One of the buzzwords/phrases of the last year or two is “Fake News!” With so many resources out there on the Internet, the reader/viewer is tasked with deciphering content.
For this assignment, you will discuss this problematic development in “news,” and deteremine how to analyze sources for veracity (truthfulness).
(1) Read: http://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/ and watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYc-hd1QSwA. Summarize the content in each.
(2) If you had to help someone spot “fake news,” what would you tell them?
(3) Choose a news article from a reputable media outlet and compare it to an online story that you know is fake (explain how you know it is). Using the checklist provided on the Factcheck web site, compare the two.
(4) Although fake news is not new, it seems harder to distinguish and more accepted now. Why is this the case, do you think? What are the consequences for our democracy if voters cannot determine what news is reliable, and what is “fake?” How can we convince people to question the veracity of the content they consume?
Make sure to follow the General Requirements for Written Assignments, and don’t forget to provide the links to your established news example and the “fake” news example.
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