What is fake news and where is it found?
Fake news is news that contains false information, that only tells part of the story, or that is intentionally over-exaggerated.
Where is it found? Freedom of press is guaranteed in America. This stops the government from regulating all news, allowing journalists to express disapproval in of government officials, which is important to maintain democracy. But with this right, Americans sacrifice trust in news. We have no higher power regulating the paper delivered to our doors, or articles that we read online. This means that we have to decide for ourselves what is reliable what is fake, and what is fallacious. This is no easy task, which is why we must train ourselves in media literacy. We need to ask ourselves various questions every time we read a story to determine if it is true or false.
How can we detect fake news? The Newseum suggests a simple protocol that they call ESCAPE:
E- check the evidence. How do each of the facts hold up?
S- check the sources. Who made this? Why should I trust them?
C- understand the context. Why is this bering published here and now?
A- identify the audience. Who do they want ot read this? Why?
P- classify the purpose. Use our info zone activities and identify why it was made.
E- note how it is executed. Does it seem professional? Do they identify their sources? What's the style?
Where is it found? Freedom of press is guaranteed in America. This stops the government from regulating all news, allowing journalists to express disapproval in of government officials, which is important to maintain democracy. But with this right, Americans sacrifice trust in news. We have no higher power regulating the paper delivered to our doors, or articles that we read online. This means that we have to decide for ourselves what is reliable what is fake, and what is fallacious. This is no easy task, which is why we must train ourselves in media literacy. We need to ask ourselves various questions every time we read a story to determine if it is true or false.
How can we detect fake news? The Newseum suggests a simple protocol that they call ESCAPE:
E- check the evidence. How do each of the facts hold up?
S- check the sources. Who made this? Why should I trust them?
C- understand the context. Why is this bering published here and now?
A- identify the audience. Who do they want ot read this? Why?
P- classify the purpose. Use our info zone activities and identify why it was made.
E- note how it is executed. Does it seem professional? Do they identify their sources? What's the style?
Logical Fallacies
A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that can make an argument invalid or inaccurate
Red Herring = Something that distracts from important information. It causes the audience or reader to make false conclusions.
False dilemma = When something is falsely claimed to be “either/or” and you make someone choose between two opposing options as if they are the only two options.
Strawman = To substitute a person’s opinion or argument for an exaggerated or misinterpreted version of their argument.
Ad Populum = Ad Populum is Latin for “argument to the people”. It is a term used to describe when something is said to be true, simply because a large number of people believe it to be.
Scare Tactic = Also known as an argumentum ad metum, or appeal to fear, this tacic seeks to increase support for an idea by increasing fear of an alternative outcome.
Slippery Slope = Argument that suggests taking a minor action will lead to major and sometimes ludicrous consequences.
Bandwagon = When people assume something is true because it is a popular belief.
Hasty generalization = To jump to conclusions. A hasty generalization is a conclusion that is not logically justified by sufficient and/or unbiased evidence. This is also called an insufficient sample, faulty generalization, biased generalization etc.
False Cause = The questionable cause—also known as causal fallacy, false cause, or non causa pro causa ("non-cause for cause" in Latin)—is a category of informal fallacies in which a cause is incorrectly identified.
Ad hominem = When an argument is directed to a person rather than the position they are maintaining. Ad means to attack, and hominem means to the man.
False dilemma = When something is falsely claimed to be “either/or” and you make someone choose between two opposing options as if they are the only two options.
Strawman = To substitute a person’s opinion or argument for an exaggerated or misinterpreted version of their argument.
Ad Populum = Ad Populum is Latin for “argument to the people”. It is a term used to describe when something is said to be true, simply because a large number of people believe it to be.
Scare Tactic = Also known as an argumentum ad metum, or appeal to fear, this tacic seeks to increase support for an idea by increasing fear of an alternative outcome.
Slippery Slope = Argument that suggests taking a minor action will lead to major and sometimes ludicrous consequences.
Bandwagon = When people assume something is true because it is a popular belief.
Hasty generalization = To jump to conclusions. A hasty generalization is a conclusion that is not logically justified by sufficient and/or unbiased evidence. This is also called an insufficient sample, faulty generalization, biased generalization etc.
False Cause = The questionable cause—also known as causal fallacy, false cause, or non causa pro causa ("non-cause for cause" in Latin)—is a category of informal fallacies in which a cause is incorrectly identified.
Ad hominem = When an argument is directed to a person rather than the position they are maintaining. Ad means to attack, and hominem means to the man.
Examples of Logical Fallacies