Fake news is a topic of much discussion and debate. Is there such thing as fake news? Is everything fake?
This infographic (coupled with this article) gave some great insight as to how youth feel about the news in general.
In particular, this picture shows the information that stood out the most to me. A third of students reading stories admitted that what they'd shared was wrong or inaccurate. The same stats were shared in this article by CNN. The Wall Street Journal shared information on a Stanford study with similar findings. Living in a digital age requires that we arm students with what they need in order to be responsible digital citizens. We must teach and model how to find accurate sources so that they know what to do to avoid the "fake news" circus. It's also our responsibility to teach the difference between that and bias.
It reminds me of the old rumors that were spread, like that if you ate pop rocks and drank sprite it could kill you because it could make your stomach explode. I won't lie- I definitely didn't enjoy that combo again until I was old enough to realize that it was "fake news" essentially. What peers share carries a lot of weight among youth, making it all the more important that we teach them how to spot what's real and what's not, or at the very least how to find out.
Personally, I only get my news online. I try to read a lot of different sources and weigh them against one another. I really don't trust what I watch on tv anymore because so much of it feels skewed when weighed against the majority of the information found with a little research. I don't know that this will change all that much when I become a librarian, other than that I'll probably tune in to "popular" news more so I know what patrons are hearing and possibly believing.
Ultimately, I believe there is a lot of fake news out there, but I don't think that's a new problem. It's like racism and bullying... they've been around forever, but all the different media outlets spread it all and stir the pot so much. You used to have a newspaper and a news hour and that was it. Anything else that happened had to wait til the next day for everyone to hear about it unless it was a major world announcement. Since the media won't always act responsibly, we have to make sure our students know how to read and share responsibly.
I really like your image in your post allowing your readers some statistical insight on fake news. I feel the same way about televised news. I do not watch that anymore, I only get my news online. And I make sure to follow the news networks that are known to fall more in the middle to avoid as many biases as I can while staying up to date on what is going on. Since so much news is shared online, this is probably where our students are getting their information as well. We need t make sure we are helping them pick up on biases and non legitimate sources.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Finding the middle of the road sources are so hard and I feel like it's only getting harder. Everyone is shouting their truth louder than the next guy and none of them are giving 100% truths.
DeleteI totally agree with your statement that fake news has been around for years just like racism and bullying. It is just easier to access it because of all the different media outlets spreading it around with different spins on it. So now it is our job to help others read and understand what they are reading as information and guiding them to form their own opinion about how and why they would use or spread that information. I believe it is our job to help them understand the difference in their own information diet but we can't make the decision form them, just like the doctors inform us about eating healthy and taking care of our bodies, but they can't make us do it.
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent analogy!
DeleteHi Erica,
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about watching or reading a variety of news outlet sources for the expressed purpose of seeing all the things our students are seeing. That seems particularly wise to me. I do not know what they are seeing. I live in a very conseravitive town and I can guess at what they see, but maybe I should ask. My school seriously discourages its’ teachers from participating in any social media that includes our kids, our parents, or our policy makers. I would love to know what they are sharing on Facebook.
We absolutely do need to make sure our students can read and share reasonably!
Thank you sharing,
Jeri
Thank you, Jeri! When I became a mom, I had to choose what tv I got to watch (you know... much less time for "me" anymore), and quite honestly news got cut because I wanted to watch my drama shows. (Don't judge.) But- that meant that it got me looking into my news sources for quick, more fact-based approaches. I've really enjoyed not getting quite so much of the main stream junk coming across the screen.
DeleteHi Erica,
ReplyDeleteI honestly believe that fake news is just like those old wives' tales that were shared (and still are)... or like urban legends. A kernel of truth, but not necessarily the entire cob. I thoroughly enjoyed the Liturgists' podcast about Fake News and Media Literacy. Like you, I honestly don't watch television because I know the information given really is skewed. Having a wide-variety information diet is healthy as I remember being told repeatedly by friends abroad that getting my news from BBC or something similar would actually give me better information about what was going on in my own country. I truly feel that our 21st Century standards are one we should be living by as professionals because... we can't teach what we don't practice in this digital age at least.
I loved your blog! Great job!
Jessie Ellibee
Thank you so much Jessie!
DeleteIt's like whenever I see a clip on FB of a coach or even the president... I almost always just scroll on past because they're clipped together to portray whatever someone wants you to see, positive or negative. I almost wish there was an amendment to the first amendment so that we could trust that it was truth and not propaganda. Otherwise- what makes us better than lesser countries who spread their propaganda in similar methods?
Hi Erica-
DeleteAll countries spread their propaganda to a greater or lesser degree. This is where we come in to help our students (and our teachers) understand that everything will have a type of slant. Once we can equip our students with the knowledge of how things are made, and to discern the why of information being proposed in the way it is... it helps to understand our society better. Truth is most definitely a construct, but if we can work hard to illuminate the bias in the information presented, then perhaps the balance of information can be seen. It would be very nice to have an amendment to the first amendment, but because even the most well meaning of us will also have an agenda with what we push forward... I think it best that we equip ourselves and our students with the tools to see that and work around it anyway. This is what I see when I read about our standards for the 21st century learners. I see the educational system saying, "yes, there is a bias here, but we're going to show you how to get at the bare bones of what is being conveyed." And also, "See this video on FB? Can you tell what information they used to splice this piece together? Good. Now, tell me why someone would do that?"
We get to be the awesome detectives or forensic pathologists in this case... working out the details behind the scenes so that at least the steps can be known. What's difficult for me is to guide our students along these steps in small increments until they do see the bigger picture. "Understanding by Design" is a wonderful method to use, but it takes a tremendous amount of practice at learning how to think like differently. This method is most definitely ideal, though, is dealing with information literacy and educating about technology and digital/media. This is where I would love to be around middle and high school students to help expose them to creating these videos... and then having them break those videos down. Just as an exercise for illustrating how easy such manipulations can be with the right materials.
P.S. Sorry for the lengthy reply. It's a fun topic. :)
DeleteJessica- never apologize for that! I love your explanation on how to demonstrate taking apart news to teach students to spot real and fake.
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