves understanding how messages are created and consumed in various forms of media.
How has the media landscape changed with the advent of digital technologies?
-Digital technologies, particularly social media, have allowed for a freer flow of information, reducing reliance on single information sources. This has led to a decentralization of news and an increase in the variety of sources from which information can be obtained.
What are the different types of media formats discussed in the video?
-The video discusses traditional media formats like print, radio, and television, and also includes newer formats such as the internet, social media, and hybrid media forms like paid posts that blend advertising and editorial content.
Why is it important to be aware of the media's agenda and purpose when consuming news?
-Understanding the media's agenda and purpose is crucial because it helps consumers critically evaluate the information presented, ensuring they are not swayed by bias or propaganda, and can discern the accuracy and fairness of the news.
What are some strategies to navigate media effectively as outlined in the video?
-Some strategies include asking critical questions such as who created the media, what is their goal, what is being left out, are there other perspectives, and whether the information is intended for a particular group or ideology.
How does the video differentiate between news, commentary, and opinion pieces?
-The video explains that news is meant to provide objective facts, commentary often has a clear political bias and aims to persuade, while opinion pieces present one person's interpretation of the facts and are not expected to present all sides of a story.
What role do sensationalist news sources play in the media landscape according to the video?
-Sensationalist news sources often use emotionally charged language and present information in a way that is designed to trigger reactions and favor a particular viewpoint. They can contribute to polarization and misinformation if not critically evaluated.
Why are memes and satire problematic when used as sources of information according to the video?
-Memes and satire are problematic because they often lack citations, condense complex topics into oversimplified images or jokes, and can be created by anyone without factual verification. They can spread misinformation quickly and are often mistaken for factual information.
What are some red flags to look for when evaluating the credibility of a news source as mentioned in the video?
-Red flags include the use of emotional language, presenting only one side of a situation, and a lack of references or citations. Additionally, relying on sources that only link back to themselves can be a sign of unreliable reporting.
How does the video suggest improving one's media literacy skills?
-The video suggests improving media literacy by critically engaging with media, asking the right questions, seeking out a variety of perspectives, fact-checking, and being aware of one's own biases when consuming information.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Media Literacy Workshop
The video script introduces a workshop on media literacy, focusing on news media. Jessica Keebler and Megan McGivney present, discussing the evolution of media and the importance of understanding it. They define media literacy as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using various forms of communication. The script emphasizes that media literacy is not just about consuming media but also about creating and using information responsibly. The presenters encourage viewers to reflect on their own media consumption and confidence in navigating news and other forms of media.
🌐 Understanding the Media Landscape
This section delves into the various forms of media, from traditional print, radio, and television to the internet and social media. It discusses how the media landscape has changed, with a shift from centralized news sources to a more diverse and decentralized model. The script highlights the complexity of modern media, where advertisements can resemble articles and tweets can be news. It also touches on the different types of news outlets, from local to international, and the unique purposes and standards each might have.
🔍 Critical Questions for Media Consumption
The script provides a set of critical questions to ask when consuming media, such as the creator's intent, what's being omitted, and whether other perspectives are included. It uses examples from various news sources to illustrate how to apply these questions. The examples include an opinion piece from the Washington Times and a straight news article from The Insider, showing how different outlets can present the same story with different biases and focuses. The section emphasizes the importance of being aware of one's own emotions and opinions when reading and the value of seeking out additional perspectives.
📰 Analyzing News Articles and Bias
This part of the script analyzes specific news articles to demonstrate how to identify and understand bias. It looks at articles from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, showing how they present information in a more balanced and factual manner compared to more sensationalist or opinion-driven pieces. The script also discusses the role of local news in providing on-the-ground perspectives and the importance of considering multiple sources to get a comprehensive view of a story.
🚨 When Media Goes Wrong: Propaganda and Misinformation
The script addresses the darker side of media, including propaganda, conspiracy theories, and the misuse of information. It discusses how propaganda can be used to manipulate opinions and spread false narratives, using examples like Russia Today and the weaponization of mask-wearing debates. It also touches on the dangers of conspiracy theories, such as Pizzagate and QAnon, and the impact of bots and misinformation on social media. The section serves as a warning about the chaos these elements can cause in the media landscape and the importance of being a critical consumer of news.
🤔 Navigating Media with Skepticism and Discourse
The final part of the script emphasizes the need for skepticism in media consumption, warning against the dangers of believing everything or nothing at all. It discusses the role of memes and satire in spreading misinformation and the importance of fact-checking. The script provides a list of trusted news sources and red flags to look for in unreliable media. It concludes with a call for discourse over debate, encouraging viewers to engage in open conversations based on facts and critical thinking.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Media Literacy
💡Bias
💡Infotainment
💡Digital Technologies
💡Conspiracy Theories
💡Satire
💡Memes
💡Fact-Checking
💡Polarization
💡Bots
💡Local News
Highlights
Introduction to the concept of media literacy and its importance in navigating news and various media formats.
Definition of media literacy as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.
Discussion on the evolution of media from centralized corporations to digital platforms allowing for a wider range of information sources.
The role of social media in changing the landscape of news consumption and the potential for information bias.
Importance of understanding how messages are created and consumed in media for media literacy.
The complexity of modern media, including the blending of advertisements with news content.
Differentiation between local, national, and international news sources and their respective scopes and biases.
Exploration of infotainment and commentary news, highlighting the editorial choices and potential biases in news presentation.
Advice on self-reflection for media consumers to assess their confidence in navigating news and media.
Strategies for evaluating media sources by asking critical questions about the creator's intent, omitted information, and perspectives.
Analysis of a Washington Times opinion piece to demonstrate how to identify and navigate media bias.
Comparison of news coverage from different sources to illustrate the variance in factual reporting and opinion presentation.
Discussion on the role of sensationalist news and the dangers of misinformation in polarizing the media landscape.
Examples of propaganda in media, including government-run media and its impact on public perception.
The impact of conspiracy theories and misinformation on public trust and the media landscape.
The role of bots in spreading false information and their influence on public opinion.
Critique of memes as a source of news, highlighting their lack of citations and potential for spreading misinformation.
Satire as a form of media and the importance of recognizing its humorous intent versus mistaking it for factual news.
Encouragement for media consumers to find a balanced approach to news consumption, avoiding extreme skepticism or gullibility.
Conclusion with a call to action for discourse over debate, emphasizing the need for thoughtful conversation in media literacy.
Transcripts
hello everyone and welcome to media
literacy basics
so we are going to briefly discuss
all kinds of media today but we're
really going to be focusing on
news in this workshop and across the
other two that we will be having this
month
so just to introduce ourselves my name
is jessica keebler
and i am an instructional services
librarian at the mortola library
and i am presenting today with megan
mcgivney an
english adjunct professor at the new
york city campus
so what are we going to talk about in
today's session first
we'll define what media literacy is
we will talk about what and who are the
media
we'll talk about what happens when the
media goes wrong and then we'll talk
about some strategies and examples
for navigating media so let's take a
look at a definition
media literacy is not only the ability
to understand information being
presented to us
but also determining the best way to
respond to it when we say media we are
speaking about the way people
communicate around the world
whether it is through print radio and
television the internet or new forms of
media
for the past century mass media has been
produced by corporations or state
entities
that control the content of messages
communicated to the public
these organizations edit news
advertising and other information
before the public sees the final product
new digital technologies such as social
media
allow for a new freer flow of
information no longer do we rely solely
on one source of information
but our information comes from a wide
variety of sources
in addition each and every person has
the ability to contribute to the public
exchange of knowledge
of course the information that we
receive may still be biased
so it is important that we understand
how messages are created and consumed
in all forms of media this understanding
is the definition of media literacy
so that's a basic definition of media
literacy and how it has
developed so it's the ability to access
analyze evaluate create and act using
all forms of communication
so notice that creating information and
using information responsibly are
also parts of media literacy not just
consuming
so when you share information or create
your own posts and videos
that is part of using media
so we just want you to take a moment you
can pause the video if you need to
and just reflect on your own news and
media consumption so
how confident do you feel in navigating
the news
or how confident do you feel in
navigating other forms of media
as well
so what is what does media look like
because in the span of a day
you may encounter tweets books
videos website articles advertisements
and there may be cases of hybrid media
like this paid
post from ibm on the new york times
which is
really an ad and an article so media
sometimes spans
types of sources and
as i just mentioned sometimes ads look
like articles and tweets can be
news so it's easy to see how the term
media is really
complex these days so with that let's
step back and simplify for a bit
so the term media by definition is a
format
and the first three here print radio and
television
still exist obviously but they're no
longer the main way that people stay up
to date with fast-moving information
such as news
and the web really started to become a
format for news
in the mid 1990s but really became
indispensable in the early 2000s
and that includes social media and as we
began to
really see an increase over the past few
decades of the term
media being used to describe news as a
whole
it's usually in a derogatory way to kind
of express
who controls the story when really media
is about
format okay so as the video mentioned
prior to the internet news was more
centralized into a few companies that
edited the news
television news really started to become
more diverse in the 1980s
and then added more voices to the
conversation then the internet kind of
exploded and there was more competition
and less people were paying for new
subscriptions like physical papers for
their house
so revenue decreased and there was a
huge decentralization of news and a lot
more different outlets
which leads us to now where there are so
many places to get news and we really
have to be savvy about reviewing each
source and each individual piece of
information
so if we look at the different location
based news outlets
we have our local news which in the in
new york we could consider
low hud the journal news for the hudson
valley is a local
i guess county-sized paper but you may
have town newspapers too
then there's more national coverage like
the new york times although they do
cover international they do mostly
america
and then there's international there's
bbc al jazeera
there's lots of different international
news organizations
but now media also includes all of these
other news outlets at the bottom
all of these organizations have their
own purposes agendas
selection criteria for stories and
journalism standards
so for example infotainment is the term
that we use for uh news that's meant to
entertain
it provides you with information but at
the end of the day the purpose is to
make you laugh like daily show
or the today show to kind of get your
day started so they may
present news stories but they're going
to present either the ones that are the
most um
important for the day or the ones that
are just going to
entertain you make you laugh make you
smile so there are some editorial
is there is editorialization happening
where they're selecting specific stories
to tell you based on their purpose
similarly with commentary news they have
to run for 24 hours a day
so they're going to be editorializing in
a different way they're going to be
telling you
either everything that you need to know
or repeating the same things
over and over again so the different
viewers who join throughout the day
will be able to get all of that
information and a lot of time though
those are very biased towards a
particular um
ideological side so those we really
consider commentary versus street
objective news
there's also online magazines like the
atlantic and the national review
they may also have print versions as
well
or they may have uh completely
transitioned online
some of those are general uh
in terms of the their political leanings
some are more conservative some are more
liberal so
you would just have to evaluate for that
and then there's commentary
and company websites that are more uh
geared towards trades so cnet for
computers
uh the hollywood reporter for the
entertainment industry
uh and these are really geared towards
telling people
news in that particular arena so take a
second again maybe you want to pause the
video
and just think think a little bit where
do you currently get your news uh were
any of the places that you go
represented in the previous slide
and then why do you get it there
so according to every news organization
the purpose may be
to inform but as media consumers we
should be evaluating how they're doing
at that goal
we know that infotainment such as the
today show is sharing news but they're
also eliminating some stories that they
don't want to share during their
feel-good time
news commentary like cnn and fox have
clear political biases so
it would seem like they're trying to
persuade you to think like them
so does that mean that we avoid this
media altogether no we don't have to
um but we hope that across these
sessions that we can explain how asking
the right questions of
both ourselves and the media that we're
consuming that can help us determine
what is most accurate fair and balanced
so these are some questions that you can
ask yourself when you're navigating any
type of media
so who created this what's their goal
what is being left out are there other
perspectives that are not represented
do i agree with what's being said
sometimes that can actually be causing
us to
lean towards confirmation bias if i
agree with it i may be
inclined to just believe it more without
critically thinking about it
who is it intended for is it for a
particular
group a trade a specific ideology
uh that kind of goes back to what their
goal was who is it intended for
and whose voices are included or
excluded should we seek out
additional perspectives are all the
stakeholders involved in the story
quoted or is their side being presented
so let's look at some examples
so this is an article from the
washington times
and if we don't know whether or not this
is a
straight objective news source we can
look at their header
it says reliable reporting the right
opinion
and if we go to their about page it'll
confirm that
right in this case in means conservative
so
that's the viewpoint that they're
bringing to their journalism
we also want to note that it's an
opinion piece sometimes that can be easy
to miss when we're reading
news websites because we're just
scanning through as quickly as we
possibly can
but it is an opinion and opinion pieces
are valuable because they do provide
various perspectives on straight
objective facts
but we do have to be aware that this is
one person's opinion and not
all of the facts of the story
so the headline is joe biden finally
finds copy of constitution on mask
mandates
so we can ask ourselves who created this
media what's their goal
as we said it's a conservative media
outlet so their goal is to connect with
their intended audience of conservatives
um and it's this author's interpretation
of the facts
so what's being left out we may consider
if it's a conservative media outlet that
maybe there's another
side that is missing so we want to find
what's factually accurate
consider the opinion and then see if
there are other facts to the story as
well
in looking outside into other
sources on this story and then do i
agree with
what's being said it's very important to
be in touch with your own emotions and
opinions as you read especially when
you're reading
other opinion pieces so here's a little
bit
of the analysis itself there's some
highlighted portions add this to the
reasons not to vote for joe biden
actually this should be a constitutional
no duh
and it's what took him so long to reach
this obvious conclusion
so you know one thing to look for when
reading for bias although we did
establish this is an opinion piece
uh you want to be looking for emotional
sarcastic insulting language
um so it's their prerogative to approach
it this way
but you if you encounter this in what's
being presented as a straight objective
news story
that would be a problem as i said
opinion pieces and their perspectives
aren't
are valuable but the problem is when we
have only commentary and we forget to
hold tight to the facts
that's when we can have hyper
polarization that we're kind of engaging
in right now
so here's another perspective on the
mask mandate story
um this is actually from a straight
objective news source and it's not an
opinion piece
it's from the insider which i googled to
find out a little more about them
they're an american media
company known for publishing financial
news
it's very recent i think it was two days
before the previous article
but notice the headline is a lot less
emotional it's
it's a factual statement kamala harris
walks
back biden's call for a nationwide
mandate to wear a mask
and here's some of the content so kamala
harris the democratic vice prince
presidential nominee walked back joe
biden's promise for a nationwide mandate
to wear a mask saying that they will
enforce
a standard of mask wearing it will not
be
a nationwide burden to wear a mask so
we kind of looked at who created this
and what their goal is their goal seems
to be
to provide a objective straight facts
from of what happened
um and we can see in comparing this to
the opinion piece that this one focused
on the clarification of language from
the biden campaign
as opposed to their interpretation of
the original
statement and in order to see what's
being left out we would want to read the
rest of the article
see the facts that they present and ask
ourselves are they providing a back
story are they explaining why
this happened using the facts involved
again same thing even though we're
reading a straight opinion or a straight
news piece rather than an opinion we
still want to be in touch with our
emotions and opinions as we read
i might agree with this so i might just
wholeheartedly accept it as fact
but i want to again critically think and
consider
what's the truth
so here's another story called absence
of coronavirus a deal prompts blame game
in washington uh this is actually from
the wall street journal
so if i wasn't sure i could check their
um
their bias and their leaning to verify
that this is presented as
a street news story again a
non-emotionally charged headline
um it does say blame game but that's
actually pretty standard right
uh we have to go past the headlines even
if it was
a slightly biased headline we'd still
want to go past the headline and really
find out what the article says
so in the article it says that
democrats privately hope that prospects
of a larger deal will improve after the
election
but then they say that republicans are
saying democratic ambitions for a larger
package block
narrower help for households and
businesses so this is about a blame game
that's what they're saying the article
is about and you can see that they're
considering both sides
they're not just looking at um how one
side is acting
and saying that it's a blame game so
again with things like this
we want to be sure of our opinion and
this seems to be
um intended for general audiences
although the wall street journal
is known for their business reporting so
they are taking kind of a financial
angle
as well and later in the article they
quote someone else involved
the senate finance committee chair chuck
grassley who's a republican from iowa
so he said if you'd asked me two or
three weeks ago i'd say things are very
very negative referring to the economic
impact of no further stimulus aid
so they're talking to someone involved
someone who has
a stake in this as a senate finance
committee chairman
so again we want to look for additional
perspectives they're going to add
more context and facts so i could
the way we looked at the masked mandate
article in two different places
we might want to look for information on
this
topic in additional places so there's a
website called
allsides.com and they do a nice
side by side like is shown here from the
center
from the right and from the left and how
this information is being presented and
they will link to those articles
sometimes it's not an easy split of you
know right center left
they do kind of make it very tidy and
like it easily splits up and that's not
always the case but
sometimes it is very easy to see
so these are very openly biased sources
which we'd call sensationalist news
so right help alternet report the truth
um
republicans disgraceful relief bills the
real reason they're keeping americans
home
so a lot of this is uh trying to trigger
emotions in you
and trying to make you feel like you
don't know the truth if you read
other sources other than them so if you
choose to read these you know be aware
of your emotions
be aware of the facts that you know to
be true and be pretty skeptical
we'll look at an example right now
so this is actually an opinion piece you
know we'll start by saying that
but it is a really tiny note about it
being an opinion piece
um and it was right there on the main
page
so this is called while fauci tells us
to hunker down sweden's no lockdown
coronavirus results speak for themselves
sweden took the right path in response
to the virus
again an opinion piece they are entitled
to
presenting their perspective but if we
look at some of the content
it says that sweden has been ridiculed
as the country taking the dangerous and
novel approach by shielding the
vulnerable and letting the rest achieve
herd immunity quickly
but if you know more about the facts of
the case
they have not reached herd immunity now
as of september 2020
and they did not reach it quickly so
that is
non-factual information it also says
despite having no lockdown however
sweden
didn't lock down totally but they did
have strict regulations
um and this again is something that's
not reported in
an entirely nuanced way that it actually
occurred
in the real world um and if we ask
ourselves some of those previous
questions before
you know what is the goal of this media
who is it intended for
you can clearly see what the agenda is
um
in trying to favor the swedish response
versus the american response
so what would this reporting look like
in a more straight objective
news source so this is from bloomberg
swedish coveted infections drop after
steady distancing patterns
so again they are referencing that
infections did drop
so they are acknowledging that but they
are saying that
this is it was thanks to citizens
voluntarily adhering to social
distancing guidelines
so cultural differences in terms of
voluntarily adhering to social
distancing was not mentioned in the
previous articles
or the previous article they also talk
about the fact that sweden's less
stringent approach
was done because they felt like if they
had to have these
in place for a long time they should be
less strict and that's way more nuanced
than saying no restrictions
so they had no lockdown but yes there
were
strict social distancing restrictions in
place
and i believe the article does go into
some examples of those as well
it also says that ironically places like
denmark and norway
have already rolled back their severe
lockdowns and now
places like norway and finland have less
restrictions
than sweden so sweden is more locked
down than others now
and that was not addressed in the
previous article
so you can see how this one is a much
more fair and balanced view and whereas
the previous one
cherry picked a lot of information to
fit what they were trying to say
and to fit their argument so again
another
sensationalist news example which we can
use to kind of show the difference
in um in coverage and how important
a variety of coverage is so if i only
got my news from alternet
uh i would think that i was only getting
one personal story this woman's opinion
on the cause of the fires that it had to
do
with just western capitalism
but that doesn't give me much factual
information or context
but when i look at the new york times
coverage we see a scientific perspective
a political view
updates from the ground and you see how
much there is to this complex issue
again does this say that new york times
is the
perfect always straight unbiased news
source
absolutely not but it shows that they
have
a variety of coverage and a variety of
perspectives
as opposed to just sensationalist news
stories
and they're grounded in fact uh even if
again there can be a little bit of bias
at times
things are nuanced and there's context
that's the main point
or it's always valuable to go directly
to a local source here is the oregonian
um this is only part of their local
coverage and you would actually be
getting perspective from people living
through this
news of the wildfires so whatever story
that you're reading about
you know who what are the local news
sources that might have an on
the ground perspective so those are some
examples of
actually applying those questions to
news but now let's talk a little bit
about when media goes wrong
you know how have we kind of become so
polarized and while that's a huge
complex answer
there are some specific problems to be
aware of so propaganda is the spreading
of ideas information or rumor for the
purpose of helping or
injuring an institution a cause or a
person
so some examples would be like russia
today which is a government-run media
that means that anything critical of the
government will not be shown and they
will purposely run information that's
intended to support the state and harm
its critics
and we can see how that could be
manipulative and potentially dangerous
um while it's really different some
consider cnn and fox propaganda for each
political party
because they are so clearly biased
another example
of information being weaponized as
propaganda
um rather than like just a media outlet
is information being used in the mask
wearing debate
uh you know mask wearing has been used
in a variety of ways to be equated with
liberalism a loss of rights being
anti-american
and um being anti-mask wearing is being
seen
um as supporting the president so the
memes the articles the videos
that are spreading these ideas are
intended to sway people in favor of
their side you know making it
almost a form of propaganda
another dangerous use of information are
conspiracy theories
they're a form of propaganda at times
and and they
involve incredibly detailed false
stories so one example
was the info info wars story that the
sandy hook shooting was a made up event
to push an anti-gun agenda
as you can imagine this was incredibly
hurtful to the families
and it was an emotional trigger for many
people um but the motives were to spread
distrust in the government and the
mainstream media
and authority um who he believed was
creating
these mass shootings to push gun control
and the families have been subjected to
harassment to death threats from
followers so there were real
consequences
to these theories and um those are
common conspiracy theory motives in
terms of
you know spreading distrust about um the
government and authority and what's true
and not
true another more recent phenomenon is q
anon itself as well as the more specific
wayfare conspiracy
uh so q anon is a lot more complex to
define here but as a mu
a movement they're trying to recruit
people who care about an issue like
child trafficking
but in the end they're not really
helping anyone
last month they suggested that the
company wayfair was trafficking children
through expensive items on their website
however the hoax has caused issues for
human trafficking organizations who have
said please stop
calling us because they don't have
legitimate leads and they're clogging up
the lines from people who have real tips
so big key words to look for with
conspiracy theories are we know the
truth or
you're being lied to and you know we
could really do a whole session on
conspiracy theories
but we're just touching on them in the
harm that they do to real people
and the media landscape when everything
is nefarious
and they're the only ones who know the
truth
and then we have bots so you know when
used nefariously they can
be used like they have been on social
media
to create uh new posts post false
information
and generate confusion because they're
really just simple computer programs
that automate tasks and make them easier
bot farms have been accused as being
part of russian interference in the 2016
election
by posting fake information about the
political race and
sowing um distrust between people
so why are we spending so much time on
these negative influences
because they create chaos in the media
landscape which turn people away from
real news
and it's important to be aware of that
and recognize it when you see it
oh and memes so we're just going to say
it
memes are a terrible way to consume
information especially news
and don't get me wrong memes are amazing
they're one of the funnest ways to
communicate
but they're problematic when they're
masqueraded as informational
why is that because they rarely have
citations
they try to condense a nuanced topic
into a single image
they usually only show one side of a
situation and they're
biased in motivation usually and they
can be made by anyone
so here's an example
why is this inaccurate about mount
rushmore
because here's a quote from the fact
check on snopes.com
so even though this meme highlighted key
elements of mount rushmore's darkest
history some of its facts were incorrect
or pulled out of necessary context
so the problem is that when history is
taken out of context and all the facts
are not shared
they become easy to manipulate and
that's because they're so easy to share
it can be spread too quickly to contain
it's actually very easy to spread
misinformation and takes a lot more time
to correct it
and then we have satire so satire is
really just a form of humor that uses
irony sarcasm parody
and it pokes fun at kind of the
absurdity of the world
the onion is one of the best known
outlets for
a satire but you have to keep in mind
that if you see them shared around that
it is satire
and it's meant to be funny not real and
the problem is sometimes people don't
realize that
so at one point um sean hannity
and a congressman actually used
uh their the onion articles
both on television and in a committee
without realizing
that they were fake uh so sometimes
people can
uh use this information in a way that's
not accurate and create a lot of
problems
so at this point you might be saying
well then what the heck am i supposed to
believe
and this has also become a problem with
our media landscape so many people
believe nothing
and that is really ripe for conspiracies
and for people to think that everyone is
manipulating them
um you know the skeptic may just say
well it's all fake so i'm not going to
believe anything
um or there's just people who believe
everything that conforms to their
worldview
which is also dangerous so you want to
be somewhere in the middle
just like junk food a bit is okay but
too much is bad for the body
so for an example you can google a video
that shows how one incorrect fact from a
microsoft report about human beings
having an eight second attention span
was so widely believed
because multiple news sources reported
it over and over again without fact
checking
so they those people believed everything
um but meanwhile people are so skeptical
of news
that they think information on kovid 19
is a hoax
so both ends of the spectrum can be
problematic um if the people in the 8
second attention span
video had just taken a few seconds to
fact check
they would have seen that that wasn't
calculated accurately
and if the people who believe covet is a
hoax are a little more open to factual
information we could all meet in the
middle
so let's review the questions for
navigating the media
uh we've already looked through those
and then there's also some red flags
for news as well so if you see sources
with these red flags you want to move on
and find something else so you're
looking for emotional language
only one side of a situation presented
and a lack of references or citations
or i might also say references that link
within that same source so they're
providing themselves as their source
so here are some trusted news sources
and we say generally
because as we've already expressed all
media leaves out some part of the story
all media has a purpose and but that's
not necessarily purposeful manipulation
they just have a particular purpose and
it has to
fit your information need so when there
is so much information to present
you know journalists are writing to
catch stories while having their own
human
biases and it's really up to you as the
reader to critically think
look for broader context and to ask
information so
do you feel more confident now in
navigating the news
notice the appropriate use of a meme no
misinformation in sight
and i'll leave you with this quote from
the news
literacy project we need discourse not
debate
debates have winners and losers while
discourse is a conversation
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