In a world with a plethora of information and news at one’s fingertips, it may be difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. This issue connected to a theme in the book 1984 by George Orwell, which explores a government which constantly alters and falsifies the past – the population doesn’t know what’s real anymore. Although what currently happens online is subdued compared to the scope in 1984, my presentation to the class aimed to bring this issue to light.
After the short introduction. the class read A New York Times article which highlighted the problems of widespread fake news, such as the fact that fake news is more likely to be spread than if it were true. I felt that to read an article about the topic first was a good way to inform the class before starting an activity. If there had been more time, however, I would have delved deeper into the article specifically to discuss it with the class. Instead, I had to use it as a base line of understanding.
After the article, the class did an activity which involved reading the title of a news article, and determining if the news story is true or made up. To try and engage the audience even more, I asked why each side believed what they believed. The class was given a title of a news article, and were asked to identify if the story was true. For a few of the rounds, the majority of the class was prediction the validity of the articles incorrectly. Olivia Ross, during the activity, brought up a good point when determining if something is true or false: “Usually [people] do it based off the website . . . not just based off the title of an article.” In short, she believed most people look more into the credibility of the source. While people in Northern Highlands have been trained through the years to use credible sources when researching, the average person on the internet might not do so. And if someone starts to spread this information to other areas of the internet, it’s possible for the false news story to evolve and become believable, even to one who watches out for fishy news stories. People will often just read the first thing they see, such as a title, without reading further.
I was a little shocked at how many news stories they guessed incorrectly. Most of the class believed stories to be fake when they were true, which was the opposite of what I had expected. But this could be do to the fact that it was a simulation around fake news, leading the class to look out for false news instead of considering if it could be real. Overall, the activity chosen was one that engaged the whole class, and was a nice addition to the presentation. Had there been more time, I would have had the class read a section of the aforementioned articles, to simulate how students at Northern Highlands would most likely go about news sources. In addition, I would have asked the question, “Should the government be monitoring fake news?” as a way to connect our society to the way society works in 1984.
The reflection for the activity occurred on the second day, due to time constraints. One question I asked was “If [the class] has ever read a news article and notice it was fake afterwards?” While not much of the class had, Kendall Shirvan stated that “No, but sometimes there’s those memes with the fake tweets from celebrities.” I found this aspect to be interesting – memes, even if its a joke, couldn’t it spread just as easily, if not more so, than a fake news article? Especially in my generation, with how quickly we are to share and spread an image or photo. If I saw a fake tweet from a celebrity, I would be more inclined to believe it over an absurd news article. A joke, to the naive or gullible, could be mistaken as fact.
Although the falsification of news may not be as wide spread or deliberate like in 1984, it’s still an issue that comes with the age of the internet. It’s important to be aware of what we read on the internet to make sure we are obtaining correct facts – and don’t contribute to the spread of fake news.
Annotated Bibliography
Lohr, Steve. “It’s True: False News Spreads Faster and Wider. And Humans Are to Blame.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2018.
This article comes from a reliable source, The New York Times, and within the article, quotes reliable studies (such as from MIT, a prestigious university). It provides information and studies which show that the spread of fake information occurs online, and is even more likely to be spread than true news (in a study done at MIT). The source was used to give the class background in my topic. As a more liberal leaning media source in a time where “Fake news” is a buzz phrase on both sides of the political spectrum, they may be bias in what source they use that would enforce a more liberal ideology as opposed to conservative.
Ortiz, Diego Arguedas. “Future – Could This Be the Cure for Fake News?” BBC News, BBC, 14 Nov. 2018
This article comes from a reputable British news source, BBC. Since the spread of fake news an issue all around the internet, I found an article showing ways I can protect myself and others from believing false news articles. Within the article, it uses the example of climate change being real. As a liberal leaning news source, the article is inclined to believe that climate change is real, and that it is the job of the government to regulate and fix said issue.
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