CONCLUSION
“The era of the penny press, yellow journalism, and jazz journalism is still with us in a new format, but quite recognizable. It just hasn’t been given a new name” (Cohen 2000, 121). Fake news is not new, it’s just the latest moniker for an age-old phenomenon; and consequently, it’s not going away. When the fake news moniker has faded, the problem will still exist, and eventually it will reemerge with a new name. While we are currently living in a post-truth era, information will continue to proliferate and dominate our society, coloring how we learn, play, and interact with the world. The more information we have access to, the harder it becomes to pick out the good bits, use them, and relevantly apply them to our lives. Devising ways to educate consumers of all ages, inside and outside of formal educational settings, is an important topic that is not limited to any one area or group of people, or any one discipline of study. The acquisition and implementation of metaliteracy skills are a long-term and integral part of addressing the reach and influence of fake news and misinformation and disinformation.
Let’s return to the True or False? headlines from chapter 1.
- True or False? Ariana Grande Left Bloodied and Dazed after Manchester Bombing
- False. A picture of a seemingly bloodied Grande was circulated, primarily on Twitter, after the terrorist bombing that occurred outside of her May 2017 concert in Manchester, England. The picture was taken years earlier on the set of an American television show entitled Scream Queens, which was a comedic horror story. The picture of Grande was from the set, after the scene where her character was killed and she was wearing fake blood. While the events and the picture were real in their own rights, they were mashed together, yellow journalism-style, to create a more dramatic and click-worthy Internet story.
- Check the source: “Ariana Grande Emerges with Cut and Bloodied Face Following Scream Queens Filming,” www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/ariana-grande-emerges-cut-bloodied-5940376
- True or False? Native American Names Deleted off Facebook
- True. There have been several occasions and stories about Native American social media users having their Facebook accounts suspended or deleted for using “fake names.” Tribal names have erroneously been considered fake, and are either reported to Facebook by other users or flagged by Facebook staff. These users have had to produce identification with their legal names in order to restore their accounts. Some users have reported having their accounts suspended or deleted more than once.
- Check the source: “Facebook Still Suspending Native Americans Over ‘Real Name’ Policy,” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/16/facebook-real-name-policy-suspends-native-americans
- True or False? London Mayor Sadiq Khan Says Citizens Have No Reason to Be Alarmed Following Terror Attack
- True and False. After the May 2017 terrorist bombing in Manchester, England, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was criticized on social media for downplaying events and advising citizens not to be alarmed. In fact, Khan did express that sentiment, but his full statement reveals that he actually advised his constituents to not be alarmed by the increased police presence in the aftermath of the bombing. This is a prime example of comments taken out of context, and the lack of context can create confusion and completely change the meaning of the original remarks. It is not quite yellow journalism, but the effect is the same: salacious headlines that get people’s attention for the wrong reasons.
- Check the source: “London’s Mayor Said There’s ‘No Reason to Be Alarmed’ by a Terrorist Attack?” www.snopes.com/2017/06/04/london-mayor-sadiq-khan-no-reason-to-be-alarmed-trump
- True or False? J. K. Rowling Mocks President Trump for Tweeting in the Third Person
- True. While the headline may not seem true, it is indeed a factual statement. However ridiculous it may seem to people who do not follow Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, she does indeed mock, or troll, Donald Trump on a regular basis on social media.
- Check the source: “J. K. Rowling Mocks President Trump for Tweeting in the Third Person,” http://time.com/4765203/j-k-rowling-donald-trump-third-person-tweet
- True or False? Ireland Just Elected Their First Gay Prime Minister
- True. In June 2017 Leo Varadkar was indeed elected Ireland’s prime minister. While the headline is correct, the wording is reductionist and could be perceived as questionable to readers not familiar with Varadkar, Ireland, or the country’s political climate. The wording of the headline is designed to entice clicks or views. Varadkar is indeed gay and he is of Indian descent; his election is a celebration of diversity and indicative of the strides that Ireland has made in recent years.
- Check the source: “Leo Varadkar Was Just Voted to Become Prime Minister of Ireland,” www.teenvogue.com/story/leo-varadkar-was-just-voted-prime-minister-of-ireland?mbid=social_facebook
- True or False? Man Mowed Lawn during Tornado
- True. In June 2017 a spectacular picture made the social media rounds, showing a man mowing his lawn with a large and significant funnel cloud in the background. The picture was initially thought to be fake, a photoshopped image created to get attention. This example draws attention to the proliferation of fake images that exist and are shared online. It’s also an example that indicates that audiences do have some level of skepticism when consuming information and visual images.
- Check the source: “Man Mowed Lawn during Tornado?” www.snopes.com/man-mowed-lawn-tornado/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
- True or False? Maxine Waters Blames the London Attack on Climate and Health Care “Inaction”
- False. After the May 2017 terrorist bombing in Manchester, England, it was reported that U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters made these claims about the cause of the British tragedy via Twitter. In fact, the tweet was sent from a parody account @MaxineVVaters (notice the two capital Vs designed to look like the W in Waters). The fake account copied Waters’s profile picture and details to mimic her real account and look official to cursory glances. The congresswoman’s actual Twitter account is @MaxineWaters and is verified with the platform’s blue checkmark, which indicates that the account has been vetted and certified to be a legitimate account. This is an example of a fake account, which are very common, and reminds us to be wary of tweets that are reported in other venues, for example, tweets that are embedded in articles and other social media platforms. There are many fake tweet generators that mimic legitimate accounts, usually of celebrities and other public figures, and that are used to trick readers and spread disinformation. Examples of tweet generators include http://faketrumptweet.com, https://tweeterino.com, and http://tweetfake.com. There are also fake Facebook status generators (www.prankmenot.com/?facebook_status) and fake web page generators (www.twerkerapp.com). All of these sites rely on visual familiarity and emphasize the need for strong visual literacy skills.
- Check the source: “Did Maxine Waters Blame the London Attack on Climate and Health Care ‘Inaction’?” www.snopes.com/maxine-waters-london-attack-climate-healthcare/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
- True or False? Fish Swim in the Streets of Miami at High Tide
- True. Despite being seemingly unbelievable, this headline is true, and indicative of ongoing severe weather conditions in Miami. Because Miami is very near water, high tides and eroding shorelines enable fish and other water-based wildlife to travel inland. This phenomenon is quite well documented and photographed.
- Check the source:
Consider the same questions that opened this report; now that you have gained some new and additional knowledge about the fake news phenomenon, have your answers changed?
- ▪ Why do these headlines ring true or false?
- ▪ If you saw these headlines on social media, would you share them with your networks?
- ▪ How would you present and explain these examples to others? What strategies and resources would you suggest?
For information professionals, particularly for those who have taught in any capacity, evaluating websites and information is not new, and the tips and tricks given below will be familiar. However, they bear repeating, as we prepare for our expanded roles as truth workers. Along with metaliteracy, these strategies should be incorporated into a larger mindset and incorporated into a larger repertoire of skills that will be used to evaluate all types of information, not just fake news.
Triangulate
- ▪ When you see a headline or caption about a news item, especially on social media, can you verify it with at least two other sources? Chances are that if you can’t verify or find the information in another location, the information is false.
Check your own biases
- ▪ Are you assuming the information is true or false on the basis of your personal beliefs and leanings?
Read outside your bubble
- ▪ If you are a New York Times devotee, do you read Breitbart News (and vice versa)? You may not agree with what you read in other sources, but it can be helpful to be aware of the wide range of opinions that exist outside of your inner circle.
Know the difference between satire, propaganda, infotainment, opinion, and dog-whistling
- ▪ They are all related, but there are nuances between them. Knowing these distinctions will help you evaluate information.
Check Snopes, Politifact, FactCheck.org, Know Your Meme, and other fact-checking sources
- ▪ Again, can you triangulate the information you’re reading/seeing?
Check the headline
- ▪ Is the headline in ALL CAPS? Is the language extreme, absurd, absolute, or flowery?
Check the source
- ▪ Is this a source you’re familiar with? Is there an author? Do you know them?
What’s their angle?
- ▪ Is this source considered conservative, liberal, or in between? Is what you’re reading an advertisement or otherwise sponsored content?
Does the website have an “about” page?
Is the site overrun with ads?
Are there supporting sources or citations?
Check the date
- ▪ Is this news current? Or is the site appropriating old news to further a point or agenda?
Evaluating information, especially online information, and being a savvy information consumer encompasses many kinds of literacy—information, media, visual, digital, and so on. Identifying fake tweets and social media statuses (e.g., FakeTrumpTweet.com and http://simitator.com/generator/facebook), spotting photoshopped images, recognizing the underlying content in a meme (e.g., http://knowyourmeme.com), and the like require the implementation of a variety of literacy-based skills. This speaks to the advantage of assuming a metaliteracy approach to addressing fake news, and becoming critically literate in a broader sense.
Now that you’ve learned more about the context of fake news, it’s time to plan a lesson or workshop that will educate others. Instead of detailing a prescriptive lesson plan, this section presents a “recipe” of sorts that will allow information professionals in all settings to devise a plan that is customizable to specific settings and age levels. As an example, I will describe a workshop that was delivered to college students and adult communities at the School of Information Sciences, at the University of Illinois. The main components of the workshop are:
- 1. An opening activity
- ▪ What is fake news? Why does it matter? How does it affect you as an information consumer and informed citizen?
- 2. Content and context
- ▪ Definitions of terms; that is, “propaganda,” “disinformation,” “filter bubbles,” and so on
- ▪ What role do journalists play in fake news?
- ▪ How does the current climate influence the creation and dissemination of fake news?
- ▪ Why should we try to be aware of confirmation bias, filter bubbles, and other dimensions of information acquisition and sharing?
- ▪ What is metaliteracy and why is it important?
- 3. Examples of fake news (as many as are appropriate and in any combination)
- ▪ Print
- ▪ Social media
- ▪ Photographs
- ▪ Videos
- 4. Tips, tricks, and strategies
- ▪ Present concrete strategies for strengthening literacy skills
- ▪ Present concrete strategies for evaluating information
- ▪ Provide handouts or other takeaway information for future reference that includes a summary of what was covered in points 1–3.
- 5. Strategies in action/hands-on learning
- ▪ Have learners search for examples of fake news/disinformation (in print or online)
- Can this information be verified?
- How can you tell if it’s fake news?
- ▪ Provide learners with pre-prepared examples of fake news and real news items
- What’s fake and what’s real? How do you know? What steps brought you to this conclusion?
- 1. As an opening activity, learners participate in a quiz, such as this one produced by the BBC: www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38005844. An alternative would be to present the headlines introduced in chapter 1 of this report. Some of the items are true news items, others are not; the learners’ answers should be based on their gut reactions and do not need to be “correct.” The goal is to get the audience warmed up and prepared for the discussion.
- 2. Learners are then presented with a brief lecture (a condensed version of chapters 1–4) where they are introduced to important terms and context related to fake news.
- 3. Several quick and visual examples are presented, such as a screen capture from FakeTrumpTweet.com, a photoshopped image, and the hoax site https://www.martinlutherking.org. Elements that indicate disinformation are clearly explicated. As a substantive or main example used to generate discussion, the case of the “Love Among the Ruins: The Vancouver Kiss Couple”1 was presented. Beginning with a picture of the couple (do a quick Google images search), learners are asked to discuss what they see in the picture. Then they are presented with information from these sources (in a handout or projected on a screen):
- 4. The tips and strategies for “Moving Past Fake News” that were presented earlier in this chapter are discussed with learners.
A Pinterest site was created to supplement this report and to facilitate lesson/workshop planning; the site contains hundreds of bookmarks to articles, lesson plans, videos, and other information related to the fake news phenomenon. It can be found here: https://www.pinterest.com/nicolecooke/fake-news-alternative-facts-critical-literacy.
NOTE
1. Everyone is a consumer of information, and everyone should have the skills necessary to be critical consumers and creators of information. Becoming metaliterate in a way that is especially effective in the online domain takes practice and diligence, and begins with learning in the classroom and in libraries. The end goal is to produce proactive critical thinkers, researchers, and information consumers who can sidestep false information and its deleterious effects. Special thanks to Dr. Rachel Magee (School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois) for suggesting “Love Among the Ruins” as an example.