Media Literacy and Fake News
Media literacy has always been a topic of interest and passion for me. In my brief stint as a high school English teacher, the first lesson I taught to all of my classes was on how to evaluate news sources, and yes, how to identify "fake news." Needless to say, I wish I'd had the Liturgists podcast under my hat then; "Science Mike" and his "phat beat" would have been a hit, I feel sure. In all sincerity though, it was great to have such a clear and concise set of points that one could use to evaluate a news source (author, publisher, editorial review board, date of publication, cited references, and how well it is written). ALA's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was similarly helpful, providing readers with both a method for evaluating information, background on the need to do so, and then steps for implementation.
"Fake News" is a pervasive and insidious concept in our society that has become increasingly warped and twisted. Often, the term is used to mean something that whoever is using the term does not agree with, or perhaps worse, what they want to be discounted altogether. The video below illustrates the real harm that "fake news" like this can do (TW for Video: Kidnapping, guns). Busari encourages us to consider why the author of the article or post is telling us the information that they are, and to do the extra research needed to verify the facts of what they are saying before sharing, echoing the sentiments of what we discussed in our resources this week.
For myself personally, I like to keep up to date on news from various sources, with AP News and BBC being two favorites of mine. However, I also choose to look into the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, and other news outlets that can provide a varied look at news from most angles, like what was mentioned in The Liturgists podcast (Buzzfeed News has some surprisingly well-done investigative journalism pieces that I love, though they are certainly heavily left-leaning). I believe that my information diet as a librarian should look very similar. The most important thing to remember is that no news source is unbiased, and that every consumer of media should be evaluating that media as they consume it. And on facebook, where fake news seems to run rampant, be exceedingly careful. Don't repost without extensively evaluating, and check into friends' postings as well so that they might know what they are posting is dated or incorrect. Many don't necessarily know the harm they're causing, as referenced in this article I read recently, which gave me an entirely new perspective on the persistence of fake news sharing, particularly in older FB users.
Fake News unfortunately is everywhere. The internet represents freedom, which is beautiful. But when anyone can become a publisher, it is up to all of us to in turn become researchers. We as librarians bear this burden more than any. It always baffles me when people say that the library profession is dying. How? Now more than ever we need people that can separate fact from fiction. Information professionals are vital in the war against misinformation.
References:
Busari, S. [TED]. (2017, May 18). How fake news does real harm | Stephanie Busari [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwVYaY39YbQ
"Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education", American Library Association, February 9, 2015. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework (Accessed September 14, 2019)
Gungor, M. (2017, March 7). Fake News & Media Literacy [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy
Silverman, C. (2019, July 23).What To Do If The Older People In Your Life Are Sharing False Or Extreme Content. Retrieved from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/young-people-worry-about-older-people-sharing-fake-news
"Fake News" is a pervasive and insidious concept in our society that has become increasingly warped and twisted. Often, the term is used to mean something that whoever is using the term does not agree with, or perhaps worse, what they want to be discounted altogether. The video below illustrates the real harm that "fake news" like this can do (TW for Video: Kidnapping, guns). Busari encourages us to consider why the author of the article or post is telling us the information that they are, and to do the extra research needed to verify the facts of what they are saying before sharing, echoing the sentiments of what we discussed in our resources this week.
For myself personally, I like to keep up to date on news from various sources, with AP News and BBC being two favorites of mine. However, I also choose to look into the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, and other news outlets that can provide a varied look at news from most angles, like what was mentioned in The Liturgists podcast (Buzzfeed News has some surprisingly well-done investigative journalism pieces that I love, though they are certainly heavily left-leaning). I believe that my information diet as a librarian should look very similar. The most important thing to remember is that no news source is unbiased, and that every consumer of media should be evaluating that media as they consume it. And on facebook, where fake news seems to run rampant, be exceedingly careful. Don't repost without extensively evaluating, and check into friends' postings as well so that they might know what they are posting is dated or incorrect. Many don't necessarily know the harm they're causing, as referenced in this article I read recently, which gave me an entirely new perspective on the persistence of fake news sharing, particularly in older FB users.
Fake News unfortunately is everywhere. The internet represents freedom, which is beautiful. But when anyone can become a publisher, it is up to all of us to in turn become researchers. We as librarians bear this burden more than any. It always baffles me when people say that the library profession is dying. How? Now more than ever we need people that can separate fact from fiction. Information professionals are vital in the war against misinformation.
References:
Busari, S. [TED]. (2017, May 18). How fake news does real harm | Stephanie Busari [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwVYaY39YbQ
"Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education", American Library Association, February 9, 2015. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework (Accessed September 14, 2019)
Gungor, M. (2017, March 7). Fake News & Media Literacy [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy
Silverman, C. (2019, July 23).What To Do If The Older People In Your Life Are Sharing False Or Extreme Content. Retrieved from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/young-people-worry-about-older-people-sharing-fake-news
Shanna Hunt:
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you pointed out that librarians are still relevant today even in a digital world. So many time people seem to think that because many things are online now, that librarians will need to be phased out. They don't understand that someone needs to help people navigate all of that digital information. We are still relevant, and our skills are still needed.
I think we often forget how impactful "fake news" can be on our students. I love that as an English teacher, you used that as a platform for a beginning of the year lesson. I think you would be able to incorporate that into your library offerings for students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteAnd talk about digital issues. Too many google accounts will confuse your computer when responding. The above post is from me.
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